Milwaukee's Cactus Club books ESG, Bully for fundraising concerts for accessibility effort

Piet Levy, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
·2 min read
ESG will play their first Wisconsin ever Aug. 30 at the Cactus Club as a fundraiser for the Bay View venue's accessibility efforts.
ESG will play their first Wisconsin ever Aug. 30 at the Cactus Club as a fundraiser for the Bay View venue's accessibility efforts.

Kelsey Kaufmann has breathed new life into the Cactus Club since taking over the Bay View venue in 2020, expanding and increasing its programming.

But a chief remaining goal is to make the nearly 140-year-old building at 2496 S. Wentworth Ave. more accessible — and a couple of major artists are helping the cause.

Acclaimed indie-rocker Bully (birth name Alicia Bognanno) and dance-punk veterans ESG are playing intimate shows at the Cactus Club this summer, serving as fundraisers for the club's accessibility initiative. It’s a chief focus of Cactus Club’s two-year-old nonprofit organization Cactus+, which is also devoted to artist resources and community programming, especially around arts education.

"We are working with architects to determine the scope of the mobility-centered renovations and expansion," Kaufmann said in a statement. "This is an ambitious cultural project and building project. We want to invite artists and community members to be part of the process, beyond just fundraising, but also in dreaming and determining how we move forward with it."

The fundraising concerts come after Cactus+ was selected in April to receive a grant from the Ruth Foundation for the Arts for their accessibility efforts.

Alicia Bognanno of the Nashville band Bully performs on the first day of Bonnaroo on June 9, 2016, in Manchester, Tenn.
Alicia Bognanno of the Nashville band Bully performs on the first day of Bonnaroo on June 9, 2016, in Manchester, Tenn.

Bully’s Bognanno started their music career as an intern at the late Steve Albini’s famed Electrical Audio studios. Last year, they released their fourth album, and one of their best reviewed, “Lucky for You.” Bully will play Cactus Club July 10.

ESG will play Cactus Club Aug. 30 for what will be the 46-year-old act’s first Wisconsin show ever. The South Bronx band has been cited as an influence by LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy among others, and has been sampled by Beastie Boys, Wu-Tang Clan and other hip-hop acts.

"I am very happy that we will be performing for the first time ever in Milwaukee, and that the Cactus Club is the one to bring ESG there," ESG's Renee Scroggins said in a statement. "It's going to be a night full of fun and dancing!"

Tickets for Bully are $100, and $150 for ESG, with 50% of sales from each ticket going toward the accessibility initiative. They’ll go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday at cactusclubmilwaukee.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee's Cactus Club books ESG, Bully for accessibility fundraisers