LIMA — The Lima area plays host to an 80’s music concert this summer, July 21 and July 22, at the Allen County Fairgrounds when Loud-N-Lima opens.
The concert is the brainchild of two Lima residents, Jake Bame and Eric Schaaf. Bame no longer lives in the area, but still feels a connection to Lima having grown up here.
“Eric and I met through mutual friends. We had done some projects together,” said Bame. “When he told me his idea, it wasn’t quite as big as what it ended up, but that’s the kind of gentleman that he is. He just has really big visions and he was willing to invest in the idea and to do what it takes to pull off the first event to make it successful.”
Bame works in the music industry as a booking agent and he has done festivals and worked in artist development. With connections from him and Schaaf’s hard work, the couple nailed a big group of talent.
The entertainment includes: 3 Doors Down; Bret Michaels; Dee Snider, lead singer of Twisted Sister; Tom Kiefer, lead singer for Cinderella; Warrant; Winger; Leda Ford; Geoff Tate, original lead singer from Queens Ryche; Jack Russell’s Great White which is the original lead singer for the band Great White; Firehouse; Steel Panther; Dokken; Last In Line, which is actually some of the original members of the band Dio which features lead guitarist Vivian Campbell from Def Leopard; Scrap Metal featuring Gunner Nelson, Mathew Nelson and Mark Slaughter of the band Slaughter; Bobaflex; Janet Gardner of the band Vixen Steelheart; Bullet Boys; Truslow and Derrick St. Holmes from Ted Nugent’s band; with more to come.
“We didn’t necessarily set out to make it an 80’s concert, it’s just that this year, it kind of ended up being the scene that we went with. Obviously, 3 Doors Down is more of a 90’s band, but because after 10 bands, we thought we had the 80’s crowd, we wanted to add something a little different,” said Bame.
Tickets are selling very well so far, and to a wide variety of countries.
“We have been excited about the success of ticket sales. For launching a concert six months out, we were surprised at how many people immediately bought tickets. The neat thing is we have people coming from Canada, Korea, Japan and Germany. There are only a few major rock festivals in the U.S. and our size of show is comparable to those. And, apparently, people love to travel all over the world to see 80’s show’s,” said Bame. “This is not only one of the largest shows to ever be held in Lima, but this is a large festival by an standards in the United States.”
After Bame talked with the Allen County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, all of the hotels this weekend are pretty much all booked.
“The whole goal with Eric was to bring economic development dollars to Lima and it seems like so far, that’s working really well,” said Bame.
The duo wants to make this an annual event.
“Our goal is to make this an annual show and we don’t want people to think it will be an 80’s concert every year. We want people to think it’s going to be a great concert every year,” said Bame.
Another of Schaaf’s goals was to portray Lima in a positive light.
“A few years ago there was a negative article in Rolling Stone magazine about Lima, Ohio. With me being from Lima and Eric being from Lima, we see the rebuilding that’s going on in Lima, and to us, for a music magazine to take a stance on a town that they’ve probably never spent any time in, what better way than to show people differently than to bring a music festival of this size to Lima. For us, it’s really important to bring something positive to the Lima community and some entertainment and to show people that aren’t from Lima that there’s more to Lima than what you might read online,” said Bame.
While music is the draw, there will be vendors at the fairgrounds as well.
“We want to be more than just a music festival. The idea is to have merchants so that it is almost like a food festival, art festival and a music festival all in one. We plan on having some reality show stars and other things for people to do as well,” said Bame.
Concert goers will be happy to know the food will take on the familiar fair food feeling.
“I’d say we have everything from sno-cones to wings to anything you would see at a fair. There’s going to be a variety for everybody. Our goal is to leave no stone unturned. We want everyone to feel like there’s something for them there,” said Bame.
Vendors interested in participating can email Bame at [email protected].
Bame and Schaaf would like to get the word out that any military or first responders or organizations like Get Behind the Badge or Save a Warrior would be welcome to put a booth up to promote their organizations.
Camping is available on the grounds for people to enjoy the entire weekend. Prices for camping run from $99 for tent camping; $250 for RV/Camper camping to $400 for RV/Camper premium camping. Visit www.loudinlima.com for reservations and pricing.
For an event this size, there is a need for workers.
“We’re looking for volunteers and people that are looking for employment. We need a combination of both. Workers can email us at bameartistgroup.com and in the subject line put “employment,” said Bame.
Tickets for Loud-N-Lima can be purchased online at loudnlima.com.
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