Want to catch a concert near you? Don't forget to check out our monthly concert listings!
The story of Cactus Club’s accessibility initiative is one that takes many twists and turns. On Monday, its latest development is one that will have music fans of all abilities smiling.
The process of getting an accessibility ramp built in front of the 140 year-old Bay View venue goes back to 2021, when owner Kelsey Kaufmann and her team approached the City of Milwaukee about building a self-funded ramp to connect the front door of the venue to the corner of Wentworth and Russell Avenues. Under a previous law, the venue would have been subject to more than $400 in annual fees in perpetuity, just for having the ramp touch the city sidewalk. Kaufmann and Cactus Club worked with Alderwoman Marina Dimitrijevic to have that law changed, so that all Milwaukee establishments could make improvements to become ADA compliant along the public right-of-way without being subject to fees beyond their initial year.
The club launched fundraising efforts as part of their accessibility initiative to afford a contractor for the ramp, which included workshops, community events, and most notably, a fundraiser concert from Jack White this past October as part of his “No Name” tour.
Fast forward to this past May, when the club found out from the City that in order to complete their ramp, they would need to build a bump out on the corner of Wentworth and Russell. This is because the grading requirements for the curb have changed since the last curb was installed. Through the contractor, the construction would cost an estimated additional $20,000. More fundraising would be in order.
On Sunday night, the club launched a campaign with a video on social media, explaining that if all of their Instagram followers donated just one dollar, they would have more than enough funds to pay for the remainder of the construction. On Monday, they received a surprise donation from none other than Jack White, who kicked in the $20,000 necessary to fund the bump out extension.
“This wasn’t something where we sent it to his team and hoped for a response” explained Kaufmann. “Somehow, he saw the campaign and generously decided to donate to us. It was a total surprise and we are so thankful.”
White has a special connection to the club and Milwaukee beyond the 2024 concert. The White Stripes’ first show outside of their home state of Michigan was at Cactus Club, opening for The Mistreaters in 1999. Since then, Christopher Schulist of The Vanguard and Wiggle Room (as well as The Mistreaters) would go on to be a tour DJ and hype man for White. It is also not White’s first sizable donation to help out a Milwaukeean. When Vanguard bartender Cara Corder was struck by drag racers on Kinnickinnic Avenue while leaving Wiggle Room after White’s Cactus Club show afterparty, White also donated generously to a GoFundMe to help pay for her recovery efforts.
The accessibility initiative from Cactus Club is also not the first time that Kaufmann and her team worked to have a law changed with the City. In 2019, they led efforts to eliminate certain requirements for what could be deemed as a performing arts center, which would allow venues like Cactus Club to put on all-ages concerts in Milwaukee.
For more on the history of Cactus Club, check out Bobby Tanzilo’s 2024 Urban Spelunking visit to the building. To learn more about the future of the venue’s accessibility program, visit the Cactus Club website.
