Wednesdays with WAGS returns
By Robert Cloud
The Wheelhouse Restaurant will mark 100 evenings of Wednesdays with WAGS on May 15.
Due to public health safety protocols, the event has been moved to 1-5 p.m. Saturday so that it may be held outdoors.
A Wednesday with WAGS scheduled for last year was canceled due to the pandemic.
“I was extremely disappointed,” said Tony Wagner, who has been organizing the Wheelhouse event for the past nine years. “Just two weeks before the show, it was canceled.”
Wagner said the pandemic has been a blow to live music.
“I personally performed between 70 and 90 shows a year,” Wagner said. “Last year, I did just over 20 shows.”
Wagner said all his shows in 2020 were outdoors.
“As each day goes by, more and more people are getting vaccinated. That really factored into our plans,” Wagner said.
Wagner said he believed a concert could be safely performed if certain precautions are in place.
“It will be outdoors on the deck at the Wheelhouse,” Wagner said.
Of the three bands slated to perform at last year’s 100th Wednesdays with WAGS, two will perform this year: MoJoe and Flipside and the Alex Wilson Band.
“Originally, Woody Mankowski was going to be featured, but he lives in California,” Wagner said.
Wagner is also bringing back his old band, Streetlife.
Wagner was the founder and drummer for Streetlife, the Milwaukee Bucks’ house band for more than 27 years.
“They were at the 99th (Wednesdays with WAGS) show,” Wagner said. “They don’t get together often.”
The Alex Wilson Band will open at 1 p.m., followed by MoJoe and Flipside at 2:30 p.m. and Streetlife at 4 p.m.
The event is free of charge.
Tickets for last year’s canceled event will be redeemed for $20 of food and drink.
Winter highlight
For nine years, Wednesdays with WAGS featured bands from throughout Wisconsin, as well as from Chicago and Los Angeles.
The event’s popularity grew and Wheelhouse began hosting Wednesdays with WAGS every other week from November to April.
“I’m really hoping that the community and the people who have supported in the past will come out and celebrate live music again,” Wagner said.