First five concerts revealed for new Milwaukee live music venue Landmark Credit Union Live

Landmark Credit Union Live, the 4,500-person-capacity concert venue under construction in Milwaukee’s Deer District, has lined up its first shows, including the very first one.

Alternative rock band Rainbow Kitten Surprise will headline the venue’s first concert on Feb. 27. Four other forthcoming shows were also revealed Oct. 15, featuring: rapper Bossman Dlow Feb. 28; Swedish metal band Sabaton March 6; EDM acts Level Up and Zingara March 12; and R&B artist Mariah The Scientist March 13. Shows will continue to be announced through the venue’s website, landmarkculive.com, and its social media channels.

“We’re curating a lineup that reflects the energy and culture of this city,” Scott Leslie, co-president of FPC Live, the Madison-based concert promoter operating the forthcoming venue, said in a statement. “Landmark Credit Union Live represents our continued commitment to grow the live music scene in Milwaukee, making it a can’t-miss stop for artists on tour.”

Rainbow Kitten Surprise also issued a statement about being the venue’s first headlining act.

“We played some of our very first shows in Milwaukee, years and years ago! We keep coming back,” the North Carolina-originated band said in a statement. “We just love it there and it’s always a pleasure to return. On top of that, it’s an honor to get to open up this beautiful new venue. It’s going to be a special night for sure.”

Tickets for these shows go on sale at 10 a.m. Oct. 24 at landmarkculive.com, with prices to be announced. Ticket buyers will have the option of choosing between general admission standing room access; over 1,200 reserved seats; or access to a premium suite or box. Tickets for the latter will also include access to a private lounge, the Vinyl Room, designed to resemble Japanese Kissa lounges from the 1970s.

The concert announcements follow the name reveal for the venue Oct. 8, with Brookfield-based financial services company Landmark Credit Union securing the naming rights. Details about the deal were not disclosed, nor the estimated final cost for the construction project. Joel Plant, CEO of FPC Live’s Madison-based parent company Frank Productions, estimated an approximately $70 million price tag in a Journal Sentinel interview last year.

The venue will host its first event more than four years after the construction project was initially announced. It’s been on quite the journey since then, changing from an initial vision of being a two-stage concert venue complex in the Third Ward, on land owned by Summerfest parent company Milwaukee World Festival Inc.

A portion of the old Bradley Center site, land owned by the Milwaukee Bucks adjacent to Fiserv Forum, became the ultimate location for the venue following pushback from some Third Ward condo owners. It was also reduced to a single stage facility due to rising construction costs.

Landmark Credit Union Live is one of approximately 25 venues, with capacity ranges from 2,000 to 7,000, in the works in North America, Billboard reported in August. Live Nation and AEG, the two largest concert promoters and venue operators in the world, are behind that push. Live Nation owns a stake in FPC Live and a majority stake in Frank Productions.

“This has become the sweet spot for new venues,” Plant told the Journal Sentinel Oct. 8. “You can cut the room down for a smaller capacity for a rising star, or host a sellout crowd for an artist about to explode to the arena level. With that scalability, you can maintain the intimacy of a very small, close room.”

Significant interior construction still has to be completed before February, evident by a media sneak peek Oct. 8. Wisconsin-based Miron is overseeing construction. Local firm EUA designed the building, in partnership with Live Nation’s Blueprint Studio.