Whether you’re the type that’s desperately missing the huge all-day crush of music festivals or the introverted sort who’d love to see all those bands if only festivals weren’t so people-y, this Saturday is an ’80s experience that’ll have you jumping in your spandex.
The ‘80s Radical Sabbatical is an all-day virtual festival in celebration of that most neon of decades. Performances from Kenny Loggins (!), Lita Ford (!!) and Bret Michaels (!!!) round out a day of aerobics, mixology, cover bands, and more.
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And two women from St. Louis are behind the whole thing.
Claire Young and Caroline Connelly are the forces behind Clocktower Experiences, an event planning company with an impressive local and national portfolio. As you might imagine, the pandemic was not exactly great for their bottom line.
“Starting on March first, we were set to have our best year by like 300 percent,” says Young. “April first, we had nothing. Everything was gone.”
The pair thought about ways to bring the arts into peoples’ homes, and to employ the artists, musicians, and production people who have been so dismally hit.
Young and Connelly love the ’80s—in fact, each year they take an ’80s-themed cruise. With that already canceled for 2021, they saw an opportunity to fill that gap for lots of people. The idea of a streamed ’80s event started to take shape.
“We didn’t just jump in because we like the ’80s,” Young says. “We’re smart people, we did focus groups, we did a ton of research. The ’80s is everywhere—the show Stranger Things kinda brought that to the forefront.”
The online event features performances from the already-mentioned rock royalty, as well as a screening of a documentary by hip-hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash, legendary Skid Row glamour-puss Sebastian Bach playing sommelier as he pairs records with wine, a cooking class, costume contests, and even more.
It was important to Young and Connelly to employ as many people as they could—and not just the aging rock gods waiting out the pandemic in semi-retired splendor. While much has been made of artists losing their livelihoods to the pandemic, Young says the behin-the-scenes folks, those who wear black and slink inconspicuously around behind the curtain, are a bit more forgotten.
“The amount of people that are unemployed right now is devastating,” she says. The event has employed more than a hundred of them.
While the day promises to be a high-energy couch festival, it won’t re-create the sweaty crush of an arena rock show, of course. But that distance has its benefits, says Young.
“Brett’s performance is from his house with his band—it’s not a rager with 30,000 people,” she says. “You’re kind of spying on him hanging out with his buddies in his house. It brings you a different, more intimate feel.”
Get your tickets online and consider premium add-ons like wine or book deliveries or a meet and greet with Sebastian Bach.
