How Kelsey Kaufmann Transformed the Cactus Club from a Rock Club into a Community Hub

Photo courtesy of cactusclubmilwaukee.com.

The corner of Russell Ave. and Wentworth Ave. has played host to acts like White Stripes, Death Cab for Cutie and Sylvan Esso, as well as countless Milwaukee acts in Cactus Club’s storied history. While the Bay View venue has helped to foster the careers of many up-and-coming artists, as well as the general Milwaukee music scene, the next era of the club may be its most important yet.

Since taking over ownership of Cactus Club in February 2020, Kelsey Kaufmann and her team have focused on making the venue a welcoming space for everyone in the community, in addition to keeping a thriving concert calendar. That mission was sidetracked almost immediately by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the club to remain closed for months.

The shutdown also created an unforeseen opportunity, as programming to keep the venue active shifted online. Once the venue gradually reopened to the public, the spirit of their online community work lived on, as in-person film screenings, maker markets, and small business pop-ups for people of diverse backgrounds became as commonplace on the club calendar as concerts. The umbrella of community programming was formalized this past September, when the club filed to launch a new arts and education nonprofit, Cactus+.

“Cactus+ will help to sustainably re-structure everything you know and love about Cactus Club. It’s about finding a path for the future that ensures a space that can welcome all, compensate artists, workers and organizers and model better practices for small venues and community hubs,” said Kaufmann. “When I say welcome all, I mean that expansively to include financial, mobility, intergenerational access and beyond. We want to continue to provide a springboard for emerging artists, locally and from around the world, and support community building that includes every corner of the city.”

With nonprofit status, Cactus Club will be able to welcome in generations of aspiring artists and creatives, and access grants to make education programming feasible. Cactus+ looks to educate the community on not only music industry-adjacent fields like audio engineering and filmmaking, but also human rights, history, eco-friendly sustainability and more. That programming will extend Cactus Club’s role in the community, giving back to Bay View and Milwaukee overall.

ACCESS IS EVERYTHING

In 2019, Kaufmann and her team worked with local legislators to restructure the formal qualifications of what is deemed to be a performing arts center. The previous laws had made hosting all-ages shows with any regularity a logistical nightmare, with staff having to remove all alcohol from the main floor of the bar and cover coolers in order to