The Stone Jug and 'Spirit of the 80's' present Men Without Hats live at The Ontario House

Press Release

Break out the fingerless gloves and neon rubber bracelets: Men Without Hats are coming to Youngstown!

The Stone Jug and “Spirit of the 80's” announce an epic end-of-summer party with national recording artists Men Without Hats at The Ontario House, “aka” The Stone Jug . This historic venue, located at 358 Main St., will host the 12th annual “Spirit of the 80's” Festival on Sept. 4.

Organizers said, “Spend Labor Day in Youngstown! Don't miss the annual Youngstown Labor Day Parade at noon. Grab some lunch and enjoy free music on the patio of The Jug from 1-4 p.m., followed by an exclusive paid event starting at 5 p.m. Arrive early and secure your spot for this unforgettable night of nostalgia.”

VillageRadio.net will host this event on its national streaming station.

The Woodroes will open the concert on The Jug Stage, with favorite hits from the ’80s and ’90s. They will play a "mostly Canadian" set.

A press release noted, “Men Without Hats, the iconic Canadian new wave and synth-pop band, have been captivating audiences for over 40 years across the globe. Men Without Hats rose to prominence in 1983 when ‘The Safety Dance’ reached No. 3 on the Billboard charts in the U.S. The exposure from that song earned the group a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist (losing to Culture Club.)”

Michelle Hosie, one of the coordinators of “Spirit of the 80’s,” said, “When you think of Men Without Hats, you think of ‘The Safety Dance,’ of course. It’s a staple tune from our youth. And ‘Pop Goes The World,’ because it was in a Super Bowl commercial last year. But when I streamed the old albums, there were so many more songs I forgot I loved! Now, 40 years later, we are bringing Ivan Doroschuk and Men Without Hats to The Stone Jug Stage, right here in Youngstown! Crazy!"

The Stone Jug has become a prime music destination for both local and touring national acts.

“We hosted Modern English last year here as they finished their U.S. tour at The Jug, and then the next night they were on ‘The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon’!” said Michael Hanrahan, the man behind “Spirit of the 80’s,” now in its 11th year. "We started the ‘Spirit of the 80’s music festival for our 25th reunion. We brought Canadian artist and CASBY Award winners The Spoons and had CFNY’s legendary Don Berns host it. I honestly didn’t know what I was doing; it just felt natural. Don came up after the show and he told me this is one of the best put-together festivals he had seen in a long time. Year after year it gets better, with bigger acts. In 2015, I made my dream come true when I brought Dave Wakling with the English Beat, and I got Stan Ridgway from Wall of Voodoo, to come out for his first East Coast tour in 20 years.”

Additionally, this event will feature a 50/50 raffle, with proceeds going toward the Niagara Post Theater.

Tickets for this annual event are available at Eventbrite.com and The Stone Jug.