The South Cape Concert series returns to Pearl Lounge next month, bringing with it two platinum-selling, old-school rappers.
Tone Loc and Coolio are headlining this year’s concert, carrying on the tradition started last year when Vanilla Ice headlined the Pearl Lounge’s initial four-day music festival, Pearl Jam.
This year’s party, to be held Saturday, March 20, will be scaled back to a single day, according to Rob Lyons, who is in charge of entertainment.
The logistics of last year’s festival became too much, he added, so it was decided to switch to a single day.
Lyons also said this will be the start of regular, monthly concerts in Cape Coral, and although these two shows feature rappers, the performer line up is varied and eclectic.
He said he chose Tone Loc and Coolio because they’ll appeal to a wide audience.
“We had a lot of success with Vanilla Ice last year,” he said. “It really serves a mixed crowd. You get younger people, people my age … a real mixed bag of nuts.”
Tone Loc skyrocketed to fame in the late 1980s and early ’90s, mainly on the strength of his hit singles “Wild Thing” and “Funky Cold Medina,” both of which sold over a million copies.
Tone Loc had later success in movies, appearing in “Ace Ventura Pet Detective” with Jim Carrey, and “Heat” with Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino. He has also done a lot of voice work for cartoons and animated films.
Coolio found success in much the same era as Tone Loc, scoring a multi-platinum success with the single “Gangsta’s Paradise,” and going on to be featured in film and television.
Lyons said he couldn’t reveal the name of April’s concert headliner, only that the Pearl would be “bringing back the hair,” which probably means one of the famous hair metal bands from the 1980s.
The South Cape Concert series will feature a new national act the third Wednesday of every month.
Lyon’s Scusa Entertainment was instrumental in last year’s Halloween VooDoo Fantasy Fest at Leapin’ Lizard, which featured Flock of Seagulls.
For the Coolio and Tone Loc show, however, Lyons said people shouldn’t be worried about anything but having a good time.
“There’s nothing at all about Tone Loc and Coolio that spurns violence,” Lyons said laughingly.
Helen Ramey, public relations manager for the Community Redevelopment Agency, said the CRA supports the event.
The CRA is hoping events like the South Cape Concert series will help to brand South Cape as a viable entertainment district, one that pulls people from all over Lee County, not just the Cape or Fort Myers.
“We like the public-private partnerships, like this one,” Ramey said. “They really help to bring feet to the street.”
Tickets for the South Cape Concert Series featuring Tone Loc and Coolio are $15 in advance, $20 the day of the concert.
Tickets can be purchased at Pearl Lounge and Tattoo Artistry, both in downtown Cape Coral, and online at pearlnightclub.net.
The concert is Saturday, March 20. Gates open at 5 p.m., and there will also be two opening acts, though that information is unavailable, according to Lyons. The Pearl Lounge is located at 1403 Cape Coral Parkway.
For more information, call the Pearl Lounge at 549-2800.