Louisville lands Beatles tribute
by Pama Mitchell
Enquirer contributor

During a 25-year career producing concerts and festivals, Clevelander Gary Jacob was struck by the phenomenal popularity of Beatles tribute bands. He found that Beatles music - when performed by skilled imitators - kept making audiences dance with joy.

In 2002, Jacob created an all-Beatles festival in Cleveland called Abbey Road on the River. But after three years of what Jacob calls disappointing support from the city of Cleveland, the festival has moved to Louisville, landed a generous corporate sponsor and been renamed Fifth Third Bank Abbey Road on the River.

Over Memorial Day weekend, Jacob will gather at least 50 Beatles tribute bands from nine countries to make three days of Fab-ulous tunes for an expected crowd of 25,000 fans. Headliners will be the Smithereens and tribute band 1964.

The addition of the Smithereens to the bill marks the first time the festival has booked a national act that writes and records its own music. While the Smithereens have recorded covers of a number of Beatles songs, it is not a tribute band. But the Fab Four is one of the Smithereens' seminal influences, and the band has agreed to perform an all-Beatles set for its concert Saturday night.

Friday evening's bill will be headlined by 1964, which Jacob calls the most renowned Beatles tribute band in the world.

Festival-goers also will be able to watch Beatles movies, meet and listen to people who worked with the band in the 1960s, browse Beatles-related art and souvenirs, and enjoy festival food and beverages.

Jacob got the idea for an all-Beatles festival when promoters of a new amphitheater in Cleveland asked him to inaugurate the venue with "a different kind of festival." That's when he saw a way to tap into the enduring appeal of the Beatles.

"I always thought (the Beatles) were the cultural phenomenon of our time, and could see they affected people of every generation," says Jacob, a 56-year-old baby boomer and lifelong Beatles fan.

At first, Jacob planned to hold a contest to pick the best tribute band, but rather than pit artists against one another, he decided to invite as many Beatles-themed musicians as possible to play in one location. The first festival attracted about two dozen acts; this year Abbey Road on the River will feature more than twice as many acts playing Beatles music from the 1960s songbook as well as the music John, Paul, George and Ringo made as solo artists after the band broke up in 1970.

Jacob says he has sold tickets to fans living in Asia, Europe and someone "on a remote game preserve in South Africa." Attendees at past festivals have started international cyber-friendships, so Abbey Road on the River will be a reunion for some world travelers.

Festival events will take place downtown at two indoor and four outdoor stages at the Kentucky Center and adjacent Belvedere Festival Park. Admission is free for children 12 and under.

"We want to encourage parents to introduce their kids to the Beatles," says Jacob.

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