Beatlemania!
Three-day fest will bring bands, films (and fans) to Louisville
by Jeffrey Lee Puckett
The Courier-Journal

Few traditions in rock 'n' roll are as permanently fixed as the combination of a stereo, full-length mirror and vaguely guitar-shaped utensil -- tennis racket preferred, but a broom will do.

Pretending to be your favorite rock star is part of loving the music, and the ultimate example is the Fifth Third Bank Abbey Road on the River Beatles festival planned for Friday through Sunday at the Belvedere and the Kentucky Center.

Nearly 40 bands, most of them full-time Beatles tribute acts, will perform starting at noon on Friday with Japan's BeaTrips and ending Sunday at 9:30 p.m. with The Repeatles.

This will be the Louisville debut for Abbey Road on the River, which left Cleveland for a fresh start and better facilities after three years and more than 50,000 visitors. The festival is coming to a hotbed of latent and not-so-latent Beatlemania.

One of the festival's taglines is "Get in touch with your inner Beatle," so we asked local fans which Beatle -- John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison or Ringo Starr -- got most of their attention.

Fred Cowgill, sports director at WLKY, was introduced to the Beatles in 1964 by "The Ed Sullivan Show" and by sisters who were "just about whacked out of their minds." His Beatle loyalties are separated by wishful thinking and cold reality.

"When I was a kid, Paul McCartney was seen as the romantic, and girls just loved him," Cowgill said. "I don't know about my inner Beatle, but he's the one I wanted to be. I guess my personality was closer to Ringo's, kind of the fun-loving guy you could go get a beer with."

Terry Meiners, the comic voice of WHAS 840-AM, is surprisingly philosophical and introspective about his choice.

"It would have to be Ringo, because I've always felt ill at ease in my career -- like, 'What am I doing here?' -- and Ringo was always up there banging away while all of the girls were screaming for Paul, and John was getting all of the activists.

"George was the mystic, with the yogis and everything else, and Ringo was just the big lug up there hanging on. People would trample him just to stand next to Yoko."

New York's Bill Bernstein has been McCartney's official photographer since 1989 and will speak twice at Abbey Road on the River. Despite his relationship with Sir Paul, he didn't choose him as his inner Beatle.

"My inner Beatle is an amalgamation of all four Beatles in one," he said. "Getting to know Paul as I do through my work with him, I can see firsthand the magic of his personality and the effect that it has on other people. My inner Beatle keeps me young and happy."

Local Beatle fiend Jeff McAllister, a fan and collector of memorabilia for 40 years, dug a little deeper -- all the way back to the "Paul is dead" conspiracy theories.

"My favorite Beatle is the guy who replaced Paul McCartney in 1966, William Campbell," said McAllister, drummer for Hank Williams Jr. and Hellfish. "He did a hell of a job, too, man. He's still laughing all the way to the bank."

Inner Beatles will be everywhere this weekend.

The Fifth Third Bank Abbey Road on the River will stretch from noon to midnight daily. Music will be featured on four outdoor stages spread around the Belvedere and in Whitney Hall -- while the Bomhard Theater will host speakers and film screenings.

Louise Harrison, George's sister, will speak, as will Bernstein, Beatles biographer Bruce Spizer and writer/photographer Peter Saltzman.

Notable bands include The Smithereens (performing an all-Beatles set Saturday at 10 p.m.), 1964: The Tribute, Abbey Road Live! (performing the album in its entirety) and John Lennon tribute band Tim Piper and Working Class Hero. Memorabilia and collectibles will be abundant.

The "We Hope We Passed the Audition" contest, featuring local musicians, will be held Saturday and Sunday from noon to 2:30 p.m. outdoors, with the finals in Whitney Hall 6 p.m. Sunday.

General-admission tickets are for outdoor stages only; three-day tickets are $33, two-day tickets are $22, and single-day tickets are $12.50 advance, $16 day of show.

Reserved tickets are for indoor events Saturday or Sunday ($36) or both ($72). Both price points include outdoor general admission as well.

Reserved tickets can be purchased through the Kentucky Center box office, (502) 584-7777 or (800) 775-7777, or in person. General admission tickets can be purchased through the box office or through TicketMaster at (502) 361-3100 or www.ticketmaster.com.

For a full schedule of events, go to www.abbeyroadontheriver.com.

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