Abbey Road on the River has done it again; February ’64 was a huge hit this weekend! From Friday night through Sunday afternoon, the Muhammad Ali center was packed with bands, fans, and Beatles music as Abbey Road on the River veterans Nervous Melvin and the Mistakes, The Steve Sizemore Group, the Rigbys, The Jukebox, and more performed. The February ’64 weekend had a more relaxed feel than the hustle and bustle of Memorial Day weekend’s Abbey Road on the River. The concerts were held in a beautiful room of the Muhammad Ali center that overlooked the river and the snow-covered belvedere, where Beatle fans will soon meet again for Abbey Road in, hopefully, warmer conditions.
The crowning jewel of the weekend was the Ed Sullivan reenactment held in the Bomhard Theater of the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday night. The show featured Abbey Road on the River favorite, BritBeat, as the Beatles and Fred Whitfield as Ed Sullivan. The reenactment was as close to the original airing as possible including the other acts from that episode. Among others, local American Idol participant Emmy Bodner performed as Georgia Brown from Oliver!. Sean Keller performed as impressionist Frank Gorshin, and Richard Darshwood played magician Fred Kaps. The show even included a new act, Southern Sirens, playing “I’ll Fly Away.”
The crowd was twice entertained by BritBeat during the reenactment. They played the exact same set list as the Beatles did during their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan show. The set included “All My Loving,” “Till There was You,” “She Loves You,” “I Saw Her Standing There,” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”
Once the reenactment concluded, there was a short intermission before BritBeat performed again. During this performance, the crowd was treated to a 75-minute anthology show. Their show included Beatles hits not performed on Ed Sullivan such as “Let it Be,” “Sgt. Pepper,” “Michelle,” and so many more. This performance allowed BritBeat to showcase their talent as musicians and their accuracy in replica instruments and costumes. Their Sgt. Pepper suits are always a crowd favorite! BritBeat ended with the “Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End” medley and an encore performance of “Hey Jude.”
A splendid time is guaranteed for all at any Abbey Road on the River production. If you missed this one, don’t miss Abbey Road on the River on Memorial Day weekend, May 22nd – 26th. Check back with Louisville.com for more information about Abbey Road on the River as it draws closer.
