Beatles fans of all ages lined up to get "tickets to ride" at yesterday's courier-journal.com Abbey Road on the River festival at the Belvedere, a celebration of all-things-Beatles and then some.
Bands were pumping out Beatles songs on several stages, including the mop-topped, dress-alike Beatrips from Kyoto, Japan -- delighting Melissa Conn, 39, of Middletown with her favorite Beatles song, "Help!"
She may have had the youngest Beatles fan at the event, her 2-month-old son Ashton, who reacted to the music by falling asleep. But asked if he was a Beatles fan, she said, "Oh, absolutely."
At the Fountain Stage next to the fountain area, the Cryers -- who looked nothing like the Beatles -- got the crowd dancing with "Paperback Writer."
Next to the stage was an area with Beatles photos for sale, including one titled "The Beatles Boarding a Plane," which was marked down from $3,200 to $2,500 for the show.
Lynda and Jamie Pearl of Fairdale, who were both wearing Beatles T-shirts, have been coming to the festival since it moved to Louisville from Cleveland in 2005.
"We know we're always going to have a good time," said Lynda Pearl, who said they were pushing 50 "really hard. As for her favorite Beatles period, "I personally like the early Beatles stuff," she said.
Billed as "the World's Largest Beatles-Inspired Music Festival," the event also featured booths selling lemonade, frozen custard, fries, shrimp, veggie gyros, "All you Need is Love" T-shirts and other Beatles memorabilia.
A copper-colored "Abbey Roadster" PT Cruiser car bore the lines from "The End," on Abbey Road: "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make."
David Steele, 11, of Bardstown, was wearing an Abbey Road album T-shirt and a Beatles cap with Beatles buttons on it. He said his two brothers, who are almost 10 years older than he is, often played Beatles music, and, "I just really got into it."
"I've been hearing it all my life."
The festival continues today and tomorrow, in the Galt House area. The lineup includes the Yellow Submorons at noon today and the Blue Meanies at 12:30 p.m. tomorrow.
Reporter Martha Elson can be reached at (502) 582-7061.
IF YOU GO
What: courier-journal.com Abbey Road on the River
When: Continues today and tomorrow
Where: Belvedere Festival Park, Fifth and Main streets, and The Galt House, Fourth and Main streets
Cost: Single-day tickets are $15, $20, $40 and $60, with each higher price offering more events. Each ticket purchase includes a free ticket for ages 21 and younger.
| Abbey Road on the River is produced by Abbey Road on the River LLC, a Kentucky Limited Liability Corporation, and 365 Events, an Ohio Corporation.
For more information, call 216.378.1980 or e-mail. "The Beatles" is a federally registered trademark of Apple Corps Limited ("Apple"). Abbey Road on the River is not endorsed by or affiliated with Apple Corps Limited. All sales Final. No refunds. If you are traveling and cannot attend, you will be issued a credit for the 2011 AROTR |