They Came Together At Abbey Road
May 26, 2008
by Melissa Gagliardi
The Courier-Journal

Flags and banners hanging from the Galt House windows included one proclaiming, "I love you Paul." It could mean only one thing — on the Belvedere below, Louisville's Beatles tribute festival, Abbey Road on the River, was in full swing.

Thousands converged. Some were there to reminisce about the music of their youth, and others were hearing hits like "Love Me Do" and "Back in the U.S.S.R." played live for the first time. "The Beatles were the greatest," said Jimmy Estes, 55, of Okolona. He has attended every day of every Abbey Road festival in Louisville for the past four years and said that having his hometown play host to the event helps make up for never getting to see the Beatles live. Even for newcomers like Pam Mitchell, just a few hours at the event made an impression. She came with daughter Kristy Tucker and Tucker's children, Drew, 8, and Maddie, 5. She said the family-friendly atmosphere appealed to her, but it's the music that makes the event special. Hearing the tunes conjured up happy times for Mitchell, who recalled listening to the Beatles' music with her family as a child . "It's what I grew up on," she said, adding that she likes that her grandchildren enjoy their songs, and her grandson has played them on the game Guitar Hero.

Event producer Gary Jacob wants the festival to bring The Beatles to future generations. However, he said since moving the event to Louisville from Cleveland four years ago, it has seen a major drop in corporate funding. In order for the festival to remain in Louisville, that needs to change, he said. The event fills more than 2,000 hotel rooms and is said to bring $3 million to the community, so he wonders why more corporate sponsors haven't come on board. "I don't think the business community is stretching enough to really look at this event and its impact on the community," he said. While Mayor Jerry Abramson and local media have been supportive, Jacob said it's time for businesses to get on board or he may have to eventually look at relocating. "We believe in the city a lot," he said, "but we're not going to continue to make bad business decisions. " However, thanks to good weather, Jacob said, the event may have seen record attendance levels over the weekend, if Saturday's crowds are any indication . He said the good weather and a promotion to let children in free helped bring in a record crowd Saturday. The event runs through today. Attendance figures weren't available yesterday. Those crowds were appreciated by Russ Lease, who sells replicas of suits The Beatles wore on stage. He said he did a brisk business Saturday. "I couldn't believe how many people were here yesterday. It's been a great show," he said. Peter Conrad, a member of The Traveling Beatleburys, agreed that this year's festival brought some of the largest crowds he'd seen. "You look out and see people of all ages and everybody knows the songs," he said. Plus, he enjoyed seeing familiar faces from past festivals. "It's like a huge family reunion," Conrad said, "full of peace and love and music all because of The Beatles. " Reporter Melissa Gagliardi can be reached at (502) 582-4117. "You look out and see people of all ages and everybody knows the songs." PETER CONRAD, of The Traveling Beatleburys.

Where: The Galt House Hotel and Suites (4th and Main) and The Belvedere Festival Park (5th and Main) When: Today, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tickets $25 day of show

More info www.courier-journal.com/abbeyroad On the web

To see photo galleries and videos from Abbey Road on the River, go to www.courier-journal.com. Celebration ends today

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