What a weekend it was!! With so much Beatles excitement around, the FEST FOR BEATLES FANS 2009 CHICAGO was the perfect place to be last weekend. Paul performed in Atlanta on the Saturday night and a FEST regular took the last flight back to Chicago so he could join us. He has some photos and said that Paul was in great form (of course). Then there was the buzz of the 09.09.09 releases of both the Beatles Remastered Box Sets and the Beatles RockBand. Bruce Spizer had a Q & A session on the main stage with Matt Hurwitz talking about the box sets and why they are a must for all Beatles fans. See further down for our very special offers on the Box Sets.
The RockBand Demo Room at the FEST had a continuous stream of fans trying it out and we heard nothing but positive feedback about it.
Our Special Guests were a terrific mix of musicians from various points in the Beatles careers, starting with the one and only Ronnie Spector, who graciously spoke about her association with The Beatles, and George and John in particular. She greeted fans, signed autographs and posed for pictures for everyone who waited in line. Her appearance with Liverpool was definitely a show stopper, performing Baby I Love You, Try Some Buy Some, My Sweet Lord, and the classic Be My Baby. Our condolences go out to Earl Slick and his family. His father passed away the night before the fEST and he still showed up by late Saturday afternoon to do his talk and performing at night. He played a mean guitar two of John’s songs that he appeared on: I’m Losing You and Nobody Told Me. Greg Hawkes showed off his musicianship during his Ukelele Concert and playing one of is Cars’ hit My Best Friend’s Girl. He also led the World Record Attempt for A Ukelele ensemble. Around 100 ukes joined in for a rousing version of Love Me Do. No record was set, but it was lots of fun. Mark Hudson added a tribute to Michael Jackson with a super version of Say Say Say with Liverpool. Brother Brett joined in and there was loads of Rock and Roll to enjoy. In Honor of its 40th anniversary, Liverpool performed both sides of Abbey Road in their entirety (Side 1 on Sat and Side 2 on Sun) Speaking of Anniversaries, it was 40 years ago TODAY (August 22, 1969) that The Beatles had their final photo session!!
There were more Photo and Art Exhibits than ever before and they were a treat to all who viewed them. The Beatles Trivial Pursuit was world premiered over the weekend and we had daily competitions based on its questions. Needless to say it was the bestselling item at the FEST over the weekend. The Sunday Musician’s Forum saw Steve Holley join our other musical guests for perhaps the best session we ever had. There were many participants in all contests this year – Art, Sound-Alikes, Kid’s Trivia, Name That Tune and 13 bands in the Battle of the Bands, won by The Bugs. Congrats to these young fans who wowed the crowd.