U.S. Beatles fan fests forced to change plans in wake of coronavirus
The worldwide outbreak of the coronavirus has forced two annual American fan festival events devoted to the Beatles to reschedule their main events for later in the year — and coincidentally to the same weekend.
The Fest for Beatles Fans and Abbey Road on the River both have announced they have rescheduled their shows to Oct. 9 through 11. The dates are more than coincidental — Oct. 9 would have been John Lennon’s 80th birthday. Both changes were announced within the last week, the most recent by Abbey Road on the River on March 23. The Fest was originally scheduled for March 27–29. Abbey Road on the River was originally to be May 21–25, ending on Memorial Day.
In exclusive interviews on our Beatles News Briefs podcast in two successive weeks before the new dates were announced, both Gary Jacob of Abbey Road on the River and Mark Lapidos of the Fest for Beatles Fans detailed how they were forced to deal with the crisis. (You can hear both shows on Podbean, wherever podcasts are available or on YouTube.)
The rescheduled events will take place at the original locations — The Fest at the Hyatt Regency in Jersey City, N.J. while Abbey Road on the River will be at Big Four Station Park in Jeffersonville, Indiana.
With impending deadlines for his March show, Lapidos made the decision to postpone his show even as the situation still wasn’t certain. But he said the health of the attendees was important especially since the majority of the audience for the show is older fans. “That risk was much too hard for us. And for everybody coming to the show.”
Jacob’s event features a wealth of Beatles tribute bands, both American and international, and he was trying to work out confirmations that they would still be available. “I’m confident … that 80 or 90% of them will be able to come back,” he said.
The main lineups for both shows are still in the process of being confirmed. Abbey Road on the River said they will release more details on March 30.
The Fest for Beatles Fans also plans a free online virtual Fest on the original show dates March 27–29 on their Facebook and Instagram pages featuring some of the original guests planned for that show.
For current information on guest and ticket information for each event, see Abbey Road on the River’s webpage or the Fest’s page.
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