Local musicians and groups will be pouring into the Landmark Theatre for the ultimate Beatles tribute this Saturday. The following day, Feb. 9, marks the 50th anniversary of the British sensation performing on the Ed Sullivan Show.

One of the event’s headliners is Joey Molland, the last living member of Badfinger, a band signed by the Beatles’ Apple label in the 1970s. Phil Solem from The Rembrandts, the group behind the theme song to the hit sitcom “Friends” will also be headlining. The show starts at 7 p.m. and doors open at 6 p.m.

Proceeds of the show will be going to the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund of Central New York, in honor of Paul McCartney’s late wife Linda McCartney, who battled breast cancer.

The last time The Beatles performed on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, they took the Beatlemaniacs by storm with their hit single “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” The performance catapulted the Beatles into stardom, with its albums and merchandise sales and popularity escalating to new levels, as the performance catalyzed the dedication of its American fan base.

The Fab 5, a 1960s cover band, will take the stage on Saturday evening. Although the band was influenced by the Beatles, they cover songs by other groups and maintain their own image.

“We didn’t wear the suits and we didn’t talk with the funny accents,” said Paul Davie, a member of the Fab 5, promoter and creator of the 50 Years of the Beatles event.

The Fab 5 performed at the 2004 International Beatles Week and the Mathew Street Festival in Liverpool, England. It was the first local band to play at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino showroom in Verona, New York. However, shortly after the performance, the band broke up. Saturday’s concert will be its first in ten years.

Along with the Fab Five, more than 40 local musicians and groups will perform on Saturday. The musicians put their personal spin on the tracks and songs that were made famous by the Beatles.

Davie said people can expect “three and a half hours of the greatest music from the greatest band of all time” at the concert.

In addition to the variety of artists, there will even be two live string ensembles, one of which will be doing the string portion of the hit “Strawberry Fields Forever,” rather than the modern alternative of a keyboard.

Davie said Syracuse University students should check out the show, regardless of their musical preferences, as it will give them the opportunity to experience what the 1960s music culture was like.

Published on February 6, 2014 at 12:03 am