When Tom Arbisi’s father punished his son growing up, he’d send him to his room. But that was fine by Tom — that’s where the youngster kept his Beatles records. “I just wanted to be a Beatle, the fifth Beatle,” said Arbisi, 56, who now fronts the Beatles tribute act the Glass Onion Band, based out of Fredericksburg, Va.
The Glass Onion Band, along with dozens of Beatles cover, tribute and inspired acts, is set to perform at the Abbey Road on the River music festival at National Harbor this weekend. This is the second year the festival has taken place at National Harbor on Labor Day weekend.
| Onstage |
| Abbey Road on the River |
| Where: National Harbor |
| When: Thursday through Sunday |
| Info: Tickets start at $35; for more information, visit abbeyroadontheriver.com |
“It’s pretty much the perfect setting and the perfect audience,” said Michael Wegner, of the Athens, Ga-based Abbey Road Live! “It’s a lot of fun.”
Abbey Road Live! formed eight years ago as a one-time show, playing the Beatles’ classic album “Abbey Road” all the way through.
Abbey Road Live! is scheduled to play three sets this weekend. On Friday, the band will perform some “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and “Magical Mystery Tour” era songs, then the band’s namesake album all the way through on Saturday and ending with a mix of Fab Four selections on Sunday.
Wegner said he likes to imagine how the Beatles might have played their later stuff live. The band quit touring in 1966, 45 years ago this past Monday.
“There are no recordings of the Beatles playing these songs live,” Wegner said. “There’s no precedent. It’s kind of an unknown. How would it have been? We take a little bit of liberty.”
Ottawa-based band All You Need is Love has a similar beginning to their counterparts, first performing as a one-off at a fundraiser. Singer Andy Forgie said the group prefers the Beatles studio years as opposed to the earlier stuff.
At Abbey Road on the River, which includes some other Beatles-era influences, All You Need is Love will play the Who’s “Tommy” in it’s entirety. Other sets, of course, will be nothing but the Mop Tops.
“I really do believe that the Beatles music will take its rightful place in schools and in the world,” said Forgie of the band’s legacy. “I just believe the music is that important. Every once in a while, somethings falls out of the sky. This was one of them.”
Or, as Arbisi puts it more straightforward: “They’re the best songs ever. I haven’t heard nothing that beats it or comes near it.”
