Sing like Ringo? Jam like John? Enter world’s biggest Beatles song contest for Liverpool trip

Are you a die-hard Beatles fan? Then you won’t want to miss Abbey Road on the River, which is billing itself as “the world’s largest Beatles-inspired musical festival.” It hits Belvedere Festival Park in Louisville, Kentucky, May 21-25. The event, featuring 50 bands including Canadian musicians Hal Bruce and All You Need is Love and the Beatrips from Kyoto, Japan, is expected to draw 25,000 attendees from around the world.

Can you “yea, yea, yea” like no other? Then start practicing for the “world’s biggest Beatles song-singing competition” at the Abbey Road fest. The “They’re Gonna Make a Big Star Out of Me!” competition will be limited to 250 contestants, who pick a Beatles song from a tracks list to sing with a recorded track or with self-accompanied guitar or keyboard. Performances will run at various time slots throughout the festival.

The song-options list features nearly 75 numbers, like “All You Need Is Love,” “Come Together,”  “Here Comes the Sun,” “Let It Be,” “Love Me Do,” “Ticket to Ride,” “Twist and Shout,” “The Long and Winding Road,” “Yesterday” and one of the group’s biggest hits, “Hey Jude.”

The contest fee is $20 per entrant, and you must also have or purchase a festival ticket (from $20 per person for a single day).

Prizes: The grand prize winner in the adult division (ages 16 and over) will receive a trip to Liverpool, England, with the chance to perform at the Cavern Club, where the Beatles’ careers were launched. The trip packages include, for winner and a guest, round-trip airfare, a four-night stay at the Hard Days Night Hotel, a VIP tour of the Beatles’ homes and other sites in the area, $300 in Beatles merchandise and a $1,000 contract to perform at the 2010 Abbey Road on the River festival. The winner of the youth division will receive $500 cash.

- Susan Derby, Special to the Los Angeles Times

[Photo: George Harrison statue outside Liverpool's Hard Days Night Hotel; John Lee / For The Times]

Permalink | E-mail | Print | Add to My Trips

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 22, 2009 at 3:11 pm by Susan Derby and is filed under Arts & Culture, Contest & Sweepstakes, Family & Kids, Festival, Great Britain, Southern States. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.