The Savage Young Beatles US Debut Tour
In this issue I take a quick look back at the Abbey Road on the River Festival, plus a roundup of The Savage Young Beatles' week in Austin.
Abbey Road on the River
What an amazing experience the Abbey Road on the River Festival was. This was our first visit to the festival, although I’m sure it won’t be the last. It was a delight to spend the Memorial Day weekend among so many like minded music fans with an appreciation of the Fab Four.
Of course this particular Abbey Road weekend was special as it marked the US debut of The Savage Young Beatles. And what a debut it turned out to be. Even before the festival started the boys were in demand with TV and radio appearances. It was a special moment as they took the Pavilion stage to kick off the festival activities and it was clear early on that this was going to be a weekend to remember.
As with any live performance the sets over the weekend had the occasional technical issue, but the group impressed everyone with their good-natured humor, and their flexibility to overcome potential issues.
For instance on the second day when the amp for the rhythm guitar stopped working during the performance in the B tent. you bust out the harmonica and improvise. As the festival social media feed put it - “Wow!”
On the Saturday the group graduated to the main stage for two performances, firstly with their own set, and then later in the evening opening the special performance of the Beatles #1 Album show with the first four songs. An honor to be included along with many of the other great acts at the festival in one of the highlights of the weekend.
Sunday was our last day at the festival and what a great way to close out seven sets in four days seeing everyone up and dancing to Twist and Shout.
Thanks to everyone for such an amazing time. A special thanks to the great reception for The Savage Young Beatles.
Also a special note of thanks to everyone who stopped by our table in the main merchandise tent, and taking time between browsing the large selection of t-shirts, hats, socks, and other items on sale to stop and chat with us.
It was great to chat to so many people enjoying the festival who wanted to share their Beatles stories. And of course a special shout out to the folks who picked up copies of the Before They Were Beatles book or sketch cards, or a Savage Young Beatles t-shirt.
Playing Austin
The week in Austin promised to be just as packed as the festival with five gigs scheduled over the four days in Texas.
Things kicked off at the Highball Lounge, where unfortunately the scheduled opening act had to cancel at the last minute. Displaying that commitment to providing a show, the boys agreed to step in and added an extra set, playing three high energy sets that certainly got the audience up and dancing, with several folks mentioning that they would catch us again later in the week.
On the second day The Savage Young Beatles played two very different venues from the outdoor trailer stage at the Sour Duck Market to the sixties club vibe at the Carousel Lounge where they had another great reception as word had started to spread.
On the Thursday it was back to another open air venue at the Little Darlin’ in South Austin where we started to see a few band t-shirts in the audience, plus some familiar faces as folks from the Highball gig made good on their promise to return and bring a few friends along too.
The mini-tour of Austin and The Savage Young Beatles US debut rounded out at the Pershing Hall Club in East Austin with probably the largest audience of the week, with more returning fans, plus those would had come to see the band based on word of mouth or social media mentions.
As with every set the boys warped things up in true rocking style that had the place buzzing and everyone on their feet by the end of the night..
The boys also got a chance to enjoy some of the sights, including shopping for some collectable vinyl, enjoying a BBQ by the river, and paying their respects to the Stevie Ray Vaughn statue, before heading back to Liverpool.
Keep an eye out on upcoming newsletters or on the official website for announcements on future dates where you can see The Savage Young Beatles as plans firm up.
Welcome Aboard
A big shout out to all the folks who signed up for the newsletter at either Abbey Road On The River or at one of the Austin gigs. It’s great to have you on board. Thanks for stopping by to see us in person. We look forward to sharing upcoming news about the updated Before They Were Beatles book project, the associated podcast, and updates on happenings with The Savage Young Beatles.
Beatley News
The Savage Young Beatles - Upcoming Gigs
The Savage Young Beatles will be playing the first gig following their return from the US on Monday June 26th at the Kazimier Garden in Liverpool alongside Boston’s favorite garage rockers Muck And The Mires.
Rock out to the new BTWB Playlist
If you enjoy the early rock-n-roll years and the music that inspired the Fab Four you can now enjoy a great selection of songs from the period on the new Before They Were Beatles playlist on Spotify -
RIP Chas Newby
Since our last newsletter we heard the news of the passing of one of the “forgotten Beatles.” Chas Newby, who played bass for The Beatles for four gigs in December 1960 when he was home from college on Christmas break.
Will be covering more of Chas’ story in the upcoming Season 4 of the podcast.
Podcast Updates
The Before They Were Beatles podcast - In the latest episode, which went live this week, we return to our story of the Beatles formative years with detailed look at the events surrounding The Beatles change in drummer as we say “Farewell Pete, Hello Ringo.”
For more information on what else I have going on with writing, podcasting, and general slice of life stuff, check out my regular FREE weekly CAN’T SEE THE FOREST newsletter -
Next Issue
In the next regular edition of the newsletter we return to 1956 and pay a visit to a young John Winston Lennon
Remember that while the news and updates sections each month will be FREE to all subscribers.
Each month paid subscribers will get:
Exclusive first look at in-progress updates to the expanded 20th Anniversary edition of the Before They Were Beatles book
Author's notes
Playlist Suggestions
Recommended Reads
Song Histories
Looking forward to seeing you next time.
Alan J. Porter