Interview: Lucille Carr-Kaffashan Celebrates 60 Years of the Beatles at Don't Tell Mama

On Thursday March 27 at 7 pm, 2024 Mac Awards female vocalist nominee Lucille Carr-Kaffashan will be celebrating 60 years of Beatles music with Eight Days a Week at Don’t Tell Mama. The talented Bistro and Mac award-winning singer first saw the Beatles 60 years ago at their Shea Stadium concert in the 60s, and she’ll be honoring that by reviving a retooled version of her popular Beatles show at the Midtown Manhattan hotspot. We spoke about the show, the enduring legacy of the Beatles, and more.

---

As a lifelong Beatles fan, how do you feel about the upcoming 60th anniversary of their first Shea Stadium concert?

My first reaction is “Wait, 60 years have passed? How could that be?” Beyond that, I am delighted to think that I was present at one of the most famous concerts in history and that the two remaining Beatles are still going strong.

What are some of the reasons you think the Beatles' music has stayed a constant in your life for so long?

I think one reason is because they wrote in so many different styles – pretty amazing, since their writing and recording time together was so short. But it’s also because I love melody, and their songs are melody-rich. And, since today I always approach material from the lyrics first, their lyrics became more and more meaningful and sophisticated as they matured. And finally, the music from our teen years stays with us forever, don’t you think?

You performed this show for the first time in December. What was the reception like to that performance?

Well, I resurrected this show at the request of Urban Stages when they scheduled me for their annual Winter Rhythms festival. And we could not have been more delighted with the audience response. First, we were almost sold out, and second, the audience members reacted so wonderfully in the moment and then told us afterwards how much fun they had, so we just had to bring it back this year. 

Have you made any changes since that show? Are you doing anything differently?

The structure of the show will be the same, but we’ve added a drummer (Don Kelly sitting in for Ringo) for our run at Don’t Tell Mama, and I am really excited about the dimensions that drums will bring to the arrangements. 

This is the 3.0 version of my Beatles show. I first created it in 2005 with music director David Brunetti. We brought it back in 2015 for the 50th anniversary of the Shea concert, and added a few songs for that version. Beatles 3.0 is a streamlined version – sadly I had to cut four or five arrangements to stay within an hour time slot. But I like the result – it’s more compact and more focused on my experience of these fabulous musicians rather than a detailed accounting of their histories.

How did you decide which songs to highlight from the Beatles' enormous catalogue of music? 

Well, that was hard. So many great choices and so many favorites that I had to set aside. I think in the end we were trying to present a mix of their better and lesser known songs, and we chose the ones where we felt we had been the most creative in re-imagining the arrangements.

Who do you think should come to your concert?

Certainly folks in my generation who are looking for some feel-good nostalgia will enjoy the show. Beatles fans for sure. But frankly, I think anyone who loves music will find it to be both musically and emotionally satisfying.

What's coming up next for you after these two shows?

I’ve begun working on a new show that I hope will be ready toward the end of this year or early 2026, a mix of standards and singer-songwriter songs around a specific theme. 

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Yes - thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk about my love of Beatles music and my upcoming performances! And, I’d like to mention that my music director is Jeff Cubeta, Matt Scharfglass is on bass, and the show is directed by David Hilder.

---

To post a comment, you must register and login.