Artist Series Presents YESTERDAY & TODAY, 10/8-10

The Artist Series is thrilled to present the touring production of YESTERDAY & TODAY, a unique interactive Beatles experience where audience members get to request their favorite Beatles songs throughout the evening. YESTERDAY & TODAY will be in Jacksonville at the Wilson Center for the Arts on Florida State College at Jacksonville's South Campus on October 8-10, 2010 for four performances only!

There's no denying that everyone has a Beatles song attached to at least one event in his or her life, and Yesterday & Today connects the performers to the audience in a way no other Beatles show does.
 
The McGuigan Brothers, Billy, Ryan, and Matthew, along with four bandmates make up this one-of-a-kind Beatles tribute show. They don't wear "moptop" wigs, they don't fake the British accents, and they don't wear matching duds.  But, this trio of good-looking brothers knows how to rock the Beatles songbook with note-for-note accuracy.
 
"We set out to be something a little different," said Billy McGuigan, "There are literally hundreds of look-a-like bands out there, and we simply wanted to focus on recreating this amazing music that means so much to us and so many others.  Being Beatles fanatics, we always felt something was missing from those other tribute shows," added Billy,  "Having the audience be a part of it was the answer."
 
Here is how it works.  The band supplies the incoming audience members with a full roster of Beatles songs.  The audience members
 
write down their songs on request slips, along with the reason for their selection, and turn them in at the designated request areas.  The band then feverishly assembles the set list for Act I about ten minutes before curtain.  At intermission, they do it all over again.
 
"It's always a wild experience, but by applying this interactive method", Matthew says, "the audience gets to make the show their own.   Plus, we are always able to keep the energy of the show up since we never know what songs we are going to play until just before the curtain rises.  It's a bit like walking a tightrope!"
 
"There are Beatles fans from yesterday and fans from today because their music is timeless," said Ryan McGuigan, "We bring the Beatles energy because they were like brothers," he added, "and for us, being brothers, we have that natural camaraderie and can look at a each other and know what we are thinking.  It also helps that the Beatles were practically our religion while growing up.  We didn't have a Bible", he laughs, "we had the complete Beatles score."
 
Inspired by their father, who was a big Beatles fan, the trio had always wanted to do something based on the English rock band from Liverpool.  "Our dad loved their music, and as kids we couldn't afford to go to restaurants, so we provided our own entertainment," Billy said. "It was like a legacy he passed on to us, and we keep that going.  Not only do we love it, but we look at each other while singing this music and it's like our dad is there with us."
 
"The show runs for about two and a half hours, and includes a phenomenal light show and eye-popping sixties scenery.  We try make sure everybody gets their moment and their money's worth," says Ryan, "It's an evening of absolutely great rock 'n' roll."
 
YESTERDAY & TODAY will perform at the WILSON CENTER FOR THE ARTS October 8-10, 2010 for four performances only.  Friday, October 8th at 8:00PM. Saturday, October 9th at 4:00PM and 8:00PM. Sunday, October 10th at 2:00PM.
 

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