Lead guitarist Andrew Robinson, singer/songwriter Terry Wetton, and drummer Tommy Hamer perform Beatles classics. Bassist Julian (Jay) Volpe is not pictured. Photo by Rimas Zailskas.
Mother Nature has not been kind to organizer Terry Wetton’s plans for “The Music of the Beatles,” a fundraising concert to benefit the New Namaste Center For Spirituality, Healing and the Arts, in Flat Rock. The concert was originally scheduled for September at the Amphitheater at Highland Lake Cove. Torrential rains canceled out that engagement; a new date had the misfortune to be planned for the weekend of last month’s historic rainstorms.
“We now know the cure for drought,” Wetton says. “Just book a Beatles concert!”
The show’s going for a third-time-lucky date of November 20 at Opportunity House in Hendersonville. Wetton, one of two guitarists for the concert’s four-man band in addition to his organizing duties, has a more than passing interest in all things Beatles, having grown up in Britain during the 1960s, at the height of the British rock explosion.
“I saw the Beatles three times,” Wetton recalls. “Twice in 1963 at the Hammersmith Odeon, and once in 1964 at Wembley Arena. They were on the bill with other groups that included Gerry and The Pacemakers and The Hollies.”
Wetton himself was a lead vocalist in those days, for the rock band Joker, and has continued to perform after moving to the U.S. in 1983. Joining him on stage for the Beatles tribute will be fellow guitarist Andrew Robinson of WTZQ, where Wetton hosts a regular “Local Artist Showcase,” along with a drummer and bass player from the Charleston-based tribute band Sgt. Submarine (both of whom were stranded in a submerged Charleston during the ill-fated October date).
Opportunity House will be festooned with memorabilia from the Beatles’ Liverpool days at the famed Cavern Club in the early 1960s, and concertgoers are encouraged to add to the ambience by dressing up in their best ’60s Mod gear.
“The Beatles’ music represents so much to so many people,” Wetton says. “They only ever sang about peace and love — something that deeply touches everyone, even now.”
“The Music of the Beatles” happens at Opportunity House (1411 Asheville Highway, in Hendersonville) at 7pm on Friday, November 20. Doors open at 6. 828-692-0575. Admission is a $10 donation to benefit New Namaste Center for Spirituality, Healing, and the Arts. www.thenamastecenter.com.
