Come Together for ‘Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles’

Still mourning the break-up of The Beatles? Mad that you never saw them live in concert? You could watch your “Help,” DVD for the thousandth time. Or you could go see the next best thing live on stage. “Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles,” will be live in Riverside at the Fox Performing Arts Center March 25 and 26.

The year was 1975 and founding member/keyboardist, extraordinaire Mark Lewis was playing the Los Angeles and Orange Country club circuit with the original members of his band, “Reign.” The group loved playing Beatles covers of the popular Liverpool phenomenon-who at that time had only been broken up for a few years-but never thought to make a career of the hobby. Producer Dick Clark caught wind of the brilliant and authentic Southern California group, however, and changed the lives of its members, when he had them record the entire soundtrack for “Birth of the Beatles,” a TV-movie Clark produced.

Lewis changed the name of the band to “Rain,” and the rest is history. There have been quite a number of members over the years, touring with the band across the world. In 2010, Rain turned to Broadway to create a multimedia live Beatles tribute show. Rain, in its current form, is a colorful musical spectacular suitable for all ages. The show includes rebuilt authentic costumes from the actual Beatles tours, explosive projections, and of course favorite Beatles hits, including “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” “Hard Day’s Night,” “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” “Let It Be,” “Come Together” and “Hey Jude.”

The Beatles were only together for a single decade, but the effect the English rock monsters left on the world and the world of music is unmatched. The four young men from Liverpool, spearheaded by songwriting greats John Lennon and Paul McCartney, served as the soundtrack for the 1960s and transformed the sound of music for good. They are the best-selling band in history, with an estimated 600-million records sold worldwide. After their break-up in 1970, each member went on to have a successful solo career, but you can catch the gang all together again live with Rain.

“Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles” will be at the Fox Performing Arts Center in Riverside March 25 and 26. Tickets available here.