Beatles tribute band to perform July 6 in Kennewick

Michael Wegner grew up with three older brothers.

Like him, they loved music. And they passed on their record collections — including tunes from some legends from across the pond.

“By the time I was maybe 9 years old, I probably knew every Beatles song,” Wegner said. “I learned guitar and piano, and The Beatles were a big influence. That’s what I wanted to learn: Beatles songs.”

And he has — a lot of them.

Wegner is part Abbey Road LIVE!, a Beatles tribute band set to perform July 6 in Kennewick.

The Athens, Ga.-based foursome will take the stage as part of Clover Island Inn’s Thunder on the Island concert series.

Showtime is 6 p.m.

Admission to the all-ages show is free, with food and drinks available to purchase. A 21-and-older beer garden will be set up.

Abbey Road LIVE! has been playing together as a tribute band for more than a decade. The group got started when some of the guys — Wegner included — performed the entire Abbey Road album during a Halloween show by their rock group, Fuzzy Sprouts.

“We thought it would be a nice challenge and something fun for the audience. And it was a whole lot of fun — for the audience and for us,” Wegner said.

They kept getting requests for more Beatles gigs, and they expanded their repertoire far beyond Abbey Road.

Fuzzy Sprouts eventually disbanded, but Abbey Road LIVE! is going strong.

The foursome is a true tribute band — not into mimicking the Beatles, but aiming to bring to life the band’s material, from its early days to its later years.

“If there’s an approach that we’re going for — imagine if The Beatles had gone on tour in 1969? If The Beatles had played Woodstock, what might it have been like?” Wegner said.

Along with Wegner on guitar, keyboards and some other instruments, the band includes Dave Domizi on bass, Andrew Hanmer on drums and vocals and Ash Hopkins on guitar. In true Beatles fashion, all the guys sing.

The audience can expect a good time, Wegner said.

“There’s a strong energy (at the live shows). Audiences are singing along, they’re dancing,” he said. “With this band, our audiences are — we’ve got 6-year-olds, 60-year-olds, everything in between. Sometimes we’ll have three generations of a family show up. They are just all there rocking out to the great music. It’s a lot of fun.”

Thunder on the Island runs Wednesday evenings. It kicked off June 15 with rockers The Shades.

After Abbey Road LIVE! on July 6, next up is Stompin Ground on July 13, followed by Soundwall on July 20, Junkyard Jane on July 27, Fallout on Aug. 3, 3rd Date on Aug. 10 and Wasteland Kings on Aug. 17.

Clover Island Inn is at 435 Clover Island Drive.

This story was originally published June 30, 2016 at 6:36 AM with the headline "Beatles tribute band to perform July 6 in Kennewick."