Director Paul Jackson will appear at the Fest for Beatles Fans via Zoom.
Peter Jackson, the “Lord of the Rings” and “Hobbit” director who also directed the revelatory Beatles documentary “Get Back,” will appear via Zoom from his home in New Zealand at this year’s Fest for Beatles Fan, which takes place at the Hyatt Regency in Jersey City, April 1-3. Jackson’s Zoom session is scheduled for April 3.
In-person Fest guests will include Wings member Laurence Juber, Beatles friend and colleague Billy J. Kramer, Ringo Starr & His All-Star Band drummer Gregg Bissonette, Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn and Don Dannemann of the band The Cyrkle (who opened for the Beatles in 1966). Also on the bill is Chris O’Dell, who worked for The Beatles as well as others, later (including Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones), who attended the legendary rooftop concert seen in “Get Back,” and who is the subject of George Harrison’s song, “Miss O’Dell” — and who wrote about it all in a her excellent 2009 memoir, “Miss O’Dell: My Hard Days and Long Nights with the Beatles, the Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and the Women They Loved.”
Live music will be offered throughout the three days, on two stages, by Juber, Kramer and bands including Liverpool, Cellophane Flowers, Blac Rabbit, The Black Ties, Magical Mystery Girls and The Wag.
Other attractions include a Beatles marketplace, a Beatles museum, a Beatles auction, Beatles-oriented children’s entertainment, charity raffles and a “fan jam.” There will also be lookalike, soundalike, art, trivia and “Name That Tune” contests.
This will be the first in-person edition of the annual Fest since the pandemic began.
For information, and tickets, visit thefest.com. “Virtual tickets,” for those who want to watch all the action from home, are also being sold.
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