Courtesy Black Cherry Music Group

Leyva and Keats in front of the original.

“This year’s Beatles Fair will be a special pop-up in collaboration with The Cavern Club in Liverpool for their 66th anniversary,” says Creative Director Christopher Leyva, regarding the event happening June 3 at Queen Bee’s in North Park. “I wanted to bring The Cavern to San Diego by giving Queen Bee’s a facelift, painstakingly recreating The Cavern with as much detail as possible.” Leyva’s band Falling Doves has had a relationship with The Cavern since 2015. “As we arrived in Liverpool and were busking around, we were discovered by Jon Keats,” The Cavern’s Director of Music & Events. Since then, Keats “has given the band a Liverpool residency every year.”

Keats also helped brainstorm the planned North Park recreation. “I’ve been aware of San Diego Beatles Fair for a few years now through Chris Leyva,” he says. “In fact, I was invited to take part a few years ago. That wasn’t to be, but we did spend time there in 2019, and I have to say, it pretty much has everything to offer in terms of music and the vibe. I guested in a couple of venues and met some great musicians over there. I first met Chris at a Beatles convention in L.A. in 2016, and he gets the whole Beatles-Liverpool thing. So much so that he practically lives here [in England]. As soon as he suggested the pop-up Cavern idea, I knew the project was in safe hands. He knows The Cavern.”

The all-ages, 12-hour fan gathering will also feature British cuisine, including fish & chips and the famous Liverpool scouse, with a curated mixology menu ranging from classic gin and tonics to Guinness beer and Jameson whiskey. Memorabilia dealers will man merch booths, authors and guest speakers will make appearances, and the live music performers include Leyva with Falling Doves and Beatles Fair host Bart Mendoza. “What makes this event special for me is that the Beatles festival gave me my first show as an artist — at a Beatles Fair with [one-time Beatles collaborator] Tony Sheridan back in early 2000s,” says Leyva, who has also recorded and performed with original Beatles drummer Pete Best, and who brought his band to play at the Beatles’ early ‘60s German home base, the Kaiserkeller in Hamburg.

“Beatles Fair will not only be a Beatles tribute show,” says Leyva, “but also a celebration of the music and performers who created The Cavern’s legacy, like Adele, Oasis, and many more modern Brit rock artists.” (Over a dozen Beatles Fair performers have appeared at The Cavern itself.) Acts coming to North Park include locals True Stories performing a custom Beatles set, 63eatles, and Brian Jones Rock ‘n’ Roll Revival, as well as tribute acts Headmasters (the Smiths and Johnny Marr), Oasiz (Oasis), Syler (Adele), and Allie Ames (Amy Winehouse). The bill also features FM Era playing U2 and British rock, Darnell Cole & the Vibe doing Jimi Hendrix and psychedelic covers, and LA band Acoustic Universe playing folk versions of Beatles tracks. Author John Borack (Goldmine Magazine) will discuss his new book, The Beatles: 100 Pivotal Moments In Music History. Plastic Soul will perform a set called “From The Cavern to the Ed Sullivan Theatre,” and Cantua will pay a Flamenco tribute featuring the music of The Beatles, Eric Clapton, and Santana.

This year’s event also offers two notable film screenings, including the local premiere of The Cavern Club: The Beat Goes On, a comprehensive history of the original nightclub, which hosted the Beatles 292 times. Founded in 1957 as a jazz venue, The Cavern ended up being demolished, only to later be rebuilt brick by brick. Its current incarnation regularly hosts international touring artists such as Adele and Arctic Monkeys. Also showing will be the world premiere of Grapefruit, a 16-minute short directed by Mike Rogers that serves as a cinematic adaptation of Yoko Ono’s early artwork and poetry efforts, specifically her book Grapefruit, originally published in 1964, two years before she met John Lennon.

“Like the book, the film isn’t for everybody,” says filmmaker Rogers. “Those who enjoy comic book movies or space war movies will most probably not like the film. People who are against war, against commercialism, and pro-freedom for everyone to live their lives as they choose will most probably love this film.” (It should also be noted that anyone expecting Beatles content in the movie will come away disappointed: the band is never mentioned.)

"Beatles Fair is something I really look forward to each year, especially our special sets," says Bart Mendoza. "This year, we're going to use a broad brush to include the solo years, but there's never a shortage of possible tunes and themes. In the past, we've done sets dedicated to Wings Over America, Tommy Roe Tour 1963, and more. As for hosting, it's a lot of fun and as most of my friends can attest, I never tire of speaking about the Beatles, so it's a perfect match for me. Overall, I'm just so happy that Beatles Fair has lasted all these decades, a testament to the Beatles great music, as well San Diego's wonderful music community."