Tributes to Beach Boys, Beatles close 2017-18 season

The Illinois Central College Guest Artists Series presents a pair of shows featuring tributes to legendary music groups to close the 2017-18 season.

Catch a Wave, a Beach Boys tribute, performs June 1 at 7:30 pm. Paperback Writer, a Beatles experience, takes the stage in a bonus show June 2 at 7:30 pm. Both performances take place in the ICC Performing Arts Center, located on the East Peoria Campus.

Tickets are required to each event. Tickets for each individual show cost $25 for the general public and $15 for students. The June 2 bonus show is not part of the ICC Guest Artists Series and is not included with the purchase of standard season ticket packages.

The June 1 performance by Catch a Wave will feature performers in the iconic Beach Boys-style striped shirts, emulating the look and the unique sound of the California harmonic surf pop music. The group captures the essence of the Beach Boys of the 1960s, so much so that Catch a Wave was invited to perform for the actual Beach Boys.

“We were selected in 2005 to perform for Brian Wilson, for the Beach Boys, for all of their families and their friends for the California Historical Landmark Dedication after-party,” said Glenn Henry, creator and manager of both Catch a Wave and Paperback Writer. “We had the opportunity, with Brian Wilson sitting 15 feet in front of me, to sing his music back at him, and he loved it. Not only did we get a warm embrace from him and his wife, we got a warm embrace from the family and members of the respective band--Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston, David Marks. We really felt like we were part of a family reunion, and they embraced us with what we were doing and loved it.

“They said, ‘You guys are kind of our ambassadors; you can hit a lot more towns than we can get to, and we love what you’re doing.’ There really is no greater feeling than that, when you’ve got the full support and endorsement, if you will, of the original group.”

The June 2 performance by Paperback Writer will be the second show by the group at ICC. The ensemble performed a sold-out show at ICC in 2016 and was brought back by popular demand.

           

“The Beatles show is a spot-on replication of the Beatles circa 1964,” Henry said. “The show is chronological, so it will carry one through the early years of the Beatles, then the mid-years, and then on to Sergeant Pepper’s, morphing into the Sergeant Pepper’s costumes right on the stage during the show.

           

“It’s seamless, so in that sense, the Beatles show is definitely a spot-on recreation and probably one of the most authentic that will be witnessed of the Beatles.”

           

Henry said the music of both groups remains popular today simply of its quality and because it is passed along over time.

           

“I think the music is just so good, it’s timeless,” Henry said. “It’s kind of proved that groups that were prolifically writing these kinds of songs that were simple, catchy, happy and were about life and love, just last.

           

“I think the melodies are in everybody’s head, and of course with subsequent generations, they’ve heard them from their parents or grandparents, and they like it. So, it’s just timeless in a sense that it’s just such darn good music to begin with, and that’s why I think it’s stood the test of time over other groups and other classics and other songs.”

Patrons who attend either show and donate to the highlighted Community Partner for the event--the Illinois Central College Educational Foundation--will be entered into a drawing for a free pair of tickets to a future event. The Community Partner program highlights a non-profit or community organization with some kind of connection to the performance. Introduced as a part of the ICC Guest Artists Series in the 2011-12 season, more than 30 groups and organizations from the area have been featured as part of the program.

The performance is presented by the Arts at ICC, which has a rich history of enhancing the arts community and expanding education beyond the classroom. Arts at ICC presents more than 500 exhibits, performances, lectures, rehearsals, meetings, master classes, clinics, seminars, receptions, orientations, forums, auditions and tournaments annually.

Tickets for both shows are available online at ArtsAtICC.com or by calling the box office at (309) 694-5136.