Let local bands take you down to benefit concert at The State Theatre

Supporting Strawberry Fields Inc., an organization that works with people with intellectual disabilities, and The State Theatre itself, Strawberry Fields Forever will feature a dozen local acts covering a wide array of material from one of the most important and influential band of all time — The Beatles.

“It’s going to be a night of great musicians playing great songs, which is why this has been one of the fastest, if not the fastest show that we have ever sold out,” said Jon Levin, the president of The State Theatre’s Board of Directors. “This is a win-win for the charities, the performers and for everyone who comes and sees the show. It’s really been rewarding putting this together.”

Tickets are still available for the Magical Mystery Tour, the post-concert celebration at The State Theatre. The Tussey Mountain Moonshiners will kick-off the show at 10:30 p.m. in The Attic at The State Theatre, and a new lineup of artists will play in the main auditorium from 11 p.m.-1 a.m.

With past benefits covering classic rock acts like Tom Petty, this year’s show also has quite the expectation to live up to. The Beatles have meant so much to so many people for so long that playing their music is sure to elicit a spectrum of emotion for performers and audiences alike. However, the impressive lineup assembled for this show is more than ready to add their own “twist” while also honoring the Fab Four’s patented “shout.”

“The bands that we have on the schedule won’t be up there trying to sound exactly like John Lennon, they’re going to be doing their own rendition of these songs while also paying respect to the original artist,” Levin said.

Performers include Pure Cane Sugar, The Screaming Ducks, Eric Ian Farmer, Rick Hirsch 4 and more.

“The Beatles mean everything,” said Ted McCloskey, of Ted McCloskey and the Hi-Fi’s, who are also on the roster. “They changed everything. Even the very few people I’ve met that don’t like the Beatles at least acknowledge their importance. But to me personally, they are everything. I had a John Lennon poster on my bedroom wall when I was growing up. I still have one today.”

“Helping Strawberry Fields and The State Theatre validates that what I do with music can have a beneficial effect for others around me,” Bingman said.

“The music community in State College has always been really supportive of both each other and a lot of the local charities,” McCloskey added.

From a bar band in Hamburg to Beatlemania and the experimental studio years, The Beatles’ catalog is as varied as it is expansive. On Jan. 23, the collection of distinctive musicians performing at The State Theatre will add to the kaleidoscope of sound and color that makes listening to The Beatles so special. The fact that it’s all for a good cause only makes it more so.

“The entire Beatles catalog is very diverse and you need a diversity in the performers to pull a show like this off,” McCloskey said.