This Saturday, Nov. 18, Yesterday: A Tribute to the Beatles will be performing a recreation of a Beatle’s concert for the public of Artesia. Don Bellezzo founded Yesterday after graduating college over 20 years ago and has built the group into two travelling teams of performers who play a concert as the Beatles, complete with wardrobe changes and music and video backdrops that contribute to the overall experience of the show.
“Yesterday is the Beatle’s tribute endorsed by Paul McCartney. It will be a live recreation of the Beatles. We do the songs from ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ to ‘Hey Jude’ with costume changes,” explained Bellezzo.
The group travels out of Las Vegas, Nev., where they boast titles such as No. 1 tribute act in Las Vegas by the Fremont Street Experience.
Bellezzo, who plays John Lennon, shared the names of the cast members who will join him in this series of New Mexico shows: Rich Fazzi as Paul McCartney, Danny Leavitt as George Harrison and Tony Felicetta as Ringo Starr. Most of this team has been playing with Yesterday for 15 years or longer, and the laundry list of noteworthy shows the musicians have enacted includes performances on five continents “with seven tours of Japan, dozens more to Canada, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Bahamas, and United States military bases throughout the World”, according to the groups history.
Yesterday was invited by the Smithsonian Institute to play at the unveiling of a Beatles’ themed “Yellow Submarine” postage stamp and has appeared in magazines and big time television such as Rolling Stone magazine, NBC CBS, ABC and more.
Yesterday is returning to Artesia after a successful performance last year, which Bellezzo recalled saying, “We were there last year and had a big response.”
When asked if there is any way for attendees to enhance their own experience, Bellezzo said, “It would be fun if the people tried to dress, if they wanted to, to dress more like in the sixties, you know, to get into the spirit of everything.”
Bellezo shared that the event will be a family friendly experience, and that a wide age range of audience members also increases the energy and fun atmosphere of Yesterday’s show.
Yesterday: A Tribute to the Beatles will perform at the Ocotillo Performing Arts Center Saturday, Nov. 18, at 7 p.m. Tickets — $45 for students K-12 and $65 for adults — can be purchased online at artesiaartscouncil.com.