Beatlemania to invade Huntley High School

John, Paul, George and Ringo stopped in Chicago twice, but never toured through the Northwest suburbs. In January, Beatles fans will have the chance to take a trip back to 1964 with BritBeat, a Beatles tribute band from Chicago.

BritBeat will perform hits at Huntley Unit District 158 Education Foundation’s fundraising concert at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 21 at the Huntley High School Performing Arts Center, 3719 Harmony Road. Tickets are $25 and available from district158.org/education-foundation.

This is the largest event the foundation has planned in its history, said Emily McMahon, a fourth-grade teacher at Hannah Martin Elementary School in Lake in the Hills.

“The goal was to do a large scale event that is a huge fundraiser for the foundation and fun for the diverse community,” McMahon said. “We want to hit a big audience instead of just targeting smaller children. Everybody tends to love the Beatles.”

BritBeat, features Chris Getsla (Paul McCartney), James Lynch (John Lennon), Geoff Allen (George Harrison) Dave Robinson (Ringo Starr) and Kyle Mann on keyboards.

Fans might be familiar with BritBeat, who have performed numerous summer shows at Huntley’s Deicke Park. The performance at Huntley High School is a little different to the outdoor concert, Getsla said.

“This is a show for all ages and audiences,” Getsla said. “It is a Beatles anthology show that features all of the eras, costume changes and onstage props.”

BritBeat performs hits from four significant stages of the Beatles’ career: The Ed Sullivan Show, Shea Stadium, Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band and Abbey Road.

“We perform some of the most popular hits as well as the deeper B-side cuts that fans love to hear,” Getsla said. “It’s a trip back in time where you can enjoy a Beatles tribute show as you would have seen it in the ’60s, plus we go beyond to Sgt. Peppers and Abbey Road and perform how they would have if they had performed those eras onstage as well.”

Proceeds from the concert benefit the District 158 Education Foundation, which provides scholarships to students and awards grants to teachers and schools to help fund innovative programs throughout the district.

For tickets, go to district158.org/ and follow links to BritBeat. For information on the band, go to britbeat.com