Back to the Garden is returning to the Poway Center for the Performing Arts this weekend with a new Beatles-themed show.
“Back to the Garden: Beatles Alone Together,” being presented Saturday and Sunday, will feature classic songs by the Beatles, as well as songs made famous by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr during their solo careers.
Unlike a traditional concert, the shows will be presented as a story, said narrator Robert John Hughes. The “story concert” format is one that Back to the Garden invented, he said.
“The band picks a theme and picks the songs, then I write a script and appear on stage in between the songs to tell the story that connects them to the thematic presentation,” Hughes said. “It’s less of a bar concert and more like live theater.”
Hughes said he has known the band’s — keyboardist Sharon Whyte, guitarists March Intravaia and Jim Soldi, bassist Rick Nash and drummer Larry Grano — for more than two decades. He has been the narrator since 2017.
The San Diego-based musicians are a “collective of musical top guns known for their intricate vocal harmonies and exceptional renditions of music from the Love Era,” according to the band’s bio. They have also accompanied top artists such as Johnny Cash, Kenny Loggins, Billy Ray Cyrus, Ricky Skaggs and others during their decades-long careers.
ing Back to the Garden for the Poway shows will be Eve Selis, an award-winning San Diego singer-songwriter who now lives in Nashville, Bob Sale on drums (he will take over the drums when Grano sings) and the Back to the Garden Orchestra, Hughes said. In all, there will be 16 artists on stage.
“Eve (Sellis) and Larry (Grano) will guest lead the vocals on a bunch of songs,” Hughes said. “There will be a full horn section and a string quartet.”
Hughes’ friendship with the band began when he interviewed them for his daily show on the former San Diego FM station 102.1 KPRI. He is a journalist, broadcaster, musician, author, record producer and member of the Grammy Academy. Hughes also hosts the podcast “Magic Radio Box.”
“We were the first to play artists, introducing Adele and John Mayer,” he said of his time at KPRI. “The new ones we had come to the studio for live interviews.
“Eve (Selis) was a big deal locally,” he said, adding that they first met around 1996 and over the years became friends. At the time, Back to the Garden’s musicians were her band before they decided to also embark on separate performers. The band usually focuses on music popular from the ‘60s through ‘80s, according to Hughes.
What makes the “Beatles Alone Together” concert so unique is that it not only features the Beatles’ hits as a group, especially those ranging from their “Revolver” (1966) to “Let It Be” (1970) albums, but also the ’ subsequent solo career hit songs, he said.
“The Beatles were amazing — four men, every one of them capable of being the lead vocalist, who were also extraordinary instrumentalists and songwriters.”
Many of those traits can be found among the artists in this weekend’s concerts, he said.
“Back to the Garden has quality, dedicated … musicians, each of whom is extraordinarily good in their own right, who work together to faithfully present the music of the Beatles,” Hughes said. “This includes their rehearsal process, where they labor to perform the instrumental and vocal parts and go over the harmonies until they get them exactly right.
“They make it look ridiculously easy, but not everybody can do this.”
The Beatles stopped touring in 1966, in part due to safety concerns with their large crowds, fans screaming so loud the music could not be heard and because they did things in the studio that were not possible during live concerts, Hughes said. This included using technology, sound effects and incorporating horns and string instruments that at the time were not part of the Beatles’ stage show.
“You could not have ‘Abbey Road’ without horns and strings,” Hughes said.
Like many others, Hughes said he never had the opportunity to see The Beatles perform in a live concert, which is why shows like that of Back to the Garden are so special.
“It gives people a taste of the music as the Beatles played it live,” he said.
Back to the Garden’s also put their own take on some songs. Bassist Rick Nash will perform his interpretation of “Here, There and Everywhere” with the string quartet.
“There is amazing expression … and no singing on this version,” Hughes said.
There will also be a visual component to the show.
“The video screen is meant to complement and not distract,” Hughes said.
Even though The Beatles broke up in 1970, Hughes said their music, both during the Beatles era and after, is “enduring because their songs have tremendous appeal. They had memorable themes that were personal and deep on an emotional level.
“For example, ‘Please Please Me’ … had such energy and ‘Imagine’ … had universal appeal,” he said. “Who wouldn’t like a world where they are living in peace?”
Hughes said fans have a personal connection to their music.
“The band changed the world,” he said.
Back to the Garden has presented its story concerts through Poway OnStage before and Hughes said he is looking forward to returning to the PA.
“I love the Poway audiences,” he said. “They are everything a musician would want.”
He said this is because of the audience’s attentiveness and silence, “soaking up every single moment. I love that.”
‘Back to the Garden: Beatles Alone Together’
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday; 4 p.m. Sunday
Where: Poway Center for the Performing Arts, 15498 Espola Road, Poway
Tickets: $32-$74
32-$42 for youths (12 and under). Buy at powayonstage.org or call 858-748-0505.
