This summer, the sights and the sounds of one of the most influential music groups will once again come alive at The Miller Theater. Back by popular demand, ‘RAIN: A Tribute to the Beatles’ will hit the stage in the city from May 9 to 11, with tickets now on sale for the show.
‘RAIN’ also happens to feature a Lansdale native in the role of John Lennon—Steve Landes. When the time came to venture into the world of the Fab Four, Landes jumped at the opportunity and has been with ‘A Tribute to the Beatles’ for over two decades now. He most recently was in Philly in October 2021 with the group after they had to move their tour from March 2020 (for obvious reasons.)
“RAIN started as a Top 40 and original band in 1975. They were called Reign back then, trying to get their own music going,” Landes explains in a Q&A. “When they’d play clubs, they’d have to do the typical four ‘sets’ per night, so they’d do a couple sets of their songs, a set of the Top 40 songs of the day, and then, being fans of The Beatles, finished out the night with a set of The Beatles music.”
That led to the group making their mark as a tribute band—though they really invented that phrase.
“It was a pretty novel idea at the time to try to sound like The Beatles instead of doing their own take on the songs. This was before any ‘tribute bands’ existed – they were the first,” Landes continued. “Pretty quickly the original songs fell by the wayside and they became known for their authentic performance of The Beatles’ music. They wanted the band name to reflect the fact. Fortunately, there’s a Beatles song called ‘Rain’ (the US B-side to ‘Paperback Writer’), so it only involved a spelling change instead of a whole new band name.”
‘RAIN’ is meant to take audiences on an immersive journey through the Fab Four’s musical history. The performers on stage dress like them, act like them, use their British accents, play all the right, authentic instruments and perform a lot of well-known songs from their career in chronological order, so viewers can see their story play out.
“I think one of my favorite parts of this particular version of our show has been recreating the Let It Be / Get Back rooftop performance as a part of our 2nd Act. With that special being so popular lately, on Disney+ and Blu-ray now, it’s been fun to replicate a part of The Beatles’ career that’s been in front of people’s eyes so much lately,” Landes noted.
“As you might imagine, I probably listen to The Beatles more than anything. Not just for research for the show, but just ‘cause I love them. Their music brings me energy; inspires me. I’m also a fan of the music that inspired them, the oldies stuff from the ‘50s and early ‘60s; Elvis, the Everly Brothers, R&B.”
‘RAIN: A Tribute to the Beatles’ is presented by Ensemble Arts Philly, and will have various showtimes over the course of this weekend.
“If I were going to say one more thing about our show, I’d say that it’s a very positive, upbeat show, one that leaves people with a good feeling,” Landes finished. “I think a lot of that has to do with the positive peace and love message of The Beatles’ music – ‘All You Need is Love’ and ‘Take a Sad Song and Make it Better’. And I think these are messages that we need in this world more than ever. I thank The Beatles for giving us all these positive messages.”
Tickets can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999 or online at ensembleartsphilly.org. In-person ticket sales can be conducted daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Academy of Music box office, located at 240 S. Broad Street as well.
