Lennon Tribute w/Curtis A and Friends - First Avenue - Minneapolis MN - December 8th 2019

Lennon Tribute w/Curtis A and Friends; First Avenue 12/8/19

This was the 40th Anniversary of this incredible tribute. The story goes that Curtis A was scheduled to play a show on the evening of December 8th, 1980 when John Lennon was gunned down by a coward in New York City. Curtis A decided that night to dedicate the show to John Lennon and play just his music. Well that same thing has now been happening for 40 years, every year on the date of his death but, it’s a celebration of the life of John Lennon.

I have been going for over 30 years. I don’t see it every year but go as often as I can. For me it’s a trip down memory lane to my childhood. It brings back so many wonderful memories hearing those songs again. Its odd, its not like I can’t just listen to them anytime I want. But like with most people, I guess I forget to take the time to do that. To hear 4 hours of songs that have helped to make the soundtrack of my life is a pretty amazing experience. Unlike any other concert I go to, this one is special because the room is filled with so much joy and love. Maybe because it’s ours, it’s tradition.

The musicians who are all local are all so very talented. I wish I could name each one of them to give them their due. They too, are a very big part of this. Their dedication to the event and the attention to the detail in the songs is truly awe inspiring. Curtis A changes it up from year to year and makes a few set changes but the core songs you would expect to see are always in the set.

This year, a few of the highlights for me was seeing Brynn Arens of Flipp play “Cold Turkey”, The Carnegies sing “I Saw Her Standing There”, the group of musicians who in the middle performed some of Ringo Starr’s solo efforts like “It Don’t Come Easy” and Steve Brantseg of The Suburbs solo on “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”. Holy shit was that amazing! The band played from 8 until 12:30. For those that stayed and closed it down, at the end they were treated to some other 60’s pop gems that were the icing on the cake.

If you like The Beatles, you have no excuse not to attend this event. Mark it on your calendars now, 12/8/2020. It’s a Tuesday night and it will be in the Mainroom @ First Avenue in downtown Minneapolis.