A Day in the Life: A Beatles Celebration

Join us Saturday, November 4, from 10 am – 3 pm for a Magical Mystery Tour filled with groovy tributes to the Fab Four, including live music, a mesmerizing showcase of Beatles memorabilia, engaging presentations, and so much more. Whether you’re a Yellow Submarine veteran or a newcomer to Beatlemania, this celebration promises a day of harmony, nostalgia, and Beatle-infused fun! 

Local performers include Vern & Vern, Shelby Ryan, Professor Moptop, and James D. Jones from 94.1 WGFA. This all-day celebration is for Beatles fans of all ages. No registration is required. See the complete schedule of events below:

10 am-3 pm: James D. Jones’s Mini Museum

Check out our local expert’s groovy collection and hear amazing stories and facts about the Beatles!

10 am: “The Making of Sgt. Pepper’s” with Professor Moptop

11:30 am & 1:30 pm: Zak Demonstrates: How a Beatles Song Comes Together

12pm: Shelby Ryan Performs & Singalong

2 pm: Vern & Vern Perform

Throughout the day…visit the Listening Lounge, enjoy snacks and crafts, test your knowledge with trivia, and go on a scavenger hunt!

About the performers:

Zak Tibstra: has been a lifelong lover of words. He is especially fond of words paired with melodies and carried along on the bouncing backs of wild rhythms running free and full-out (or strolling calmly and contemplatively along) through vast and varied harmonic landscapes. In other words; he really likes songs. Which he has been ingesting and inventing since his years were numbered in single digits. Now, at an age numbered in the double digits (4 times over!), his passionate love affair with words wrapped in music and arranged to tell short but potent stories that take human beings on epic emotional journeys shows no signs of cooling off. There are few things in life he enjoys more than facilitating (and participating in) guided tours through the wild and wonderful worlds populating the ever-expanding multiverse of music.    

James D. Jones: Once upon a time long ago and far away lived a wee lad who loved music! Learned to work the turntable console by myself and would just get lost within the music! I listen to all kinds of music but my foundation is The Beatles and those who inspired them as well. My family was very aware of what I loved and my grandad would go to garage sales and just boxes of vinyl knowing I would be thrilled! Teenage years: rock bands, weddings, parties, bars, events and many a talent show; in between I found writing words and music quite easily. Thanks to John Lennon and Paul McCartney leaving a map to do it! Later on, I found myself working for Camelot Music…made friends with the record labels and Capitol / Apple Records became quite fond of me and we did many midnight releases during the Beatles Anthologies releases with the mall jammed packed after midnight on a Monday! From there radio found me at Camelot Music and I have been in radio ever since! 25 years and counting! In my travels, I have made many friends such as George Harrison’s sister, Louise Harrison aka “Lou”, Joey Molland of Badfinger, an Apple-signed group, Sam Leach the original Beatles manager, Denny Laine of Moody Blues and Wings fame, Julian Lennon, and so many more….I have the longest-running Beatles radio in the Chicagoland Area hands down! I have been seeking out recordings and sharing them on my show The Magical Mystery Tour: The Beatle Years and Beyond with “Everybody’s Favorite Tour Guide”: Lots of stories, adventures, some sad moments and tons of magical moments!

Shelby Ryan: I have been a Kankakee-based solo performer for about the past two years, and have recently relocated my main base to Bloomington, IN. I love coming back to visit and play shows in this area! I sing and play piano and guitar, in styles including folk, rock, jazz, soul, and more! I grew up singing along to Beatles songs, and I’m so excited to be a part of this event with the lovely Bourbonnais Public Library!

Gregory Alexander:  For over a decade, Gregory Alexander has portrayed “Professor Moptop” on WXRT’s “Breakfast with the Beatles” in Chicago. The Professor teaches college-level Beatle knowledge designed for people who are familiar with the band, as well as novices who might only know very little about the Fab Four.

Vern ‘N’ Vern: Vern ‘N’ Vern is a family band from the Kankakee, IL area that specializes in acoustic music. Vern is in his 80s, his son Vern is in his 50s, and Vern’s son Neil is 20. Vern was born shortly after the Beatles released “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” In April 2019, Vern ‘N’ Vern was named “Best Acoustic Group” at The Kankakee Area Music Awards, and they have played at The August Hill Winery Tasting Room in Utica, IL, Off the Vine in Momence, IL, as well as at the Champaign-Urbana, Kankakee, Clifton, Paxton, Manteno and Watseka Farmers’ Markets. Check out some of their performances on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VernandVern/.