British Invasion Years to perform Beatles songs at Centenary Stage

HACKETTSTOWN — The 2017 Summer Jamfest is in full swing at Centenary Stage Company as The British Invasion Years take the Sitnik stage on Saturday, July 29.
Formed in 1995, the band originally focused on their classic rock tribute shows and released two albums before narrowing their focus to their favorite music — 1960s pop and rock.
The show takes the audience through the entire decade from The Beatles, The Beach Boys and The Monkees to The Rolling Stones, The Kinks and The Who. The British Invasion Years will travel on a nostalgic journey grooving through some of the world’s most famous and well-loved tunes.
All of the band members knew they wanted to be performing this kind of music after seeing the Beatles' historic first TV performance on the Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964. The era created a lifelong inspiration for the members, and started making music in their youth because of it.
The band came together as Bassist Bobby M. and guitarist Lee Scott Howard were live in session musicians in 1988 and made an immediate connection when they realized each had seen the Beatles debut on The Ed Sullivan Show, which set them both on the path to careers in music.
After collaborating on other projects over the next decade, Bobby M. was then introduced to drummer Jeff Alai, who had the same love for classic bands like The Beatles and The Monkees.
In the meantime, Bobby and Lee Scott had been working on other musical endeavors alongside seasoned keyboardist and guitarist Jon Wolf. Wolf heard through the grapevine about the British invasion group forming and wanted to be in so he begin dropping subtle hints at sessions like randomly launching into "Side B of Abbey Road" by The Beatles in an attempt to catch their attention.
The plan worked, and with that, the lineup was complete, and they got to work learning the rep from these classic musicians. The band does a vast amount of music throughout the British Invasion Years and select their songs by what would inspire emotion from the audience and keep the atmosphere fun. They know this classic music is perfect for bringing back happy memories and creating happy new ones.
Tickets for The British Invasion Years on Saturday, July 29, 8 p.m.., in the Sitnik Theater of the Lackland Center are $27.50 for adults and $25 for students in advance. Ticket prices increase $5 the day of the performance.
For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit centenarystageco.org, or call (908) 979 – 0900.