Abbey Road on the River crosses the river to Jeffersonville
Louisville, KY (March 22, 2016) – Abbey Road on the River and the city of Jeffersonville, IN are excited to announce that the world-famous annual summer kickoff event will move across the river to Jeffersonville beginning Memorial Day weekend, May 25-29, 2017. The Beatles-inspired music festival will take place on the popular RiverStage, a floating performance venue anchored on the banks of the Ohio River in downtown Jeffersonville, the new adjacent marina, and the scenic Big Four Station Park areas, providing an improved and modern location while allowing the peace, love and rock-n-roll to remain in the Louisville region.
Historic downtown Jeffersonville’s vibrant community atmosphere, free parking, walkability, bike friendliness, and booming business district with an abundance of restaurants, retail and hotel options are just a few of the features that make it a more attractive setting for the festival and its patrons. In addition to several outdoor stages, many area restaurants and bars will participate by hosting performances from festival bands, transforming the entire Jeffersonville community into a Fab Four haven for Beatles fans during the event. The Clarion Inn and Sheraton Riverside Hotel will serve as headquarter hotels for guests. The Louisville Downtown Marriott, the 2016 headquarter hotel, will also offer a limited amount of 2017 travel packages.
Each year, Abbey Road on the River draws a crowd of 20,000 attendees, roughly 80% of whom are within a 50 mile radius of Louisville. Of those that come from the local region, about half come from Southern Indiana.
“It’s an exciting time to be in Jeffersonville, and we are ecstatic to be a welcome wagon for Abbey Road on the River fans,” says Jeffersonville Mayor Mike Moore. “This festival will create community excitement, and also provide a huge economic boost for our restaurants, hotels, retailers, attractions, and tourism industry.”
“The good news is we’re not moving across the universe, just across the river,” says festival producer Gary Jacob. “The long and winding road to find a new home for Abbey Road on the River led us to this brand new spectacular venue right at our back door, which means we don’t have to say goodbye to our many local fans who have made Abbey Road on the River the best known and most loved Beatles music festival in the USA.”
“We first reached out to Gary in cooperation with Jeffersonville Parks and Recreation last June when we learned that 2016 would be the festival’s last year in Louisville, and we’ve been working hard to bring it across the river ever since,” says Jim Epperson, Executive Director of the Southern Indiana Convention-Tourism Bureau. “We knew we were competing with several other major cities – Cleveland, Cincinnati and Dallas – so landing this renowned event is huge.”
“We’re thrilled the WAVE 3 News Abbey Road on the River will be staying in our community, and southern Indiana will be a great venue,” says festival presenting sponsor WAVE 3 News Vice President and General Manager Ken Selvaggi.
In addition to both parties committing to a three-year partnership in Jeffersonville, Abbey Road on the River will expand the event into several new markets in the coming year. An offshoot of the successful, long-running festival will be held in Dallas, Texas on May 7, 2016. The event, called Abbey Road on the Square, will be held at Annette Strauss Square in the heart of the Dallas Arts District and will celebrate the words and music of The Beatles with a full day of performances from world-class tribute bands and internationally recognized musicians. Plans are currently underway to bring a satellite version of the festival back to Cleveland, its original hometown, in summer 2017. Abbey Road on the River has also formed an alliance with StarVista Cruises, a division of Time Life Books and Music, to be a marketing partner and talent consultant and programmer for multiple music-themed cruises in 2016 and 2017.
“The best music from the 60’s and 70’s is still underrepresented in the developing festival market,” says Jacob, “and we feel the time is right to pursue new opportunities and expand the ultimate brand in Beatles and 60’s style festivals to fans of all ages in other cities.”
“Even though we must say goodbye to downtown Louisville, we don’t say goodbye to the many loyal fans who gave us so much love,” said Jacob. “Because in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make, and Louisville gave us a lot of LOVE. We sincerely thank everyone who has made it possible all these years.”
The 2016 festival, which will mark the 12th year the event has made Louisville its home, will be presented at the Belvedere Festival Park and supporting venues for the final time May 26-30. Headlining shows will include Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Felix Cavaliere’s Rascals, the legendary Zombies, and the return of the festival’s greatest musical creation – the live performance of The Beatles LOVE album – performed note-for-note just as it was arranged by the late Sir George Martin, to whom the concert will be dedicated.
The City of Jeffersonville City Partners Program in conjunction with Abbey Road on the River is developing event sponsorships for the 2017 festival. For more information about sponsorships, contact Dave Simpson atdsimpson@CityofJeff.net.
For more information and to purchase tickets for this year’s event, visitwww.arotr.com.
Images available upon request.
