THE usual exhaust along Dean Street was replaced by the aromas of barbecues cooking and the rev of engines replaced by the harmonies of the Fab Four as the fourth Beatles Festival rocked Albury at the weekend.
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Young and old from near and far filled the street to enjoy the carnival atmosphere, soaking up the sun and some of the most distinctive sounds in music history.
Some of the young ones mixing things up were the winners of the inaugural Youth Beatles Battle, Corowa band Sir Vera, who impressed judges with their performance earning themselves the chance to perform at Saturday’s street party.
“We made the songs a bit in our own style and put a fresh grunge feel to them,” guitarist Joe Brewster, 16, said.
“There were a few acoustic bands there but having a band and doing something a bit different really worked and I guess helped us stand out from the rest.”
Joe said it was good to see the home-grown musical talent there was in the region.
“It was really good to see everyone come out and have a go,” he said.
“And really good to see young kids playing actual music instead of all that techno stuff.”
As well as getting the chance to perform two songs — Come Together and A Hard Day’s Night — the band members also won themselves $500.
And although Joe isn’t a die-hard Beatles fan, he appreciated the fact that they had been a revolution in rock music.
“I’ve got a couple of their albums,” he said.
“But you can see how they created that rock feel — they pretty much invented it. Without The Beatles you wonder where everything else in music would be.”
Among those drawn from farther afield were Hazel Cook and Lyn Birkenhead who had come up for the third time from Geelong to follow their favourite Fab Four cover band, Let It Be.
“I don’t know what it is about The Beatles, it’s just really good music,” Hazel said.
“They’re catchy songs and you know all the words.”