RAIN: A Tribute to The Beatles Makes Its Sacramento Premiere

Direct from their phenomenally successful Broadway engagement, the internationally-acclaimed Beatles concert, RAIN: A Tribute To The Beatles, makes its Sacramento debut at the Sacramento Community Center Theater Dec. 27 – Jan 1. Presented by Broadway Sacramento, tickets are available by phone at (916) 557-1999 or (916) 801-5181, in person at The Community Center Theater Box Office at 1301 L Street, Sacramento, The Wells Fargo Pavilion Box Office at 1419 H Street, Sacramento, or online at Tickets.com.

Touted as "the next best thing to seeing The Beatles!" by the Associated Press, RAIN performs the full range of The Beatles' discography live onstage, including the most complex and challenging songs that The Beatles themselves recorded in the studio but never performed for an audience. Together as a band longer than The Beatles, RAIN has mastered every song, gesture and nuance of the legendary foursome, delivering a totally live, note-for-note performance in this multi-media concert, that's as infectious as it is transporting. From the early hits to later classics (I Want To Hold Your Hand, Hard Day's Night, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Let It Be, Come Together, Hey Jude and more), this adoring tribute will take you back to a time when all you needed was love, and a little help from your friends!

The story of RAIN begins in the mid 1970s when keyboardist Mark Lewis joined forces with four other local musicians who together formed the band that was originally called "Reign" and played throughout the Los Angeles/Orange County area. With their mutual love for the music of The Beatles, Reign was in demand to play Beatles music and rode an enormous wave of nostalgia for the band that had broken up in 1970. Before long they had built a strong devoted following around Los Angeles. Following numerous misspellings in the media and advertising, "Reign" became RAIN (also the title of a 1966 Beatles single). A big break came for RAIN when Dick Clark hired them to record the music for the 1979 made-for-TV movie "Birth of the Beatles."

RAIN's intention was not just to cover Beatle songs, but to take it to a new level. To do songs that The Beatles had never performed live, and do them note-for-note, just like the records. At this time, 'tribute bands' were non-existent. The music has always been first and foremost for the five longtime band members: Mark Lewis, RAIN's founding member (keyboards, percussion), and since the 1980s, Joey Curatolo (vocals, bass, guitar, piano), Joe Bithorn (vocals, lead guitar, guitar synthesizer), and Ralph Castelli (vocals, drums, percussion), and joining in 1998, Steve Landes (vocals, guitar, piano, harmonica) – all of whom performed in the hit Broadway and touring productions of Beatlemania.

For more than two decades, RAIN has distinguished itself by focusing on details, always being faithful to The Beatles with the ultimate goal of delivering a perfect note-for-note performance. All the music is performed live, with no pre-recorded tapes or sequences. They approach The Beatles music with the same respect a classical musician treats classical music. They worked hard for many years, studying each song, each note, movement and nuance…both vocally and musically. Today, they have a repertoire of over 200 Beatle songs. The members of RAIN are extraordinarily talented musicians in their own right and this becomes more evident with each show they do. RAIN audiences experience their own personal journey back to a time when Peace and Love was everyone's mantra.

For more information, visit www.raintribute.com.

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