McCartney Years coming to Springfield Summer Arts Fest

Band pays attention to details.

A tribute band could probably draw a crowd just by showing up to play the songs of one of the most talented performers and songwriters in rock ’n’ roll history.

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That would be the easy way out.

Yuri Pool wants to take his tribute to a higher level. That’s why the naturally right-handed performer occasionally takes to playing guitar left-handed when he performs the hits of Paul McCartney and Wings and The Beatles.

“The thing is everybody knows this music and the career. When I started doing this I wanted to do it right to pay tribute to McCartney and his band and make this a concert experience rather than something theatrical,” said Pool.

It won’t be just another day when The McCartney Years: The Premiere Paul McCartney Concert Experience comes to the Springfield Summer Arts Festival on Thursday, July 6.

The concert is presented by the Springfield Arts Council and admission is free.

Beatles tributes are common staples of performing venues, but Pool wanted to show the versatility of Wings at its peak, as well as Fab Four selections.

It’s not just about the frontman. Pool’s fellow musicians portray Paul’s first wife and bandmate, Linda, as well as former Wings members Denny Laine, Jimmy McCullough and Joe English.

It didn’t stop there. Pool began searching for the exact model instruments Wings used during their ’70s heyday, including recently acquiring a little rhythm box.

“It’s like building a house,” he said. “You start with the foundation and build from there. The biggest challenge has been the instruments. We’re almost there, with about 90 percent.”

Such attention to detail has earned Pool and the band praise from Laine, McCartney’s guitarist and sometimes co-writer with Wings, as well as Sid Bernstein, the famed late music promoter who staged some of the first and biggest Beatles concerts in the U.S.

There will be about an even split of Beatles and Wings hits, along with a few deeper cuts, such as “Magneto and Titanium Man.”

Pool just can’t let it be. His wife shares the same birthday as the late Linda McCartney, and their first baby is due the exact same date as Paul and Linda’s firstborn, Mary, was born.

“The Beatles and Wings changed music, and the music speaks for itself,” he said.


How to go

What: The McCartney Years: The Premiere Paul McCartney Concert Experience

Where: Turner Pavilion, Veteran’s Park, Springfield

When: 8 p.m. Thursday, July 6

Admission: Free

More info: 937-324-2712 or www.SpringfieldArtsCouncil.org

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