This year’s EF4 Fest will take place in West Long Branch, Nov. 5-8.
The second EF4 (Everything Fab Four) Fest, taking place Nov. 5-8 at Monmouth University, will offer, among other things, a deep dive into The Beatles’ 1966 album Revolver — featuring songs such as “Eleanor Rigby,” “Got to Get You Into My Life” and “Taxman” and regarded by many as one of the band’s greatest achievements. It is, of course, the album’s 60th anniversary, this year.
Last year’s inaugural festival, which took place in Asbury Park, focused on The Beatles’ 1965 album, Rubber Soul.
The festival is organized by Kenneth Womack, publicist Nicole Michael, and their media company, Wonderwall; Womack is a professor of English and popular music at Monmouth University, the host of the “Everything Fab Four” podcast, and the author of many books about The Beatles and other musical subjects. Events are scheduled for The Woods Theatre, The Powell Soundstage at The Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music, and other locations on the West Long Branch campus.
Documentary-maker and Beatles fan Ken Burns and filmmaker Michael Lindsay-Hogg, who worked with The Beatles on several projects, will make appearances via Zoom.
Bands will include The Blue Tins (Nov. 5), Blac Rabbit (Nov. 6), The Cyrkle (Nov. 7) and The Magical Mystery Girls (Nov. 7). Other festival participants will include singer-songwriter Nellie McKay (Nov. 6), Jack Petruzzelli of the Beatles band The Fab Faux (Nov. 5), authors Rob Sheffield (Nov. 7) and Bruce Spizer (Nov. 6), and photographer Roger Farrington (Nov. 5).
Tours of the Springsteen Center will be offered, and there will be talks and discussions about many topics, ranging from “From Rubber Soul to Revolver: A Data-Driven Look at the Beatles’ Creative Explosion” to “Surrender to the Void: A Medical Perspective on the Beatles’ Drug Use and Its Effects on Their Music” and “When Your Prized Possessions Start to Weigh You Down: A Legal Perspective on the Beatles’ 1965-1967 Business Reorganization.”
For information, visit ef4fest.com.
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