Beatles tribute group, Community Band playing Fostoria

Fostoria Beatles fans can get ready to "Twist and Shout" in late July.The Sweet Beats, a Beatles tribute band from Cincinnati, is part of a lineup for the Fostoria Community Arts Council's Summer Concert Series that will total five acts between June 19 and Aug. 21.The series, funded by grants from the Geary Foundation and the United Way of Fostoria, brings concerts to the Wainwright Amphitheater in Foundation Park on Sunday evenings, with no admission price charged.The tone of the lineup is a bit different than in past years, arts council President Browning Payne said."We tried to incorporate some area and local talent with some people who might be interesting as a variety for our summer concert series," Payne said.Four of the concerts are scheduled for 7:30-8:30 p.m., while the Sweet Beats will play from 7:30-9 p.m. on July 24.The Sweet Beats include musicians performing as John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr and produce a similar sound while dressed as the original group did shortly after it arrived from England in the 1960s.Payne said he learned of the Sweet Beats through information distributed by the mayor's office in Cincinnati and subsequently made contact with the band's Lennon impressionist, Tom Hawkinson."He said they'd love to come up," Payne said. "And what's funny is, when I told him this is Fostoria, he said he's quite familiar with Fostoria because he's been here many times, because he likes to watch the trains at the railpark. He said he'd love to come up and perform, so we booked them."We thought this would be something a little different, and, of course, everyone likes the Beatles."Returning to the concert series after two years away is the Fostoria Community Band, which only in the last several months has been back to performing after a hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic. The band will open the series with a June 19 concert."I think that is something that people will like, local people performing," Payne said. "And, they do such a good job anyway."June 10 will bring the Polish American Concert Band of Toledo to Fostoria. The band has about 50 members.Bliss, a quartet of northwest Ohio women, is slated for an Aug. 7 performance, followed by the Lee Warren Band, a Toledo-based group that plays classic rock and country, on Aug. 21.Payne said additional touches to the series may include food trucks being present.