(HAMBURG, GERMANY) -- On Monday, August 17, 2020, the music city of Hamburg will be celebrating the 60th anniversary of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best appearing live on stage as “The Beatles”. Due to the Covid-19 situation, the event will be solely available online – streamed directly from the Indra Club, the original venue in St Pauli.
As part of the two-hour program, the Fab Four will be honored with plenty of live music, stories about their legendary time in Hamburg as well as talks with renowned experts and former companions. Under the tagline “Stream & Shout”, the live show will be aired from 3:00pm (EST) here. Moreover, celebrating the occasion, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg will be streaming a Beatles homage by jazz pianist Julia Hülsmann directly from its Grand Hall, starting at 2:00pm (EST).
To celebrate the 60th Beatles anniversary, Hamburg is inviting music fans from across the globe to experience the original Beatles location, the Indra Club in St Pauli: online as well as on Facebook and YouTube, the anniversary show on August 17 will be presented by Hamburg’s Beatles expert and musician Stefanie Hempel – starting at 3:00 pm (EST) at the legendary Indra Club.
Together with her band as well as other Hamburg musicians, Stefanie will be bringing rock'n'roll to life, with a recreated original Beatles set from August 1960 and some of their greatest hits. The night will be filled with classic rock'n'roll pieces and fresh interpretations, as well as inspiring stories and anecdotes from the young Beatles’ wild days in Hamburg.
The iconic Cavern Club in Liverpool will be contributing to the show, and so will U.S. band Bambi Kino, with musicians from the indie bands Nada Surf, Maplewood and Cat Power – as well as Beatles expert Mark Lewisohn alongside many other surprise guests.
Following the live stream event, the full program will also be available as a video on demand (VOD).
What is more, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg will be joining in on the Beatles anniversary: as part of the “Elbphilharmonie Konzertkino” event format, there will be a live stream from the Elbphilharmonie’s Grand Hall beginning at 2:00pm (EST). Audiences can look forward to a special premiere honoring the Beatles, arranged by jazz pianist Julia Hülsmann.
Hamburg – a breeding ground for music talent ever since the Beatles’ years
Following their debut on August 17, 1960, the Beatles spent a total of two years in the clubs of St Pauli, laying the foundations for their unique success story. In Hamburg, the Beatles spent more time on stage than anywhere else in the world, with some 1,200 hours and 218 gigs and five engagements with four different live clubs. With months of engagements and endless nights in the clubs of St Pauli, the Beatles soon evolved into a professional live band. In Hamburg, the Beatles also met Ringo Starr, shaped their unique style and acquired their iconic haircut. Or, as John Lennon aptly put it, the lads “grew up in Hamburg, not Liverpool”.
Today, the spirit of the Beatles can still be felt in Hamburg – not only as part of a themed guided tour e.g. with Stefanie Hempel, but above all in the countless live music venues on the Reeperbahn and at Hamburg’s various music festivals. The Reeperbahn Festival, for instance, is Europe's biggest club festival and provides an ideal environment for up-and-coming bands – and some perform on the exact same stages where the Beatles would have played back in the 1960s.
To learn more about the music city of Hamburg and to view current travel packages, click here.
Join us for McCarter at the Museum - renowned performing artists in one-night only events at the Princeton University Art Museum.
Jason Robert Brown is a four-time Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist of The Last Five Years, Parade, Songs for a New World, 13, The Bridges of Madison County, Honeymoon In Vegas and The Connector, has performed as a soloist or with his band in venues around the world, including sold-out shows at the London Palladium and Carnegie Hall. His albums as a singer-songwriter include Wearing Someone Else’s Clothes and How We React and How We Recover on Ghostlight, and Coming From Inside the House and Live In Concert with Stephen Sondheim on Concord.
With Special Guest Tony nominee Betsy Wolfe. Tony Award-nominated actress Betsy Wolfe is currently starring as Audrey in the acclaimed Off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors, following her recent Broadway run as Madeline Ashton in the hit musical Death Becomes Her. She previously originated the title role in Joy, the new musical inspired by inventor Joy Mangano, and earned a 2023 Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her celebrated performance as Anne Hathaway in & Juliet. Other Broadway credits include starring as Jenna in Waitress, Cordelia in the acclaimed revival of Falsettos, Bullets Over Broadway, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Everyday Rapture, and 110 in the Shade, as well as her critically acclaimed performance as Cathy in the Off-Broadway revival of The Last Five Years. Wolfe made her Metropolitan Opera debut in Die Fledermaus and has appeared as a guest artist with more than 65 symphony, pops, and philharmonic orchestras worldwide, including the New York Philharmonic and BBC Symphony Orchestra, with performances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. Her screen credits include First One In, Estella Scrooge, CBS’s Instinct, and the film adaptation of The Last Five Years. Wolfe is also the co-founder of BroadwayEvolved, the acclaimed musical theatre training program she launched in 2018 to train and mentor the next generation of theatre artists.
A limited number of early access tickets for McCarter Director’s Circle members and members of the Museum’s Partner Circle are available, on sale Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 12:00 PM. General public on sale begins Friday, September 18, 2026 at 12:00 PM.
Please be aware there is no public drop-off or parking at the Museum. For visitors with mobility needs, please contact the Museum at least three business days in advance of your visit to request special access to the Museum via Elm Drive. Call 609-258-3788 and select option 1 to speak to a visitor services staff member, or email Louise Barrett at [email protected].
