The FabFest Story & Tosco Music
How It All Began
It all began with a man and his guitar In his living room...
FabFest-Charlotte’s Beatles Festival is presented by Tosco Music which is led by founder and Executive Director John Tosco. A lifelong fan, John Tosco fell in love with the Beatles when he was 5 years old and saw them on The Ed Sullivan Show. He used to play “She Loves You” on a cardboard guitar in a friend’s basement, lip-synching and strumming the air. The music of the Beatles inspired his career as a musician and guitar teacher and convener of music gatherings.
For 30 years, Tosco Music has been presenting a music variety showcase of local, regional and national acts performing a wide variety of music genres called Tosco Music Parties (TMPs). Every TMP is a completely unique live music experience where the TMP House Band and Singalong Choir also lead audience singalongs throughout the night.
Since 2004, Tosco Music’s most beloved and well-attended event was Tosco Music Beatles Tribute (TMBT) , a similar format to TMPs but all Beatles songs! Each TMBT is a showcase of local and Charlotte-regional musicians and bands all performing classic and re-imagined versions of the music of the Fab Four, plus, the most enthusiastic audience singalongs you may ever encounter!In 2019, Tosco Music expanded the popular evening into a full weekend event, beyond a single-night party to a community festival celebrating all things Beatles.
In October 2024, Tosco Music will celebrate our 5th annual FabFest - Charlotte Beatles Festival, the largest Beatles event in the Southeast! FabFest now offers a full weekend of Beatles music, history, memorabilia and community building, with two evening concerts at the 1,200-seat Knight Theater, and live music, speakers and activities all day Saturday at CPCC’s Parr Center.
Every year, one of the FabFest evening concerts continues to be Tosco Music Beatles Tribute led by John Tosco and the TMP House Band and Singalong Choir. In 2024, the popular Charlotte traditon that inspired the festival will celebrate its 20th Anniversary! A second headline concert is featured each year, and has included The Fab Four, BritBeat and now Live and Let Die: The Music of Paul McCartney featuring Tony Kishman.
FabFest Daytime offers plenty of opportunities for community participation (including some that are free!) to help our community come together across generations and cultures and share our own creativity inspired by the music of The Beatles. Artists of all mediums and ages exhibit their own visual tributes to the legacy of the Beatles in the Beatles Art Contest, and area musicians perform at the Beatles Open Mic and Beatles Cover Song Contest. FabFest Daytime is an inclusive family-friendly experience with two live stages, a Family Fun Room, rare Beatles video, an author’s panel, memorabilia, Beatles Marketplace, Beatles yoga, outdoor games, food trucks and more!
All proceeds from FabFest support Tosco Music’s nonprofit mission and programs. For more information visit toscomusic.org
