The Everything Fab Four Fest: Celebrating Rubber Soul will take place Nov. 6-8, 2025, at the Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel in Asbury Park, New Jersey. The three-day event will commemorate the 60th anniversary of the landmark album from the Beatles.
Ken Womack, a distinguished author of multiple books on the Beatles, is spearheading the event in conjunction with his company Wonderwall Productions, Salon.com, the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music and others. Along with various panels, presentations and special events, some of the musical guests will include Max Weinberg and Jake Clemons of the E-Street Band, Nellie McKay, and a slew of authors, Beatle scholars and others will also be part of the festivities. For information on tickets, hotel accommodations, the schedule and much more, go to their official site.
Steve Matteo interviewed Womack, host of the Everything Fab Four podcast and a professor of English and popular music at Monmouth University, to get a sneak peek of the event:
STEVE MATTEO: When did the idea for the Everything Fab Four Fest: Celebrating Rubber Soul come about?
KEN WOMACK: The last time I’d worked on a symposium for a specific album, it was for the White Album’s 50th anniversary back in 2018. Of course, the pandemic hit and it took a few years to get back on track and start thinking about producing another event of that type. Since Rubber Soul marked such a turning point for the Beatles, its 60th anniversary seemed like the right place to begin again.
STEVE MATTEO: Who is producing the event with you?
KEN WOMACK: My media company, Wonderwall (co-owned by publicist Nicole Michael), is fortunate to have the support of both Salon.com, who distributes our Everything Fab Four podcast, and the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music, among others.
STEVE MATTEO: Why did you pick Rubber Soul?
KEN WOMACK: We recently hosted the band Blac Rabbit (who are performing at the festival) on the Everything Fab Four podcast, and as they stated on the show, Rubber Soul was when the Beatles “grew up.” I can agree with that.
STEVE MATTEO: Are you disappointed the Rubber Soul 60th anniversary box didn’t come out this year?
KEN WOMACK: You know, there’s always something on the horizon that we Beatles fans hope will materialize. But there is such a wealth of releases this season with the Power to the People box set, the Wings book and corresponding box set and, of course, the Anthology book and updated docuseries that I really can’t complain. In fact, we’re hosting a Wings listening session as part of the event with Mark Lapidos and Ken Dashow.
STEVE MATTEO: Why did you pick Asbury Park for the Fest?
KEN WOMACK: It’s a town that serves as one of the nation’s most vaunted music heritage sites. With the proximity to the Jersey Shore and its local culture, it just seemed a natural fit.
STEVE MATTEO: How were the guest musicians chosen?
KEN WOMACK: It truly came about organically. We’ve gotten to know so many talented people in the “Beatles world.” It was really a mix of “acts we’ve known for all these years” (the Black Ties, the Magical Mystery Girls), to folks who have been involved with our podcast (Blac Rabbit, Nellie McKay) to Springsteen-related favorites Max Weinberg and Jake Clemons. The Bruce/Beatles connections run deep, and it makes for an even more perfect fit being in Asbury Park. Really, though, we’ve received such an overwhelming response from musicians wanting to be involved that we’ll definitely be adding more to future events!
STEVE MATTEO: How does this event differ from other conferences or festivals that celebrate the Beatles and their music?
KEN WOMACK: We set out to create a unique and curated experience, from the caliber of presentations to the performances to the venue (the historic Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel) itself. But, you know, it’s a community. We’re grateful to have so many connections and archetypes of wonderful events from which to build.
STEVE MATTEO: Do you see this as an annual event?
KEN WOMACK: Yes, we are indeed hoping to establish Everything Fab Four Fest as an annual event!
STEVE MATTEO: Will it always be held in Asbury Park?
KEN WOMACK: We plan to keep Asbury Park as our “flagship” location each fall, but there’s always the possibility that we could expand into other areas at different times during the year.
STEVE MATTEO: Will you always be focusing on one album?
KEN WOMACK: With so many milestone anniversaries of so many incredible Beatles albums, I don’t see how we couldn’t!
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