Little Steven And The Disciples Of Soul’s Thrilling Tribute To The Beatles ‘Macca To Mecca’ Out 1/29

In the fall of 2017, when Little Steven landed in Liverpool on his sold out European tour with his newly reformed band the Disciples of Soul in support of Soulfire, his first new album in nearly two decades, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician, songwriter and lifelong Beatles fan played an extraordinary surprise set outside of the legendary Cavern Club as a tribute to the seminal band that inspired him and so many others to pick up a guitar and start a band after witnessing their musical revolution on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1964. The intimate lunchtime gig saw Little Steven aka Stevie Van Zandt lead his 15-strong band through rocking renditions of “Magical Mystery Tour,” “Good Morning, Good Morning,” “Got To Get You Into My Life,” and “All You Need Is Love,” alongside iconic songs famously performed by the nascent Fab Four, including “Boys” (originally by The Shirelles), “Slow Down” (by Larry Williams) and “Soldier Of Love” (first recorded by Arthur Alexander).

“Playing in the same venue where The Beatles started their careers was a childhood dream of mine come true,” says Van Zandt. “This was a band that set me on course for a life of music. For my rock ‘n’ roll religion, The Cavern is the first sacred site (after the 4 clubs in Hamburg they played!). It was an honor – no, make that an epiphany – to perform there.”

Fortunately for those that weren’t there to witness this once-in-a-lifetime event, the concert was professionally filmed and expertly recorded by Van Zandt’s touring film and audio crew and is now slated for wide release on CD/DVD as Macca To Mecca on January 29 via Wicked Cool Records/UMe. The 13-song love letter to the Beatles kicks off with a riveting performance of “I Saw Her Standing There” recorded at The Roundhouse in London in November of 2017 with a special appearance by Paul McCartney.

Macca To Mecca, which was previously only available as part of the vinyl box set and Blu-ray editions of his concert album, Soulfire Live!, includes the complete Cavern Club concert in both video and audio, exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and a special documentary that sees Van Zandt honored with a brick in the club’s hallowed Wall of Fame before leading his band through swift rehearsals of Beatles songs mere minutes ahead of their performance.

In celebration of “The Spirit of Christmas” and the Christmas spirit, Van Zandt, who regularly DJs on his Little Steven’s Underground Garage channel on SiriusXM and the nationally syndicated show of the same name, has put together a playlist featuring some of his favorite holiday songs. Kicking off with Chuck Berry’s immortal “Run Rudolph Run,” “Little Steven’s Christmas Party Playlist” mixes up Christmas classics with lesser known gems and includes songs by Bob Seger, The Kinks, Slade, Brian Setzer, Jan & Dean, Louis Prima, Joe Pesci, Dion and Ringo Starr alongside Van Zandt’s original Christmas tunes, “The Spirit Of Christmas,” “All Alone on Christmas” and his inspired, horn-drenched rendition of The Ramones’ “Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want To Fight Tonight).”

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