Beatles or Rolling Stones? Does South Florida have favorite?

It’s a question as old as time (or Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger) — Beatles or Stones? Which iconic rock band is your favorite?

In your young and restless years, did you sing along to the fab and flowery sounds of “Love Me Do” and “Let it Be” or torment your parents with the gloomy “Paint it Black” and “Sympathy for the Devil”?

This stylistic conflict is the basis for “Beatles vs. Stones — A Musical Showdown,” a nationally touring production that puts fans of each legendary group in the same room for sets by two dueling tribute bands, Abbey Road and Satisfaction. A sellout recently at the Rinker Playhouse in the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach, the tour will be at the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center for two performances on Sunday, March 29.

Beatles tribute band Abbey Road performs during

Beatles tribute band Abbey Road performs during “Beatles vs. Stones — A Musical Showdown” at Rinker Playhouse in the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach on Wednesday, March 18. (Scott Luxor/Contributor)

Abbey Road, portraying the Beatles, performs during the “Beatles vs. Stones—A Musical Showdown” at the Marshall E. Rinker Sr. Playhouse at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. The live revue featured the Beatles tribute act and Satisfaction portraying the Rolling Stones in alternating sets before joining forces for a closing jam. (Scott Luxor/Contributor)

Satisfaction, portraying the Rolling Stones, performs during the “Beatles vs. Stones—A Musical Showdown” at the Marshall E. Rinker Sr. Playhouse at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. The live revue featured the Rolling Stones tribute act and Abbey Road portraying the Beatles in alternating sets before joining forces for a closing jam. (Scott Luxor/Contributor)

“Beatles vs. Stones—A Musical Showdown” brought its British Invasion battle royale to the Marshall E. Rinker Sr. Playhouse at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. The live revue featured two tribute acts: Abbey Road portraying the Beatles, and Satisfaction portraying the Rolling Stones. The bands performed alternating sets before joining forces for a closing jam. (Scott Luxor/Contributor)

Duncan Black of Boca Raton speaks with Sun Sentinel reporter Ben Crandell before “Beatles vs. Stones—A Musical Showdown” brought its British Invasion battle royale to the Marshall E. Rinker Sr. Playhouse at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (Scott Luxor/Contributor)

Bill Katz of Boynton Beach speaks with Sun Sentinel reporter Ben Crandell before “Beatles vs. Stones—A Musical Showdown” brought its British Invasion battle royale to the Marshall E. Rinker Sr. Playhouse at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach on Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (Scott Luxor/Contributor)

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A representative for the tour, Andy Nagle of La Jolla Booking Agency, has noticed some differences between the audiences: Beatles fans are more likely to come dressed to show their allegiance — and they seem more polite.

“The Beatles fans will sit and listen to the Stones band play. When [Abbey Road] starts playing, that’s when the Stones fans go to the bar,” Nagle says, with a laugh.

So, does South Florida have a preference? You can’t not have a preference, right? We tried to find out in an unscientific survey of folks in the lobby at the Rinker Playhouse, along with other locals with opinions on music. For some, it was a tough call.

High times in New Jersey

Colleen Apicella, of Palm Beach Gardens, grew up listening to the Stones in Irvington, New Jersey. Part of the reason: The Beatles had broken up by the time Apicella, 64, was a teenager. Don’t ask her to pick a favorite Stones song, but she does have a favorite memory: “Sitting down my girlfriend’s basement getting high … [she breaks into laughter] listening to the Stones. You probably can’t print that. [Laughs] We’d listen to ‘Wild Horses,’ ‘Satisfaction’ … I love all of them.”

Colleen Apicella, of Palm Beach Gardens, has fond memories of listening to The Rolling Stones as a teen in New Jersey. (Ben Crandell/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Speaking words of wisdom

Duncan Black, 59, a real estate attorney from Boca Raton, leans Beatles. “It’s a tough battle, the Stones are close. Both bands I was introduced to by my parents, but I have a memory of playing the album ‘Let It Be’ over and over probably when I was 12 years old.” Black returned the favor by bringing his mom, Zoe Masterson, a native of London who’s now a snowbird from Virginia, to the Rinker concert, “for the nostalgia, something Mom would enjoy and I would enjoy. We’re different generations, so this bridges the gap.” Why did she turn her young son on to the Beatles? “I just liked the message,” she says.

Duncan Black, of Boca Raton, found The Beatles and The Rolling Stones through his parents. (Scott Luxor/Contributor)
He saw them first

Standing in the Rinker lobby, a dapper Leonardo Castino, of Lighthouse Point, says he’s been a Beatles fan since he watched their historic American TV debut on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1964. “They had just come over, from across the pond, and it was just amazing. How young and full of life they were,” he says. “We had all these other kinds of music, and here they are, with the haircuts and the … It was absolutely breathtaking.” Also a professional singer, Castino, 76, says his favorite song is Paul McCartney’s “Yesterday,” but his ongoing fascination with The Beatles is tied to John Lennon. “I love the writing of John. That’s what hooked me, was him. Nobody wrote like John,” he says.

Leonardo Castino, of Lighthouse Point, recalls watching The Beatles’ historic 1964 TV appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” (Ben Crandell/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Hello, ‘Ruby Tuesday’

Bill Katz, of Boynton Beach, is a Stones guy, even if his wife of more than 50 years prefers The Beatles. “The songs are edgier. It’s just more my taste. I like pushing the edges a little bit,” says Katz, mentioning “Ruby Tuesday” as his favorite song. He’s seen The Rolling Stones multiple times, going back to the Orange Bowl in 1989. He and his wife were with a group at the Rinker “because I love music. I love both groups. We’ve seen every tribute band in Florida for the last 50 years. You can’t name a tribute band that we haven’t seen. A lot of them are really good.”

Bill Katz, of Boynton Beach, prefers the Stones sound: “I like pushing the edges a little bit.” (Scott Luxor/Contributor)
Rock in a hard place

Chris Davenport, of Greenacres, says there are a lot of Beatles songs that he likes, but he’s firmly in the Stones’ camp. Citing his favorite song, “Satisfaction,” as an example, Davenport says the Stones’ sound is “a faster tempo, more modern than the Beatles were, harder rock.” Hearing the music is an emotional experience for Davenport, an archaeologist: “My mentor actually died at a Rolling Stones concert. His name was Mike Elam. He inspired me throughout my career. He had Crohn’s. … He flew out to California to see the show and never made it back. I think about him every time the song plays, any Stones song.”

The Rolling Stones’ music comes with a tinge of sadness for Chris Davenport, of Greenacres. (Ben Crandell/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Paul & Paul

It doesn’t take much for Paul Castronovo, host on rock radio station BIG 105.9 (WBGG-FM), to speak his mind. But in a phone conversation about the Beatles or Stones question, he pussyfoots all over the map: “This is like picking which kid do you like better. I mean, I grew up in the ’60s and I dressed like Paul McCartney. I thought I was named after Paul McCartney. I’ve always loved Paul McCartney, and I’ve never seen Paul McCartney. I’ve seen the Stones seven times. I listen to The Beatles all the time, and my high school song was ‘Miss You’ [by The Rolling Stones]. … I have no answers for you, other than I think [the Stones’] ‘Gimme Shelter,’ ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ and ‘Can’t You Hear Me Knocking’ are some of the greatest songs ever written — but I don’t think the Stones’ catalog is as good as the Beatles’.”

BIG 105.9 host Paul Castronovo grew up thinking he was named after Paul McCartney. (The Paul Castronovo Show/Courtesy)
She picks the Stones

Virginia Sinicki of “The KVJ Show” on adult-contemporary station 97.9 WRMF has been all Stones since 1994, when Keith Richards flicked a guitar pick to her during a show at the Superdome in New Orleans. Speaking by phone while sitting in a drive-thru lane, Sinicki says the Stones are “a vibe.” “I like their rock ’n’ roll energy, I like their grittiness. Of course, everybody knows The Beatles are amazing, but I just love the Stones. And The Beatles never gave me a guitar pick,” she says, with a laugh. Asked about her favorite song, Sinicki runs down a list that includes “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” and “Beast of Burden” before settling on “Start Me Up.” “It speaks to me. You know, it’s a vibe, like: ‘Look out.’ I identify with that. If you start me up, you better look out.”

Virginia Sinicki of radio’s “The KVJ Show” is a Stones fan, unlike her mom. (Tracey Benson/Courtesy)
Yesterday’s memories

If you ever wondered where Sinicki gets her irreverent gift of gab, look no further than her mother, Linda Kittchner, who chimes in from a passenger seat in her daughter’s car. A retired music teacher visiting from San Antonio, Kittchner recalls seeing the Beatles’ debut on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” “I went crazy for The Beatles. Paul was, like, the greatest thing since sliced bread, and all the girls wanted to marry him, and we loved their music because they were different than anybody else that ever made music before. They were wonderful,” she says, all in one breath. Then, suddenly, Kittchner is showing off a beautiful singing voice on a song she’s teaching to the choir at a senior center: “Yesterday, all my wrinkles seemed so far away. Now it looks as though they’re here to stay. Oh, I believe in yesterday. Suddenly, I am twice the size I used to be. There’s a belly hanging onto me. Oh, yesterday came suddenly …”

Linda Kittchner has her own version of the Beatles’ “Yesterday.” (Virginia Sinicki/Courtesy)

“Beatles vs. Stones — A Musical Showdown” will be at the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center, 3385 NE 188th St., on Sunday, March 29, for shows at 3 and 8 p.m. Tickets start at $51.84. Visit AventuraCenter.org.

Beatles or Rolling Stones? Does South Florida have favorite?

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