Dave Meister couldn’t let it be until he created ‘LET IT BE’!

Like many people of a certain age, Dave Meister can recite, chapter and verse, about those early 1960s days when THE BEATLES first appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show.

His love of the FAB FOUR and the British Invasion began as a spark and grew into the full-fledged obsession it remains today.

When Dave decided to start writing his second chapter, he ultimately ended up with building a music venue that pays homage to THE CAVERN CLUB, the Liverpool, England institution that gave the MOP TOPS a place to cut their teeth.

No one on the planet knew or could have imagined what impact they would have on our culture and the world from that musical incubator.

The Beatles sang about Revolution, but putting the finishing touches on what we know as LET IT BE, 716 Clinton Street in Waukesha, came together as more of an evolution.

Meister was running a bar in Hartland (which is still going strong), but wanted to try something else.

“It just evolved,” Dave said in a recent interview. “Initially, I thought about opening a brew pub. But the cost and operation of the vats and the taxes all along the way (put a stop to that),” he said.

Then the idea of building a music venue came bubbling up. So, with absolutely no experience, Dave set out to create “a place where friends could go out and meet and still feel at home.”

Voila, “Let It Be” was born. But the current Beatles-oriented theme was still not on the radar. You might say there were as many ideas tossed around than there are “let it bes” in the song (41).

A piano bar, with a concert grand piano in place, was the first thought. Dave found and fell in love with a building in Waukesha. It was perfect. “But it was just a wreck,” Dave said. 

The structure needed so much work. There was asbestos to be removed and just a ton of stuff reno-ed and a long time before it all came together. “We were lucky to have a lot of local craftsmen come in and make it happen.”

It was then, and only then, that Dave decided to mix his two loves together. He has created something very special with a vibe to match.

When one first lays eyes on the red brick curved arch over the stage, the various Beatles/British “custom artwork” and symbols; those grainy, black and white images on film of the lads’ earliest days explode into a Technicolor delight for music fans.

There’s a giant Union Jack (British flag) on one wall, psychedelic Yellow Submarine image on another. A neon “The Cavern Club” sign, a door marked “Yesterday” and a classic red phone booth, which still dot the streets of London.

For the past twenty or so months, Let It Be has fulfilled that promise. “We’ve had friends come in separately and meet up with neighbors to enjoy a night together.” Dave said.

There are regular monthly and more sold-out shows by The Taxmen, one of the best Beatles tribute groups out there.

But Beatles music is not the only thing that is scheduled. Let It Be has had Jazz Wednesdays, CD release parties for Suzanne Grzanna, Carmen Nickerson and others, acoustic indie-rock acts…it’s all over the musical map. Popular local chanteuse Jayne Taylor plays there on the regular, too.

They added a menu of that is next level and has no semblance to “bar food.”

Meister just beams when he talks of having a surviving member of Badfinger, a band which also graced the orig Cavern Club stage. And in August, the drummer for Herman’s Hermits will be there.

Let It Be is not just a destination, but an experience that you will enjoy over and over. There is a cover charge for most shows, but you will come away feeling it was more than worth it.