When the Beatles made their U.S. debut in 1964, they were met in New York City by mobs of screaming, fainting, and sobbing women. The band’s popularity at the time was unparalleled, and this choir of crying fangirls has been etched in American iconography since.
As a 21-year-old woman in 2025, I am still one of those girls.
I grew up on the Beatles, Paul McCartney, and several other classic rock staples. However, I had the misfortune of being born much past most of their primes, or even lives.
I missed John Lennon by many decades, George Harrison by just three years — getting a chance to see a living Beatle in concert felt pretty impossible.
Impossible until Oct. 14.
Peering out into a sea of silver hair, the greatest rock musician in the world stood on stage looking as unbelievably cool as he did 60 years ago.
Paul McCartney swaggered on stage, grabbed his guitar, and lit up the Casey’s Center in Des Moines, Iowa, kicking the concert off strong with the beloved Beatles hit “Help.”
The audience erupted in cheers and instantly started singing along with the band. I may have also let out a hysterical yelp or two.
Aside from some gray streaks throughout his still shockingly luscious head of hair, the 83-year-old showed hardly any signs of aging and sounded amazing. McCartney’s signature rock’n’roll rasp was ever present throughout songs such as “Helter Skelter” and “Drive My Car.”
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He stood up from his piano bench to dance between his seated songs, swiveling his hips with ease. He even implemented a little high kick during the Beatles’ song “Love Me Do.”
Aside from McCartney’s stellar physical performance, the whole set felt like a love letter to Lennon and Harrison. He shared several sweet anecdotes about riding the school bus with Harrison in Liverpool, England, and his regrets for never saying “I love you, man” to Lennon while he was still alive.
McCartney played “Here Today” in honor of Lennon and expressed what he wished he could’ve said to his bandmate and dear friend. The Beatles’ 2023 release “Now and Then” was next on the setlist, bringing the house down with edited videos of McCartney and Ringo Starr as old men standing alongside Lennon and Harrison from the 1960s.
“Something,” the greatest love song ever written, followed. McCartney performed the first half of the song on a ukulele, recalling when he and Harrison used to play their ukuleles together. The second half of the song was explosive, with all the drums and the famous guitar solo all coming together at once.
A woman standing next to me was bawling as she sang along with every word — the only appropriate reaction to hearing “Something” live.
Aside from myself, a good portion of Generation Z are also fans of the Beatles and McCartney.
University of Iowa third-year student Sam Dietz was in attendance at McCarney’s concert with his dad and brother. He said he’s been listening to the Beatles since birth.
“We’re all pretty big Beatles, and especially Paul McCartney fans, so we saw he was in Des Moines, and we decided we had to go before he dies,” Dietz said.
Although it may sound morbid, that’s a reality the Gen Z Beatles fan, or any other classic rock band fan, has to face — their favorite artists dying before they have a chance to experience their greatness in person.
This year we lost Ozzy Osbourne. I don’t want to think about who could be next. Neil Young canceled his 2024 Denver, Colorado, show I had tickets to due to health reasons. I saw Bob Dylan perform in Davenport, Iowa, in April, and I could hardly understand a word he said.
My idols may be aging, but my adoration and celebration of their music has many years to go. And I can safely say most of the women screaming at Beatles concerts in the ‘60s are also still devoted to the artists they loved so deeply, as I saw in Des Moines.