All you need is love and performances by some of the Lehigh Valley's premier musical talent. The Lehigh Valley Beatles Showcase, 2 p.m. Oct. 21, is poised to bring a diverse group of performers to Musikfest Café at ArtsQuest, SteelStacks, Bethlehem.

The event, now in its second year, is presented by the Greater Lehigh Valley Music Association (GLVMA) and will feature 20 area acts, including notable 1960's pop music cover artists, The Large Flowerheads, and blues stylists The James Supra Band.

The event is the brainchild of GLVMA board member Geno Barron, who says, "I put some feelers out with a couple bands that might be interested in doing a theater show doing two songs each.

"That first year I had my bands wrapped up pretty quickly. I started promoting it and it [the response] was amazing. I received calls, emails and texts from about 30 other bands and musicians that wanted to be involved.

"It's amazing to me that people are so excited and have jumped on this incredibly quick. If I could get everyone who wanted to do it this year, I'd probably have 50 bands and musicians."

Last year's Beatles Showcase featured 10 bands performing on average three songs apiece.

"This year, I set it up differently. Last year, each band would perform their songs and then we would have the hosts, AJ Fritz and Rick Michaels, emcee in between.

"This time, there's going to be a single performer or acoustic duo that is immediately going to begin playing on a second stage while the next band is setting up on the main stage. There will be no downtime and this way I was able to get a lot more people involved."

Returning performers include Craig Thatcher, Large Flowerheads and The Lou Franco Project.

"I would have loved to have had everyone back, but I was already over-promising people.

"I had Lou Franco help me with the stage last year because I understand that part of it less. It was a little overwhelming, so I got Lou back to help me again along with Moe [Jerant] from the Large Flowerheads. They've both been extremely helpful."

Songs are not announced in advance in order to inject an element of surprise for the audience. "It's rather diverse. We have rock bands, blues, hip-hop, jazz and youth bands like the Bank Street Band from the Easton School of Rock. We are going to have an all-star jam to conclude the show."

Proceeds benefit scholarships to Lehigh Valley music schools, including The Lesson Center and the Easton School of Rock.

"As we get older and can't perform anymore, there will be young people around to continue making music," says Barron.

"It's a long show. It's going to be about four and one-half hours. People have such a great time, I don't think they'll notice how long it is.

"I'm already planning for next year's event."