Here's what makes LaBamba's Holiday Hurrah show at the Stone Pony so special

Richie “LaBamba” Rosenberg's Holiday Hurrah concert on Sunday, Dec. 11, at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park is the holiday show with that something extra.

Extra music, extra musicians, extra song arrangements and more.

“The (musicians) know the tunes but I love to orchestrate ... — that's my baby, that’s my hobby,” said Rosenberg on the phone from his home in California. “I try to change things up if I can and make the arrangements different. There’s a few times during the night they don’t know and they have to read what’s on the page. Everybody has music stands there for a good reason so they can read the crazy notes in front of them.”

Case in point, Rosenberg merges “Christmas Time Is Here” by Vince Guaraldi and Lee Mendelson from “A Charlie Brown Christmas” with his version of Cliff Nobles' instrumental classic, “The Horse.”

“('Christmas Time Is Here') is a slow thing, like a waltz kind of thing, and I did a Jazz Crusaders thing on that — the J.B. Horns, something close to that,” Rosenberg said. “I sewed those two songs together so it’s kind of like you get the taste of both. You get the Christmas melody and you get 'The Horse.' "

Rosenberg is arranging it so they'll be swinging into the night at the Pony. The Philly trombone player planted his flag in Asbury Park as an early member of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes in 1976. His own bands, the Hubcaps and LaBamba's Big Band, rode shotgun for funnyman Conan O’Brien on “The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien,” “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” and “Conan,” and played with the greats of contemporary music.

More recently, he was part of Bruce Springsteen's Night Shift band on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”

He's got the connections — and lots of them are showing up at the Pony on Sunday, including Bobby Bandiera, John Cafferty, Glen Burtnik and Robert Randolph. The band will include Frank Elmo, Baron Raymonde, Stan Harrison, Ed Manion and Doug DeHays on sax; Mark “Luvman” Pender, Chris Andersen, Tony Gorruso and Tony Cinkutis on trumpet; Ben Williams, Ian “Young Lion” Gray, Neal “The Dude” Pawley and Jon “The Beast” Shubert on trombone; “General” Glenn Alexander on guitar; Mike “Lincoln Tunnel” Mancini, keys; Tony “SUNY Purchase” Tino, mallets; Mike Monacelli, percussion; David Longworth, Joe Belia and “Governor” Shawn Pelton, drums; and Oria Alexander and Jade Rosenberg, LaBamba's daughter, on vocals.

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While holiday shows are aplenty these days, LaBamba's Holiday Hurrah concert in 1983 at the former Monmouth Arts Center, now the Count Basie Center for the Arts, in Red Bank, was among the first, if not the first, rock 'n' roll holiday show. The Hurrah originally had a three-year run, but since then, the Brian Setzer Orchestra's “Christmas Rocks” shows, the Trans Siberian Orchestra, et al., have followed suit.

Rosenberg recommissioned the Holiday Hurrah in 2019, and it's been a big draw in its second incarnation since.

“It's a lot of fun to bring in people I haven't seen in a long time,” Rosenberg said. “I like to get my friends involved from the old days.”

Go: LaBamba’s Holiday Hurrah, doors at 6 p.m., show runs 7 to 10 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11, Stone Pony, 913 Ocean Ave., Asbury Park, $38; stoneponyonline.com. Bring dry or canned foods for Fulfill, the food bank of Monmouth and Ocean counties.

Quincy Mumford at the Pony

It’s the end of an era, but it's not a goodbye.

Quincy Mumford’s 11th annual Holiday Show, a benefit for Mary’s Place By The Sea in Ocean Grove, will be the last, Mumford said.

They're calling it “The Finale.”

“It's been quite a ride,” Mumford said. “It's been the 11th year we've done it and we're ready to toss in the hat on this particular event. It's not the end of my collaboration with Mary's Place nor the end of live music for Quincy Mumford.”

They're getting out of the holiday show game on top.

“We want to end it while we love doing this and celebrating the success this event has had while we're ahead,” Mumford said.

The shows have raised more than $300,000 for Mary's Place, which provides a respite for women who have cancer. Some of the services offered include oncology massage, nutrition education, guided meditation, yoga, expressive writing, counseling and more.

Going forward, Mumford would like to keep his holiday schedule clear. He and his wife welcomed a son three months ago.

“It's grown and grown over the years, and become this really amazing thing that brings the community of Asbury Park together,” Mumford said. “All the musicians, all my friends from town who have come and sat in, from the legends J.T. Bowen and Jack Daley to the young blood coming out of Asbury.”

The night in 2019 when two locals wandered in and started to slow dance to Mumford's pre-show sound check at the Pony made national headlines.

Bruce Springsteen and Patti Sciafa came up and said hello after the dance.

“It was great to connect on a completely human, normal level and just talk music,” said Mumford, who let the Boss borrow his guitar at a previous non-holiday show. “It was a beautiful moment. I was really stoked that they got to check it out.”

Tor Miller will be opening Friday's show.

Go: Quincy Mumford’s 11th annual Holiday Show: The Finale, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9, Stone Pony, 913 Ocean Ave., Asbury Park, $30 in advance/$35 at the door; stoneponyonline.com.

More:Bruce Springsteen, Patti Scialfa holiday slow dance at Stone Pony in Asbury Park

Smithereens holiday homecoming

If the Smithereens didn't acknowledge everyone in the audience of their holiday homecoming show Dec. 3 at the Carteret Performing Arts Center, it wasn't for lack of trying.

“I can't acknowledge all my friends who are here tonight, but John Hornack texted me so here's a shout out to John,” said drummer Dennis Diken.

The show was chock-full of Smithereens' classics, holiday chestnuts, and Carteret remembrances.

“I see a few people here I had Communion with at Saint Elizabeth's Church in 1964,” guitarist Jim Babjak said.

“I bet you they still drink wine!” Diken quipped.

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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; cjordan@app.com

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Stone Pony: LaBamba's Holiday Hurrah show is Sunday in Asbury Park