Music lovers inside Toms River, NJ’s Grunin Center for the Arts auditorium this Sunday, June 9, 2024 afternoon have it made in the shade as they get ready for a Summer Serenade of music by up-and-coming singer, Chris Ruggerio.
In 2018, Ruggiero made his stage performance debut singing with The Duprees on TJ Lubinsky’s PBS television program, My Music. Since then, he’s gone on to perform with artists including Darlene Love, Bobby Rydell, and Don Dannemann of The Cyrkle, and has also recorded five albums including his latest release, Christmas with Chris Ruggiero.
The auditorium lights dim, and drummer Jeremy Tolsky, guitarist Henryk Kress, bassist Andrew Viverito, saxophonist Kevin Presutti, keyboardist Charles Santoro, and trumpet player Marty Bound take their places on stage. Behind them, a short video plays in which Ruggiero confesses, “My two favorite times of the year are the week before Christmas and the first week of summer, and my favorite place to be is on the stage.”
At this point, Ruggiero makes his entrance in a pink suit singing Koop’s “Hey Summer Sun.” Crooning in his melodious voice, “Hey, summer sun/You always smile,” Ruggiero scats with ease on this bright and jazzy tune.
The crowd applauds, and Ruggeiro responds, “Put your hands together!” as he and the band launch into an upbeat version of The Doobie Brothers’ “Listen to the Music.” The audience sings along to the infectious “Oh, oh, oh/Listen to the music” refrain as Ruggiero sings and moves with ease around the stage.
“Hello, Toms River! How are you doing?” asks Ruggiero, explaining, “I’ll be singing some brand new songs today and some old ones, as well,” before sailing into a soft-rock rendition of Lionel Richie’s “You Are.”
After reminiscing about childhood summer memories, Ruggiero performs a medley of The Rascals’ “Groovin’” and Simon and Garfunkel’s “59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy)” while images of palm trees adorn the screen behind him.
Ruggiero uses his falsetto voice on Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys’ “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” before taking on Motown with his interpretation of The Supremes’ “You Can’t Hurry Love.” Dancing as he sings, Chris performs The Police’s “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic,” and follows up with a toe-tapping arrangement of The Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back.”
After revealing how much he enjoys staying in hotels when traveling, Ruggiero is accompanied on acoustic guitar as he starts off a slow and pleading performance of The Mamas and the Papas’ “California Dreamin’” which shifts into an uptempo arrangement as soon as the rest of the band joins in.
The crowd applauds, and Ruggiero performs Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me,” where he features various band members soloing on guitar, bass, tenor sax, keyboard, drums, and trumpet before the musicians exit, leaving only Chris and pianist Charles Santoro on stage.
Accompanied by Santoro on keyboard, Ruggiero handles Antônio Carlos Jobim’s “Corcovado” in both English and Portuguese.
He follows up by asking, “How about a little doo wop?” as audience members join him in singing a medley of doo-wop classics including The Penguins’ “Earth Angel,” The Rays’ “Silhouettes,” Shep and the Limelights’ “Daddy’s Home,” The Spaniels’ “Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight,” and The Casinos’ “Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye.” The crowd cheers, and Ruggiero and Santoro follow up with a percussive piano and vocal arrangement of The Temptations’ “My Girl.”
The rhythm section musicians return to help Ruggiero put his own spin on The Harptones’ “Life is but a Dream.”
Flute and flugelhorn are featured on Ruggiero’s interpretation of Barry Manilow’s “Weekend in New England” where Chris sings with passion, “When will our eyes meet/When can I touch you?” generating cheers and a standing ovation.
Sax and trumpet round out an arrangement of The Bee Gees’ “Run to Me” before Ruggiero performs his “personal favorite” — The Stylistics’ “Betcha By Golly Wow” — where his smooth vocal and relaxed falsetto elicit avid applause.
Ruggiero sings with feeling on Lionel Richie’s “Hello,” and sends his next song out to all the ladies in the crowd with his rendition of Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.” Dedicating The Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody” to veterans in the house, Ruggiero croons, “Lonely rivers sigh/‘Wait for me, wait for me’/I’ll be coming home, wait for me,” inspiring yet another standing ovation from the crowd.
Declaring, “I’d love to come back to Toms River anytime!” Ruggiero thanks the audience before concluding today’s show with an upbeat rendition of Leanne Womack’s “I Hope You Dance.”
As audience members exit the Grunin Center auditorium, several comment on today’s performance by Chris Ruggiero. Exclaims professional singer Tommy C, “For being only 25 years old, Chris Ruggerio’s performance was unbelievable! It’s a great thing for a young artist to bring this music from way back to today’s audiences, and it’s also great that Chris is able to do it by putting his own spin on it.”
Insists Al Contrera, a founding member of The Mystics, “Chris Ruggiero was fantastic today! I first heard Chris when he started out in this business and he’s gone on to become a true entertainer. He’s phenomenal, and I’m so proud of him for keeping this great music alive.”
Tony Testa, formerly of The Duprees, acknowledges, “Chris is a special talent, and I’m in a unique position to know because back when we did the PBS television special five years ago, Chris asked me if he could sing with the group. I said, ‘Absolutely!’ and the audience went crazy for Chris — he just blew them away — and, now, five years later, it’s unbelievable how he’s progressed; he’s made himself better and better in terms of his vocal quality, his range, his showmanship, and his stage presence, and it just amazes and thrills me to see him doing so well.”
Declares young audience member Nicholas, age 11, from Colonia, “I loved Chris Ruggiero today! His voice is incredible, and his stage performance is incredible, too,” adding, “I have every single one of his CDs at home,” before acknowledging, “It was my mom who introduced me to his music.”
Reveals Nicholas’ mom, Sandy, “My mother used to listen to doo-wop music, and after watching Chris’ PBS TV performance with The Duprees, we started following him. Since Nick is a performer himself who loves all kinds of music, we took Nick to see one of Chris’ concerts, and today’s show is our seventh or eighth time seeing him live.”
Adds Sandy’s sister, Cheryl from South Plainfield, “When I was young, I was a performer, too — we’re a very performance-oriented family so we listen to all genres of music, and Chris is definitely one of our favorite performers. He’s got an amazing voice, plus he’s a really good role model for young people since he’s a genuinely kind person.”
Lastly, whereas Bruce from Parsippany remarks, “Chris is always energetic and his youthful charm makes this music everlasting,” Karen from Toms River exclaims, “Chris Ruggiero is a fantastic entertainer! His voice is excellent, his moves are unbelievable, and he’s still only 25!” prior to concluding, “I can’t wait to see him again!”
To learn more about Chris Ruggiero, please go to chrisruggierosings.com. For information on upcoming performances at Toms River’s Grunin Center for the Arts, please click on grunincenter.org.
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