Music fans inside Toms River, NJ’s Grunin Center for the Arts auditorium this Sunday, October 26, 2025 afternoon ready themselves for a double feature of musical entertainment starring singers Clint Holmes and Chris Ruggiero.
Best known for his 1973 hit single, “Playground in My Mind,” Clint Holmes was voted Las Vegas’ “Best Male Vocalist” five years in a row and also performed at Carnegie Hall. In the 1980s he was the announcer on TV’s The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers, and in the ’90s, won an Emmy for hosting the talk show, New York at Night. His most recent musical recording, Rendezvous, was nominated for two Grammy Awards.
Chris Ruggiero made his stage performance debut in 2018 singing with The Duprees on TJ Lubinsky’s PBS TV program, My Music. Since then, he’s gone on to perform with artists including Darlene Love and Bobby Rydell and has also recorded five albums including his latest release, Christmas with Chris Ruggiero.
Inside the Grunin Center auditorium, the lights dim and keyboardist Charles Santoro, saxophonist Kevin Presutti, trumpet player Marty Bound, drummer Jeremy Tolsky, bassist Andrew Viverito, and guitarist Julian McManus take their places on stage as a video of Chris Ruggiero talking about his childhood dreams rolls above them on screen.
Opening with “Pure Imagination” from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Ruggiero makes his entrance singing in his sweet tenor voice, “Come with me and you’ll be/In a world of pure imagination,” deftly accompanied by his band.
The crowd cheers and Ruggiero exclaims, “Come on, let’s have some fun!” as he launches into an upbeat arrangement of Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” which features swirling keys, tight horns, and precision bass as concertgoers’ hands tap in time to the music.
After announcing, “It’s so nice to be here,” Chris presents an easy version of The Supremes’ “You Can’t Hurry Love” and a passionate ballad rendition of Paul Anka’s “Puppy Love.”
The audience eagerly applauds and Ruggiero talks about his grandfather who introduced him to doo-wop music. Here, he impresses with a pleading version of Mel Carter’s “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me,” which elicits animated cheers and applause, and follows up with an upbeat medley of Shirley and Lee’s “Let the Good Times Roll,” Frankie Ford’s “Sea Cruise,” Little Richard’s “Long Tall Sally,” and Ray Charles’ “What’d I Say.”
Going on to perform his “personal favorite” song — The Stylistics’ “Betcha By Golly Wow” — Ruggiero sings in his relaxed falsetto, “Betcha by golly, wow/You’re the one that I’ve been waiting for forever,” on this ‘70s-era Philly R&B tune.
Following a soft and smooth interpretation of Stevie Wonder’s “My Cherie Amour,” Ruggiero dedicates The Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody,” to all the veterans in the house. Crooning, “Lonely rivers sigh/‘Wait for me, wait for me’/I’ll be coming home, wait for me,” he inspires a standing ovation from the crowd.
Music lovers clap along with Chris on a sparkling version of Len Barry’s ‘60s pop song, “1–2–3,” before he’s accompanied by Charles Santoro’s arpeggiated keyboard work on “Fly Me to the Moon.” Guitarist Julian McManus picks out an acoustic guitar accompaniment on Jay and the American’s “This Magic Moment” which segues into Bruno Mars’ “Just the Way You Are” before dipping back into “This Magic Moment.”
After introducing his band members, Chris sends his next number out to all the ladies in the crowd with his soft rock rendition of Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” and moves in rhythm singing on an upbeat salsa arrangement of The Beatles’ “I Feel Fine.”
Ruggiero thanks both Clint Homes and his manager, Joe Mirrione, for supporting his career before rocketing into a dynamic version of Man of La Mancha’s “The Impossible Dream” where he sings with emotion and power, inspiring another standing ovation.
Concluding his performance by stating, “This next song is my hope for each and every one of you,” Ruggiero gets music lovers clapping along to an upbeat medley of Leanne Womack’s “I Hope You Dance,” Lionel Richie’s “Dancing on the Ceiling,” and Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody,” prior to announcing, “Thank you so much!” and taking a bow in front of the standing crowd.
During intermission, several concertgoers share their thoughts on Chris Ruggiero’s performance this afternoon. Remarks Kathy from Media, PA, “I’ve seen Chris 105 times and his performance today was amazing! I started watching him years ago on PBS and he just gets better and better.” Gert from Howell, agrees, adding, “There are just no words to describe how great Chris is — he’s always excellent. I’ve been a fan for five years and he never disappoints his fans.”
Sarah from Middletown, DE, acknowledges, “This is my fourth year following Chris. My husband and I first saw him on TV and we said, ‘Oh, my gosh — he’s great!’ A few days later we went to see him perform and just fell in love with his music and wanted to keep on hearing him live.” Explains Sarah’s husband, John, “Chris’ music makes us feel like we’re still in the 1960s, and his personality is as good as his singing,” before concluding, “He was absolutely amazing today and now I can’t wait to hear Clint Holmes!”
Keyboardist Dimetrious Pappas, saxophonist Bob Howell, drummer Alvester Garnett, bassist Lavondo Thomas, and guitarist Peter Calo take the stage along with Clint Holmes who opens his set performing The Drifters’ “On Broadway.” In his smooth clear voice, Holmes scat sings between the verses on an upbeat arrangement which also features a jazzy Bob Howell sax solo and backup vocals supplied by keyboardist Pappas and guitarist Calo.
The crowd cheers and Holmes announces, “This next song is an East Coast song which makes me think of New York City and the Brill Building. Some of the greatest songs of our lives were written there and this is one of them.” Here, he presents his impression of the Carole King-composed hit for The Drifters, “Up on the Roof,” where shimmering cymbals, tasty guitar, and vibrato bass accompany his soaring vocal.
After acknowledging, “In 1973, I had a hit record which sold two-and-a-half million copies,” Holmes performs his song, “Playground in my Mind,” where audience members sing along with Clint on the tune’s “My name is Michael, I’ve got a nickel” lyric before erupting in avid cheers and applause.
Exclaiming, “Here’s to spending an afternoon listening to music!” Holmes invites concertgoers to sing with him on a touching rendition of Carole King’s song for The Shirelles, “Will You Love Me Tomorrow,” before making his way down into the audience for a bouncy interpretation of James Taylor’s “Your Smiling Face.”
Back on stage, Holmes announces, “I offer you James Taylor’s masterpiece,” as he cries, “Thought I’d see you one more time again,” on a show-stopping version of “Fire and Rain” which has the entire house on its feet cheering and applauding.
After reminiscing about watching TV’s The Ed Sullivan Show as a youngster, Holmes admits that he once dreamed of being Harry Belafonte before slipping into an original song he wrote about him. On “Belafonte,” music lovers join in singing snippets of Belafonte’s “Jamaica Farewell” and “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)” which Holmes interweaves into his performance.
Continuing by telling a story about how his parents — a white British opera singer and a black American jazz singer — met, Holmes performs “1944,” a theatrical ballad he wrote about them which mesmerizes listeners who stand and applaud for this touching work of art.
Holmes invites Chris Ruggiero back on stage where they trade vocals on a mash-up of Billy Joel’s 1977 hit, “Just the Way You Are,” and Bruno Mars’ 2010 hit, “Just the Way You Are,” delighting music lovers who rise to their feet for this entertaining collaboration.
A highlight of today’s show is Holmes’ presentation of a medley of tunes from Broadway’s West Side Story. Using only finger snaps and his voice, Holmes performs a cappella versions of “Jet Song,” “I Feel Pretty,” “America,” “One Hand, One Heart,” and “Maria,” before Dimetrious Pappas enters playing piano on “There’s a Place for Us” and the rest of the band chimes in on the dramatic conclusion of “Somewhere” which has audience members enthusiastically cheering on their feet.
Stating, “I offer you this song by way of saying goodnight,” Holmes concludes his set with his upbeat song of hope, “If Not Now, When,” after which he exclaims, “God bless!” as he takes a bow and blows kisses to the standing crowd.
As concertgoers make their way out of the Grunin Center auditorium, several comment on today’s presentation. Remarks Bruce from Parsippany, “Clint Holmes’ performance today was flawless! The way he interprets the lyrics of a song makes you feel like you’re hearing it for the first time. His imagination and brilliance made for a thrilling afternoon of music.”
Cindy from Toms River calls Holmes’ performance “Amazing!” explaining, “Because my name is Cindy and Cindy is one of the main characters in ‘Playground in My Mind,’ I became a fan back in 1973 and have followed his career up until this very moment. He’s been on my bucket list to meet and see in person; I loved his show and got to share it with my daughter which made it even more special.”
Whereas Marie from Manchester recalls, “I’ve seen Clint Holmes many times before — I first saw him 20 years ago, and he’s still great!” her twin sister, Betty from Toms River, notes, “I saw him years ago in Atlantic City — plus I’ve seen him many many times in Las Vegas — and he was just fabulous today; he’s a quality entertainer and a family man, which I like a lot.”
Karen from Manchester asserts, “Clint is one of my favorite performers I’ve seen here at the Grunin Center. He brought tears to my eyes, especially when he did the song about his parents meeting — it just touched my heart — and ‘Fire and Rain’ was outstanding, too. His performance was over-the-top good, and when he and Chris Ruggiero sang together, it was just primo!”
Lastly, Bob from Deptford declares, “Today’s show was great! This is my sixth time seeing Clint Holmes — the first time being at least 25 years ago — and he is still just as spectacular as when I first saw him.” Peggy from Little Egg Harbor, concurs, revealing, “This was one of the most moving shows I’ve seen in a long time. Everything from Clint Holmes and Chris Ruggiero came completely from the heart — it was very emotional — and with all of that talent on one stage, it was really special!”
To learn more about Clint Holmes, please go to clintholmesmusic.com. For more info on Chris Ruggiero, please click on chrisruggierosings.com. For information on upcoming performances at the Grunin Center — including The Glenn Miller Orchestra on November 22, Chris Botti on December 3, and Cherish the Ladies on December 14 — please navigate to grunincenter.org.
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