Music fans make their way into Holmdel, NJ’s PNC Bank Arts Center this Monday, September 29, 2025 for An Afternoon of Music and Memories starring Bob Miranda and the Happenings, Vito Picone and the Elegants, and John Scupelliti and the Reactions. Also featuring The Coda Band along with host and singer Rhett J, today’s free show is presented by the Garden State Arts Foundation.
Vice President of the GSAF Board of Trustees Ron Gravino welcomes concertgoers to this afternoon’s program. He thanks the sponsors of the show — including Live Nation Entertainment, PNC Bank, and the UMC Foundation — in addition to the many GSAF volunteers for their help with today’s event.
As a special surprise, Gravino introduces Elvis tribute artist, Richie Santa, who performs Presley’s “Burnin’ Love” with the members of The Coda Band — Mary Beth Ryan-Mastropaolo on saxophone, Dennis DiBrizzi on keyboards, Joe DeAngelis on guitar, Paul Page on bass, and Pete Mastropaolo on drums.
Gravino also welcomes emcee Rhett J who greets the crowd and renders his interpretation of Jim Reeves’ “Welcome to My World.”
The crowd cheers and Rhett announces, “Please put your hands together for Mr. Johnny Scupelliti and the Reactions!” Here, Scupelliti, Phil Block, Johnny Foster, and Warren Tesoro take the stage and perform a hand-clapping rendition of Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode.”
After following up with the classic Leiber/Stoller R&B tune, “Kansas City,” Scupelliti and The Reactions present a doo-wop style interpretation of The Pentagons’ “To Be Loved (Forever)” where Scupelliti easily pops into and out of his falsetto voice.
Scupelliti introduces his stagemates before sailing into a song he and The Reactions recorded in 1964, the doo-wop tune, “Our Wonderful Love.”
Music lovers applaud and Scupelliti announces, “Let’s get it rocking!” as he and the band rocket into a bouncy version of The Del-Vikings’ “Come Go With Me” which has audience members clapping along.
Dedicating his final number to singer Larry Chance, Scupelliti croons, “I believe for every drop of rain that falls/A flower grows” on The Earls’ “I Believe.”
Concertgoers avidly applaud and Scupelliti responds, “God bless everybody!” as he and the group exit the stage.
Rhett announces, “Make some noise for Mr. Vito Picone and The Elegants!” as Frank Jeckell, Gary Catalano, and Sonny Copp take the stage along with Picone and kick off their set with an upbeat medley of Ray Charles’ “What’d I Say” and “Unchain My Heart.”
Music fans cheer and Picone jokes to the afternoon audience, “Look at this crowd — I see there’s a lot of people who don’t drive in the dark!” as he segues into an entertaining rendition of Screaming Jay Hawkins’ R&B tune, “I Put a Spell on You.”
Explaining, “We take songs from the ‘50s and give them a new twist,” Picone and Co. shift into Elvis Presley’s “I Want You, I Need You, I Love You,” where Picone’s voice rings out over the PNC crowd.
Guitarist Sonny Copp sings lead with Picone on Johnnie and Joe’s doo-wop number, “Over the Mountain, Across the Sea,” before Copp announces, “This is one of the great rock and roll songs of all time about summer” and sings lead on Eddie Cochran’s “Summertime Blues.”
Frank Jekyll — a founding member of the 1910 Fruitgum Company — leads the audience in his group’s 1968 hit song, “Simon Says,” where audience members happily move in response to the song’s instructions.
Gary Catalano makes his way down into the audience to perform The Monkees’ “Daydream Believer” where he invites the crowd to sing along on the tune’s, “Cheer up, sleepy Jean/Oh, what can it mean” chorus.
Concertgoers sway as they sing along to Vito and the Elegants’ interpretation of the Tom Jones hit, “Delilah,” before the group croons, “Here comes Johnny singing oldies, goldies/‘Be-Bop-A-Lula,’ ‘Baby What I Say,’” on a doo-wopified rendition of Dire Straits’ “Walk of Life.”
Picone announces, “We say God bless you and, always remember, we love you,” before concluding this afternoon’s performance with a live rendition of the Elegants’ 1958 chart-topper, “Little Star,” to hoots, hollers, and applause.
Following a short intermission, Rhett J announces, “Please put your hands together for Bob Miranda and the Happenings!” Here, Bob Miranda, Peter Calo, and Ed Gaudio take the stage with a rockin’ rendition of The Rascals’ classic blue-eyed soul hit, “People Got to be Free.”
After Miranda and Gaudio trade lead vocals on an upbeat interpretation of The Righteous Brothers’ “Rock and Roll Heaven,” Miranda exclaims,” Hello, New Jersey! This is my favorite place to play because I was born in a little town called Paterson!” Going on to explain, “Carole King requested The Happenings record this song and put our Happenings’ spin on it,” Miranda and the group sail into their 1966 hit, “Go Away Little Girl.”
Revealing he first sang this next song at a friend’s wedding, Miranda impresses as he croons the tender Angels ballad, “’Til.” Then, Miranda and Gaudio follow up by trading off singing lead on The Doobie Brothers’ “Listen to the Music” where audience members clap and sing along on the infectious “Whoa-oh-whoa, listen to the music” refrain.
Miranda recalls, “In 1967 we had a little bit of a slump, but we came back with a song from the 1930s,” prior to presenting a bouncy version of “My Mammy.”
East Brunswick, NJ’s Ed Gaudio sings lead on The Rascals’ “How Can I Be Sure,” before Miranda and the group segue into The Happenings’ signature song — their 1966 hit, “See You in September” — on an arrangement which features Miranda’s soaring falsetto lead and the audience happily singing along on the famous “Bye, bye, baby goodbye” bridge.
Following up with a tune Miranda wrote for Gerry and the Pacemakers, the trio performs the ballad, “Girl on a Swing,” and follows up with cover versions of two Beatles’ songs — “A Hard Day’s Night” and “Eight Days a Week.”
Miranda demonstrates his considerable vocal range singing back-to-back with Ed Gaudio on The Righteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’.”
Finally, fans cheer as The Happenings conclude today’s show with an upbeat rendition of the group’s 1967 hit, “I’ve Got Rhythm.” Delighted by the trio’s authentic ’60’s feel and harmonies, the crowd claps along and cheers as they reward Miranda and Co. with a standing ovation, to which Miranda replies, “Thank you so much, God bless you!”
To learn more about John Scupelliti and The Reactions, please go to thereactions.net. For more on Vito Picone and the Elegants, navigate to theelegants.net. For info on Bob Miranda and The Happenings, check out thehappenings.com. To find out about future Garden State Arts Foundation concerts at the PNC Bank Arts Center please go to gsafoundation.org.
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