A who’s-who from the Pittsburgh music scene will gather together for a night of Christmas cheer on Monday night — all for a good cause.
The third annual “A Very Yinzer Christmas” will be held at the Benedum Center in Downtown Pittsburgh on Dec. 9. Now a new tradition among local musicians and their fans, the show includes more than 25 acts performing Christmas staples and some original tunes.
Joe Wodarek, who’s been playing in Pittsburgh and beyond for decades, conceived the idea. After the Tree of Life shooting in 2018, he immediately acted and wrote a song to raise funds for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Victims of Terror Fund.
“We gathered over 40 musicians to sing on it,” Wodarek said. “And then, after that happened, I was like, you know what, there’s a lot more to be done here within our own community because we have so much talent that’s come out of Pittsburgh.”
He partnered with Band Together Pittsburgh, a nonprofit organization that enriches the lives and community of individuals on the autism spectrum through music. The event is also presented by 3WS FM.
Not only does Band Together Pittsburgh benefit monetarily from “A Very Yinzer Christmas,” but they’re also a part of the performance. Six of the organization’s most experienced participants will perform, while 11 more will form a choir that will back up Wodarek during one of his songs.
“Part of the show … we had some of the kids come in and sing on it. And during the show you have all this great Pittsburgh royalty and then you have some of the members of Band Together getting up on stage as well,” Wodarek said.
Performing musicians include Scott Blasey of The Clarks, Gene the Werewolf, Clinton Clegg, Bill Deasy, Jeff Jimerson, Joe Grushecky and the House Rockers, Totally 80’s, Wodarek and many more.
Wodarek is inspired by how enthusiastic his fellow veteran players are for the event each year.
“That’s the greatest thing about Pittsburgh is everyone is always so giving of their time. Being part of the music community, we all get to know each other. So I just reached out to the different folks that I’ve known throughout the years and everyone was happy to jump in and be a part of it. And that’s what really makes it special is … it spans generations of artists getting up on stage one night, you’re not gonna see that anywhere,” he said.
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Bill Deasy, local musician and frontman of the band The Gathering Field, said, “You get to where you just start to kind of know a lot of people. … Pittsburgh is kind of a, it’s a pretty tight community. So, when you get calls to do things like this, it’s a real pleasure to kind of step up.”
“(They) just contacted me to be a part of it and I was happy to help out. It’s been a lot of fun,” said Scott Blasey of The Clarks, who will be performing at Monday night’s show.
Blasey has been involved with the show since its first year at the Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead in 2022. He sings “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” originally by Andy Williams. It’s one of his favorite Christmas songs.
“I grew up with that music, listening to it as a kid, and it was just a real natural thing for me to do. Which is fun, too, because I’m sort of a rock and roll guy and it’s not that, it’s more of that crooner style, which is a lot of fun to see,” Blasey said.
Deasy also gets to step into the crooner role, singing “The Christmas Song,” first recorded by the Nat King Cole Trio. “It’s beautiful, it is a great one. And it’s real fun to sing and … to croon a little bit and … sing in a different style. I really enjoy it.”
Some of the artists — including Wodarek — bring original holiday tunes to the “A Very Yinzer Christmas” stage.
He will be performing a song he wrote with Jay McKnight titled “That Silent Night,” along with Jeff Jimerson and Pete Hewlett. “That is, by far my favorite,” he said.
“A Very Yinzer Christmas” is also an album, recorded and released in 2022 with proceeds also going to Band Together.
It’s also a great moment for all these well-acquainted Pittsburgh artists to get together close to the holidays, Deasy said. “It’s so nice, too, because everybody’s, you know, we’re all so busy and musicians all have their own gigs. Everyone’s performing and sometimes you don’t really see each other too much. So, these kinds of events are fun for the backstage conversations and, you know, just hanging out in dressing rooms and singing with different people and it’s just nothing but fun.”
In 2022, when “A Very Yinzer Christmas” held its first show, it was at the Carnegie Library Music Hall of Homestead, and quickly sold out. So they moved down to the Benedum Center last year to heighten capacity.
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“The most wonderful thing about this is there’s, you know, 1,500, 2,000 people sitting out there. They know all the Pittsburgh superstars. These guys who have been around a long time, the Scott Blaseys and Clinton Cleggs and Pete Hewlett and all those guys, the Taylor family,” said John Vento, co-founder of Band Together Pittsburgh and lead singer of Nied’s Hotel Band, which will perform at the show. “But to see the courage and the performance of young people on the autism spectrum is inspirational.”
To get tickets for “A Very Yinzer Christmas,” visit yinzerchristmas.com.