For the 13th year in a row, Mike Conley will host a Christmas show that not only raises holiday spirits, but also raises funds to feed those in need.

On Saturday, Dec. 14, Christmas at Baker Street Centre returns with holiday music from local acts The Celebration Quartet, JJ & McRae & Conley, Sunglasses at Night, and Vox Deco. Tickets are $12-$25, with proceeds going to Community Harvest Food Bank.

“One dollar will pay for four meals,” Conley said. “So, a $12 ticket is enough money to provide 48 meals. That really sticks with me. It helps so many people to do things like this. I’ve been blessed to have a platform to get in front of a room full of people. It only makes sense to utilize this platform as positively as I can.”

Help from friends

According to Conley, who will once again be hosting along with performing with JJ & McRae, the opportunity to host the now annual event came about quite organically between himself and Baker Street Centre owner Mark Minnick.

“I came out with my Christmas album, and we both kind of looked at each other and thought, ‘Well, maybe we should do a Christmas show,’ ” Conley said. “Then Mark went on to suggest, ‘Well, maybe we should do a great Christmas show with good music and entertainment, make it a memorable experience for everybody, then donate all proceeds to Community Harvest Food Bank.’ So, that’s where it all started.”

That concept has led to many bands taking part, with Conley always hosting, while also performing, be it solo, with his band the Beef Manhattans, or this year participating with JJ & McRae.

“They were sweet enough to let me show up at some of their shows and sing together,” he noted, saying rotator cuff surgery has left him unable to play. “I felt it was only appropriate to do this year’s Christmas show with my good friends (Jill Jugloff) and Jeff (McRae).”

Along with joining his friends, he’s also putting in plenty of time to prepare for the show.

“Christmas music is a little tricky because it’s kind of hard to identify some harmonies in some of them or come up with them,” Conley said. “It’s a little challenging, I’m not going to lie. If you’re going to do a cover of Crosby, Stills & Nash or Simon & Garfunkel, you can find the harmonies. But where do you find the harmonies in ‘Let It Snow’? ”

The partnership with JJ & McRae is an example of the kind of acts that take part in the show. They all have some sort of relationship with Conley.

“The Celebration Quartet, a four-piece string group, and my friend Margaret (Sklenar) is a part of that group,” Conley said. “I asked my friend Margaret if she wanted to be a part of the show, and she said sure. The same with JJ & McRae. Sunglasses at Night, (guitarist) Steve Wright is an all-time, lifer friend. We’ve been in bands together. We’ve recorded music together. Steve is like a brother.”

Vox Deco, formerly known as Smooth Edge 2, have also been mainstays of the show. And it’s a show that does not lack for participants.

“I’m kind of flattered, because we’ve had a couple people that have said, ‘We’ve always wanted to do your Christmas show.’ I’m like, ‘Really?’ I’m just kind of stunned to hear that, but I’m really proud of that,” Conley said.

“The one common element of all the bands that have played at this is, they are all my friends. They’re my friends.”

Shifting gears

Among those friends is Wright, whose band Sunglasses at Night have been keeping people dancing and partying to the songs of the ’80s for about four years now.

When it comes to this year’s acts, Sunglasses at Night may be making the biggest departure, performing holiday songs.

“We’re an ’80s band predominantly, but we can do anything,” said Bill Herrington, vocalist for Sunglasses at Night, which also includes Nikki Gowins (vocals), Wright, Patrick Madrid (keyboards), Brad Wilson (drums), and Dan Rohlhoff (bass). “We have enough talent and instrumentation to cover a variety of things. So, it’s a nice little departure.”

That departure has led to plenty of practice, which should result in a new-look band on Dec. 14.

“The songs we picked are not necessarily rocking,” Herrington said. “We have a couple of the ‘Please Come Home for Christmas’ and ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside.’ They’re a little more laid-back.”

Greater cause

It’s that kind of dedication to learn completely new setlists that sets Christmas at Baker Street Centre apart. It’s a show where bands come together for a greater cause.

“Just the music community in general, we’re sort of a tight-knit group of people,” Conley said. “I think that’s an important element of this show. There’s a camaraderie and there’s friendships. If you have that, it shows.

“All the musical acts donate their time. Of course, they have to learn material for this show, because it’s an all Christmas show. So, there’s a good amount of effort that everyone puts in to make it a great show.”

And it’s a show that will feature holiday standards but presented in very different ways. Even if two acts perform the same song, you won’t be hearing the same song.

“One act is a four-piece string quartet. One act is an acoustic act. One act’s a full band. Then, the last act, Vox Deco, which used to be Smooth Edge 2, is an eight-person a cappella group,” Conley said. “So, the music genres are so drastically different. If the string quartet does ‘Little Drummer Boy’ and the eight-person a cappella group also does ‘Little Drummer Boy,’ it will be completely different songs.”

On top of hearing holiday music from the top acts in the city, you’re also going to be benefiting those in need. And this year, Conley has reached out for sponsorships, which have been very beneficial.

“We’ve already raised more money than we ever have for this show, just based on the sponsors we have,” Conley said of Tradewell Tax & Financial, Steel Dynamics, FAK Logistics, el Azteca, Surack Enterprises, Tom’s Donuts, Current Mechanical, Terry D. Anderson State Farm Insurance, and Sowles Bay Yacht Club & Storage. “They’re big companies that I know get called a lot of stuff for this sort of stuff. They said, ‘We appreciate what you’re doing for the community, so we’re going to help out.’”

You can also “help out,” while also getting into the Christmas spirit on Dec. 14 at Baker Street Centre.