Christmas at Baker Street Centre is right in tune with the spirit of the season.

Enjoy live music from Minivan Hot Tub, Indigo Society, Smooth Edge 2, and The Beef Manhattans, led by the event’s host Mike Conley. And enjoy knowing that proceeds go to Community Harvest Food Bank.

“We’ve raise over $20,000 for Community Harvest Food Bank, so I’m really proud of that,” Conley said in an interview with Whatzup. “Every little bit helps, and oh my gosh, if you can help the needy and help feed people over the holidays. It’s a very special night for a lot of people.”

Help out those in need while enjoying a night of local entertainment at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 10, with a $10 entry fee.

rockin’ for a good cause

Conley says the idea for the annual holiday show began after he became friendly with the operators of the former C2G Music Hall.

“We were just talking one day and said, ‘Maybe we should do a Christmas show,’ ” Conley said. “I was like, ‘OK. Let’s do it.’ ”

About 250 people joined the event its first year in 2010, and things have moved right along with acts such as Freak Brothers, Kenny Taylor, Unlikely Alibi, Sunny Taylor, Alicia Pyle, and Carly Ingalls donating their time for the cause.

“Everybody recognizes the importance of helping people out. They’re just literally rock stars,” Conley said of the musicians. “They’ve just been so giving over the years, and I can go on and on (about who’s performed). It’s a who’s who of musicians that have done this show over the years.”

One of those “rock stars” is Adam Baker, who was originally slated to perform at the show with his band Adam Baker & The Heartache. However, due to scheduling conflicts, the Heartache couldn’t make it work, so he’s joined on with members of the funk band El Camino Hot Tub to form Minivan Hot Tub.

Thanks to a large group of musically-inclined friends, Baker was able to find a way to play in the showcase thanks to it being for a good cause.

“I don’t mind do an unpaid gig if it’s to do something positive,” he said.

Going bigger

Doors open at 5 p.m., giving attendees time to grab a sandwich, snacks, and drinks ahead of the performers going on at 6 p.m. Once they do take the stage, Conley says things run pretty smoothly.

“We do sound checks early in the day, they’re short sets, so it really goes boom-boom-boom,” Conley said. “It’s really fast. I don’t want it to be agonizingly long. It’s just the perfect amount of time, great entertainment.”

Things run so well that Conley says a couple hundred people show up each year, many of which are returnees.

“It kind of came out of the gate so strong,” he said. “We’ll have anywhere from 150-300 people. We have a very solid core audience that it is now part of their Christmas tradition. They are there every single year.”

Even though things have gone well over the years, Conley is looking for to grow next year, maybe even adding a sponsor, which would help the food bank even more.

“Just to maximize the contributions,” he said. “We’re really going to try to crank this thing up over the next year.”

Hearing something new

For now, Conley is happy with what’s going on at Baker Street Centre where each act will perform holiday music, which might be something a little different for them.

“You can see Adam Baker or Kenny Taylor any night, but that night, they’re going to introduce you to their interpretations of holiday classics,” he said.

And for Baker, the set list will be unusual for him, and it should be particularly unique with the funk-oriented group.

“I have never done a whole Christmas/holiday concert,” Baker said. “This time of year, I might throw a couple into the set if people want it, but doing all Christmas tunes will be a new experience.”

And with holiday classics being pretty G-rated, the night is even suitable for the little ones.

“It is absolutely an event that you can bring the whole family,” Conley said. “It’s an event for the whole family.”