At the upcoming Disney Tribute Concert on Thursday, May 28th at 7PM at Honey Tree Meadery, Tommy Habib continues to reimagine iconic music through his signature “classic albums live” concept — this time celebrating beloved Disney songs in an intimate, collaborative format. (Tickets: https://tunehatch.com/shows/disney-tribute-concert-night) What began as a heartfelt tribute to Brian Wilson evolved into a growing series that strips legendary works down to their emotional core, spotlighting raw vocals, piano, and carefully curated instrumentation. With a rotating lineup of Nashville vocalists — selected through both close creative relationships and open community submissions — each performance becomes a uniquely “cast” experience. Beyond the music, Habib has embedded a charitable mission into every show, with proceeds from this performance supporting AIDS-related causes in honor of lyricist Howard Ashman. As the series builds momentum, with upcoming tributes like The Beatles’ Revolver, Habib is crafting more than concerts — he’s creating meaningful, evolving musical experiences rooted in storytelling, collaboration, and impact.
Tommy, your “classic albums live” concept is unique — what inspired you to reimagine these iconic records in such a stripped-down, collaborative format?
It all started with wanting to pay tribute to Brian Wilson after he passed away last July. I wanted to pay tribute to a man who meant so much to me musically and personally. I knew that there was a ton of talent in Nashville that would love to help me stage PET SOUNDS, and I also knew that to recreate the album with full instrumentation would be kinda pointless. Brian Wilson’s touring band was the best ever to duplicate this music, and there are scads of Beach Boys tribute bands doing exact reproductions. I wanted to break down these songs to the bare essentials: myself on piano and vocals, a percussionist and choir of vocals, with only a few additional instruments when absolutely needed. After the PET SOUNDS show succeeded beyond any of our imaginations; the next step was to make it a regular event with different music each time. Fleetwood Mac’s RUMOURS was the next choice, and we sold out the Five Spot last March. So, we’re off and running.
I have to give credit to my business partner in these shows, Johnathan Pushkar, for the Disney idea…it never would’ve occurred to me. I love Disney music so as soon as he made the suggestion I was in like Flynn. This is the exact same stripped-down format, but instead of one album we’re doing more Disney songs than you can imagine from all eras. We’ll be back with another album next, and we’re going to make it a regular bi-monthly event. I can’t thank first the Five Spot and then Honey Tree Meadery, where we’re having the Disney show, enough for hosting us.
Each show features a rotating lineup of Nashville vocalists — how do you curate the artists and match them to specific songs?
Well, it starts with my band, The Raisins, which is comprised of three singers: Savannah, Quinn and Rachel (and I can’t leave our drummer Sam Skorik, who is fantastic). Each of them is a fine lead vocalist, so once I confirm their availability, I will ask them what songs they’d like to tackle… after I pick my own favorite to sing myself ha ha. Our friend, and Savannah’s brother, Sam Morris is a ‘guest raisin’ at a lot of our shows, and his parents have an incredible musical history, as well as being very sweet people. All four of them signed on to sing at the Disney show, we have the entire family singing. Following that, I look at our previous shows to re-invite a few performers; we want each show to be unique.
After that, I post to local Facebook pages asking who would be interested in performing. I have them fill out a Google Form and send me samples of their talent and social media. I select, with help from Johnathan, the cream of that crop: we have 22 total singers in this Disney show and we had over 50 applicants! After I listen to samples of them singing, and figure out what type of songs they would be interested in singing, I get to “cast” them, which is one of my favorite things to do. Matching a singer to a song and watching them work their magic never gets old.
You’ve incorporated a charitable component into each performance — how do you choose the causes you support, and what impact has that had so far?
It goes back to Brian Wilson: our PET SOUNDS show last October was as much a memorial to him as it was a concert, and it felt wrong to make a profit. A lot of the musicians offered their services for free because they loved him so much. So, we donated the profits to the Mental Health Collective. We decided it would be appropriate to donate a portion of our profits for each of these concerts to charity, as well as take up a collection. There’s so many in need. We’re donating a portion of the Disney show profits to AIDS charities in honor of Howard Ashman, who still inspires us all 35 years after he passed away.
This upcoming show honors Howard Ashman’s legacy — what does his story and contribution to music mean to you personally and creatively?
He was an incredible talent, first of all: he won two Oscars, he wrote the lyrics (Alan Menken the music) to THE LITTLE MERMAID, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, and he began work on ALADDIN before he died. In reading the lyrics to “Friend Like Me” from ALADDIN (which we’re performing on 5/28), my jaw literally dropped. It’s pure poetry. In case you’re not familiar with his story, Roy E. Disney compared his talent and leadership to Walt Disney. I highly suggest watching the documentary HOWARD, on Disney Plus, if you want to learn more about his life.
Howard Ashman was also the first Academy Award winner to have died of AIDS. He didn’t live to see BEAUTY AND THE BEAST released, and literally wrote some songs for ALADDIN on his deathbed. And yet, his work lives and breathes all these years later. I wanted to pay tribute to him at this show, and I figured the best tribute would be not only to recognize his great work, but to help support the fight against the disease that claimed his life.
I also wanted to add, while I have the opportunity, that Alan Menken is one of the best living composers in the world. Finally, we’ll also be paying tribute to The Sherman Brothers, who wrote the music for so many of the great 1960s and 1970s Disney films. We lost Richard Sherman in 2024, aged 95.
As the series continues to grow, what can audiences expect from your upcoming August and October shows, and how do you plan to keep evolving the experience?
I’m happy to announce that our next show is already booked: we’ll be celebrating the 60th Anniversary of The Beatles REVOLVER album on August 4th at The Five Spot, and I’m going to start finding new talent for it soon. Our plan, again, is to do these shows bi-monthly. At our Fleetwood Mac show, we handed out a survey to have an audience vote for our next show, in October, following The Beatles… the winner was by a single vote, and we’ll announce it at the Disney show.
Image Credit:
Sam Moser
