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It's a gorgeous September 19, 2024 evening inside Holmdel, NJ's PNC Bank Arts Center amphitheater where an audience of thousands of music lovers anticipate the start of a free Garden State Arts Center Foundation performance of Cousin Brucie Presents Chubby Checker, The Cowsills, and The Happenings.

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Cousin Brucie invites The Cowsills - siblings Susan, Paul, and Bob Cowsill - onto the stage to chat where, after pointing out that Susan Cowsill is barefoot, she quips, "I'm still a hippie!"

The members of The Cowsills' band - Brendan Cowsill on guitar, Ryan Cowsill on keyboards, Russ Broussard on drums, and Mary Lasseigne on bass - take the stage and Bob exclaims, "This is for all the flower girls out there!" as he and the ensemble launch into a swinging rendition of The Cowsills' 1967 hit, "The Rain, The Park, and Other Things" (aka "The Flower Girl").

After singing lead on Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Who'll Stop the Rain," Bob jokes, "This is an amazing crowd - thank you for staying up this late!"

Impressive three-part harmonies ring out on The Cowsills’ rendition of The Fortunes' "You've Got Your Troubles" before Bob and his siblings follow up with a soaring version of the group's 1967 Top 40 hit, "We Can Fly."

Paul and Susan Cowsill sing in unison on Ian and Sylvia's "You Were On My Mind," before concertgoers join Paul on a sing-along rendition of John Denver's "Country Roads." The Cowsills follow up with a bouncy version of their 1967 Top Ten tune, "Indian Lake," where Paul happily harmonizes with his siblings.

Susan is featured on a rhythmic rendition of Fleetwood Mac's "Rhiannon," prior to acknowledging, "We made such good friends with Tommy James that, with his blessing, we get to do this fun song." Here, the group performs a rockin' version of Tommy James and the Shondells' "Draggin' the Line," and follow up with a high-energy rendition of a TV theme song they recorded in 1969 - the theme from Love, American Style.

Bob sings lead on The Cowsills' version of 1979's "Let the Good Times Roll," and Susan rocks the house with her rendition of Martha Reeves and the Vandellas "Heatwave."

The crowd cheers, and Bob replies, "We want to come back here every year!" at which point Susan happily exclaims, "Chubby Checker knew my name backstage!"

The Cowsills end their set with a dynamic rendition of their 1969 smash, "Hair," which has music lovers singing along with gusto on the tune's "Oh, say, can you see my eyes if you can/Then my hair's too short" lyric before giving The Cowsills an enthusiastic standing ovation.

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