Jelly of the Month Club helped Snoopy’s Legendary Rooftop Concert go viral with their Ozzy tribute

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The show exploded with powerful drums, electric guitar, and dazzling pyrotechnics. It felt like being at a major concert venue like the Hollywood Palladium or the Forum, but the location was surprisingly Knott’s Berry Farm – specifically, on top of a giant red doghouse! If you could just go with it for a night, it was an amazing experience. The educational rock band, Jelly of the Month Club, along with characters like Charlie Brown, Lucy, and Schroeder, built up to a big finale, asking the audience, “Where’s that crazy dog?” As the park echoed with “All aboard!”, hundreds of fans eagerly watched as a spotlight swept the crowd, searching for the show’s furry rock star.

You’ve probably seen Snoopy dressed as a version of Ozzy Osbourne – complete with round sunglasses, long hair, and a trench coat – performing to the song “Crazy Train” online. This performance, called Snoopy’s Legendary Rooftop Concert, quickly became popular with visitors to the park and people around the world after a video of it went viral. Sharon Osbourne even shared the tribute to her late husband on social media from the Grammy Awards, saying she loved it! But the concert is more than just clever costumes and jokes – it’s truly special.

The show at Knott’s Berry Farm follows Snoopy’s journey to become a rock star at the Jelly of the Month Club’s Music Academy, culminating in a world tour with his band. Throughout the performance, Snoopy hilariously transforms into various rock star characters – inspired by legends like John Lennon, Prince, and Freddie Mercury – and even a quirky member of the band Devo. The Jelly of the Month Club band delivers tight, well-arranged songs that blend classic rock energy with the playful spirit of the Peanuts gang. There’s even a special moment for Woodstock, who gets to whistle along to a reggae version of Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds” while Charlie Brown comically dances in a chicken suit surrounded by rubber chickens.

According to director Rob Perez, audiences started bringing rubber chickens to the show, creating a uniquely fun atmosphere. He compares it to a performance of ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ – delightfully strange, humorous, and endearing. Interestingly, Charles Schulz’s daughter, Jill, shared that her father believed a rubber chicken was one of the funniest things imaginable after seeing the audience participation.

It’s easy to see why Snoopy loves rock ‘n’ roll – he’s something of a loner with a rich inner world that his friends rarely glimpse. For Charlie Brown, the sense of community found on a rock tour is even more fitting, as that lifestyle often draws in creative, unconventional people who secretly long to feel accepted. Schulz’s comics often touched on the universal feeling of being disliked, and he confessed that Charlie Brown was partly based on his own experiences. In a 1977 interview with the BBC, he pointed out that “most of us lose a lot,” and his answer to dealing with life’s challenges was simple: never give up.

Michael De La Torre, also known as Mic Dangerously, is a guitarist and singer with the band Jelly of the Month Club, and he’s a big supporter of the Snoopy concert series. Jelly of the Month Club has been creating family-friendly music since 2013, aiming to inspire, teach, and entertain audiences of all ages. They’ve performed at numerous schools, hospitals, and events, using interactive songs to teach music and important life lessons. The band has even expanded into online education with the Jelly of the Month Club Music Academy, turning their live shows into fun, cartoon-based learning games. They frequently volunteer their time and have partnered with organizations like UNICEF to bring concerts and music education to schools throughout Southern California.

According to Dangerously, research shows music isn’t just beneficial for subjects like math, English, and science—it also supports personal growth. It can improve emotional understanding, much like how music therapy is used by adults, and children naturally benefit in similar ways.

Michael Dangerously first realized how powerful music could be when he was a student at St. Pius elementary school. He remembered a teacher with a mustache and Hawaiian shirt instantly calming down a noisy class just by playing an acoustic guitar. However, it was hearing Louis Prima sing in “The Jungle Book” that truly made him want to become a singer himself.

Performing at Knott’s Berry Farm has created a deep connection between Dangerously and the local community, something he never imagined when he was starting out in rock and roll. He’s formed a special bond with a father and his son, who usually doesn’t speak but comes alive at the shows, asking questions and singing along. Last year, a longtime friend suddenly went missing, and Dangerously learned she’d had a stroke. Her daughter and granddaughter shared that singing and dancing to his music at Knott’s had been crucial in helping her regain her speech and mobility. “She told me she loved me like a son,” Dangerously says. “I’ve never experienced that kind of connection with my band, and it really motivates me to keep performing.”

When Dangerously played his famous rooftop concert for The Times, his biggest fan, 11-year-old Abbey, had the best seat in the house. She was right in front, enthusiastically playing a light-up tambourine and even dressed head-to-toe to match his style – a sequin blazer, red pants, black boots, a bow tie, and a wide-brimmed hat! Abbey perfectly mirrored his performance, never missing a beat. She told me she loves everything about his music and dancing, and was thrilled that Mic himself had given her the tambourine, along with a few other instruments.

Abbey’s mom, April Guerrero, says they’ve watched Abbey grow up with the band since she was a little girl. Abbey started recreating the band’s outfits in 2017, and she even learned to play music using resources they provided online.

The members of Dangerously all come from backgrounds in education. Matt Kalin is a teacher and professional saxophone player who has performed with well-known artists like Social Distortion and Louis Bellson. Dr. Todd Forman is a doctor who attended Harvard, taught at USC, and also played saxophone with the band Sublime. James Kee, the bassist, has been a teacher for 15 years, working with students in kindergarten through fourth grade. Dangerously himself was encouraged by his mother, an art teacher, to pursue teaching after graduating from Musicians Institute with a degree in audio engineering. He now uses this experience in a junior producer’s course he developed for an after-school program in Long Beach.

Rob Perez, the director, is a talented musician and producer who loves classic rock and the Peanuts comic strip. He brought the idea of Snoopy’s Legendary Rooftop Concert to life. It started as a smaller show in 2017, inspired by Woodstock. When Snoopy appeared dressed as Jimi Hendrix, the audience loved it, and both his supervisors and fans at Knott’s Berry Farm asked for a bigger, full-fledged concert.

Perez explains that the Rooftop Concert is inspired by both the Beatles’ famous performance and Snoopy’s frequent rooftop appearances. Since Snoopy is often depicted as a writer or a pilot on top of his doghouse, Perez thought it natural for him to also be a rock star up there.

Knott’s updated the show, allowing creator Perez to focus more on the story, working alongside Jelly of the Month Club. The show begins with Snoopy leaving his cartoon world to attend a rehearsal where Dangerously gives him a tambourine to play with the band. He returns home with a stack of records and becomes completely absorbed in listening to them, a feeling many fans can relate to – finding comfort and inspiration in old albums while enjoying pizza and root beer, and dreaming of leaving home to pursue a musical life. Inspired, Snoopy puts on a leather vest, declares himself a “Golden Dog,” and runs away to study at Jelly of the Month Club’s Music Academy, hoping to tour the world. But after being told his singing isn’t quite right, he starts to miss his friend Charlie Brown. He convinces the Peanuts Gang to join forces with Jelly of the Month Club for one last performance on top of his doghouse – a show so amazing, it would earn them a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Like the meticulous musical approach of Jelly of the Month Club, Perez brought incredible detail to both the writing and production of the show. He even voiced Snoopy, carefully recreating a technique he learned from studying how Bill Melendez created the character’s voice in the 1960s. This involved recording sounds, speeding them up, and randomly combining them, just like Melendez did with tape. Perez also collaborated closely with costume designer Tim Barham, ensuring every detail of the wigs, accessories, and costumes was perfect. The show’s story and visuals are full of references to both “Peanuts” and classic rock ‘n’ roll films, including hidden nods to movies like “La Bamba,” “Rocketman,” “This Is Spinal Tap,” and “Almost Famous.”

According to Perez, the goal isn’t to alter the core personalities of the Peanuts characters. Charlie Brown, for example, should continue to try and fail at things like becoming a rock star. The creative team focuses on giving him opportunities and supporting him, even when he’s down, because that dynamic – his attempts and subsequent setbacks – has always been central to the Peanuts stories, especially in their TV specials and movies.

The Jelly of the Month Club’s song, “The Magic Is in the Music,” finds Charlie Brown struggling to learn guitar. Even though he’s clumsy with his out-of-tune guitar and doubts himself, the crowd enthusiastically supports him. When Charlie gets discouraged during a performance of an Elton John song, Dangerously reminds him that music can be a comforting refuge, telling him, “Charlie Brown, you are home.”

We perform songs about letting loose and being wild, but we also try to teach people – like the characters Charlie Brown and Snoopy – that true value isn’t about appearances. It’s about who you are inside,” Dangerously explains, gesturing to his heart. “It’s vital to not take life too seriously. We want to show everyone that it’s okay to have fun, and that a little bit of silliness is a really important part of rock and roll.”

The energy of Snoopy’s Legendary Rooftop Concert is incredible, both on stage and throughout the crowd. It’s a scene of pure joy – grandmothers playfully waving their fists, a young boy rocking out in a Woodstock shirt, seasoned rockers beaming, and even teenagers letting go of their cool to enjoy the moment.

Hanna, from South Gate, and Ellie, from Silver Lake, were bursting with excitement, jumping up and down, yelling, and singing along with the music. “I can’t even describe how amazing it was!” Hanna said, laughing. Both girls agreed the show exceeded their expectations.

On Snoopy’s rooftop everyone is a rock star: Abbey, a rubber chicken and even Charlie Brown.

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2026-02-13 23:32