Sat. Jan. 14

  There was the year Red Sox outfielder Johnny Damon took the Paradise stage, ripped off his shirt, tossed it to the rafters, and dove into the crowd as 20-plus musicians rocked through Cheap Trick’s "Surrender." Terry Francona and Kevin Millar stood side-stage, shaking their heads. And the time Jonathan Papelbon joined the gang and belted out the Rolling Stones’ "It’s Only Rock and Roll."

    Still, the annual January Red Sox talk ‘n’ rock charity bash at the Paradise, is always one of most smoking events of the winter.

     This year’s concert and baseball gabfest features music from Hot Stove vets Bill Janovitz (with his band Buffalo Tom), Kay Hanley, (in photo) Theo Epstein, Tanya Donelly, Robin Lane, and event co-founder Peter Gammons. First-timers include the Remains, Deer Tick, Mean Creek, the Sprained Ankles and the duo of six-time Grammy nominee Susan Tedeschi and her hubby, Grammy winning guitarist Derek Trucks.

    Proceeds will be distributed to nine local charities for at-risk youth through A Foundation To Be Named Later, the umbrella organization run by Theo Epstein and his brother Paul. Over the years, Hot Stove events have raised more than $4 million. All good things.

     But there may be an elephant in the room: The New England Patriots-Denver Broncos playoff game, which kicks off an hour after Hot Stove begins.

    "No!" said Tedeschi, on the phone, when informed of the coincidental and unfortunate clash with the Pats. The blues singer-guitarist, who is now based in Jacksonville, grew up around Boston. She sighed, "My whole family’s going to be mad at me. At least 15 of my relatives have bought tickets."

     "I’m not a huge football fan," said Janovitz, during a separate phone chat, "but even I want to watch it."  So, what does a torn Boston sports/music fan do?

    Hanley, the former Letters to Cleo singer, offered a solution. "This is why we have smart phones," she said from Los Angeles. "Everyone’s gonna be looking at their phone anyway, whether it’s the Pats game or not. I would argue that the power center – the thing that makes the Pats win – will be at Hot Stove."

Also worth nothing: There will be four large flat-screen TVs tuned to the game in the adjacent lounge.

     Inside the main room, O’Malley will introduce acts, crack jokes, cajole fans into bidding up auction items – a hit last year was Kevin Youkilis’ sweat-stained jersey - and sing The Who’s "The Seeker" with Buffalo Tom.  The Hot Stove All-Stars – guitarists Janovitz, Gammons and Mike Gent, bassist Ed Valauskas, keyboardists Phil Aiken and the J. Geils Band’s Seth Justman with drummer Eric Anderson – will provide backup for Lane, Donelly, Tedeschi and Trucks, among others.

      Tedeschi and Trucks are the big new names on the bill. "We’ve been asked to do Hot Stove the last few years, but couldn’t do it because of scheduling, " Tedeschi said. "Four months ago, they asked and Derek said, ‘Honey, help me plan so we can do it this year.’" She’s a Red Sox fan, of course. He’s a Braves guy. (His great uncle Virgil "Fire" Trucks set the single-season professional baseball record for most strikeouts in 1938, 458.)

     Tedeschi said, "My expectation is to have a good time, raise some money for children’s education, see some family and Peter, say hi to friends and have it be a positive fun night. It won’t be anything too stressful. It’s more a social gig."

     Hanley was involved in Hot Stove from the get-go in 2000. "The first one was literally just [former Herald sportswriter] Jeff Horrigan and Gammons coming up with this cockamamie scheme and they said, ‘Let’s get Kay, she’ll do anything.’ I had no idea it’d turn into what it did, which is raise millions for Theo and Paul’s charitable work."

"It grew exponentially from the second year," Janovitz said, "and after ‘04 it was crazy. It had been this scrappy little club thing and it turned into one of Boston s big celebrity charity benefits."

     Epstein, who left the good ship Red Sox for the Chicago Cubs after last fall’s collapse, will be playing rhythm guitar. The former Sox general manager brought the Red Sox two World Series Championships, but he also left them with huge contracts for Daisuke Matzusaka and John Lackey, and, among fans, some mixed feelings. Will there be any awkwardness about Espstein’s presence?

     "I’d be lying if I said it hadn’t come up," Janovitz said, "but for me, there’s no awkwardness. He’s a friend. And the fact that he’s coming back during this busy time is testament to his commitment,"

      "Theo’s heart is still in this," added Gammons, the NESN and MLB.com analyst, on the phone. "People have wanted to turn the page from last year and Theo’s leaving made it easy. It was a natural transition from Theo to [new general manager] Ben [Cherrngton]."

     "Theo is a favorite son and a good friend," said O’Malley, on the phone from Los Angeles. The former Boston-based comic and "Glee" star has been the Hot Stove emcee since 2002. "This is a chance for people to give him a round of applause. Of course, if the Cubs play the Red Sox in the World Series I will root for Theo’s emotional and spiritual demise and his abject failure."

     Lane, who sang for Hot Stove the first time last year, will sing her early ‘80s hit "When Things Go Wrong," and one of the Hot Stove staples, Neil Young’s "Rockin’ in the Free World."

     Lane’s position is unique among the performers. She founded and runs the non-profit Songbird Sings, which uses music to work with women and children who are trauma survivors. The Providence-based organization will get money from the Foundation via the Home for Little Wanderers.

      "It’s music giving back," Lane said, of Hot Stove . "Music to raise money for organizations that help youth. It’s a circle that connects."  "It’s turned into a combination of a fun event and something we feel is worthwhile for the city," Gammons said. "We feel it’s far more important than just having a really good time."

Ticket: $40. .