Artist: The Hello Darlins
Song: “Do You Hear What I Hear”
Album: Heart in the Snow EP
Release Date: November 6, 2020
In Their Words: “To us, Christmas is about our connection with loved ones. There’s also something peaceful, comforting and familiar during this time of year. It’s a time of looking back and wishing others well, but the true magic lay in memories of experiencing everything with a child-like spirit.” — Candace Lacina, The Hello Darlins
Artist: Calexico
Song: “Hear the Bells”
Album: Seasonal Shift
Release Date: December 4, 2020
In Their Words: “When writing songs for a seasonal album, I wanted to include some of the aspects of celebrations and traditions observed in Tucson around early November. This song is about holding time and space for memories. Dia de Los Muertos and The All Souls Procession are two events that have influenced Southern Arizona and remembering those who’ve passed away. But it could also be about giving memories importance, too. The story could be about two lovers or two family members.” — Joey Burns, Calexico
Artist: The Infamous Stringdusters
Song: “Joy to the World”
Album: Dust the Halls
Release Date: December 4, 2020
In Their Words: “Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, after all touring was indefinitely canceled, we were trying to figure out how to stay connected musically as a band spread out all around the country. We started to consider doing some remote recording projects (each guy from his own home studio), but doing a brand new original Stringdusters album requires us to be together. I had actually already started thinking about a Christmas album last year, but never had the time to start recording it, so when the idea came up we were able to use that list of mostly traditional songs and added an Andy Hall arrangement of ‘Winter Wonderland.’
“I put together arrangements for the band, wrote charts, made a guitar track and the guys all added their parts one by one. As the pieces were coming in and I was assembling and mixing them in my studio, the songs started to come to life and I felt like the band was together again. It was truly therapeutic and particularly nice that it was joyful holiday music, which helped me through some of the darkness happening in the world around us. We hope this album can help bring a little of that joy in to people’s homes, and we wish everyone a happy and healthy holiday season.” — Andy Falco, The Infamous Stringdusters
Artist: Ron Pope
Song: “Christmas Where I Come From”
Release Date: December 3, 2020
In Their Words: “This pandemic has taken all sorts of things from us. I know that in the grand scheme of things, not getting to see my extended family this Christmas isn’t as big of a deal as so many of the things that people are dealing with, but it’s something that I’m sad about nonetheless. A big family Christmas is just another thing that this year has taken from us. I want to be able to sneak off with my cousins and drink too much on December 23rd, until a teenaged waitress at Chili’s has to ask us to quiet down. I’m grateful that we’re all still alive and I recognize that it could be much worse, of course; I just wish I could go sit at Grandma’s table and laugh until my jaw hurts from smiling. I miss my family. I was sitting around singing Christmas songs one day and once I started thinking about Christmas this year, this song is what came out.” — Ron Pope
Artist: Colin & Caroline
Single: “It Isn’t Even Christmas Yet”
Release Date: December 4, 2020
In Their Words: “For the two of us, the holidays have always carried with them fond memories of childhood, and growing up within our families. For me [Caroline], this meant sitting on the steps with my two brothers as Nat King Cole and Sinatra’s holiday songs filled our house, and waiting patiently to run downstairs on Christmas morning. For Colin, it meant reading ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas on Christmas Eve with his family (a tradition that still stands today)… There’s a certain nostalgia that we feel around Christmas time that is reflective of our own relationship as well as our individual upbringings. We recognize that this isn’t the case for everyone surrounding the holidays, and that we’re lucky to feel this way. 2020 has been one of the most uncertain and difficult years our world has seen in a long time, and through our Christmas music, we want to spread a message of hope, and bring our listeners a sense of comfort, joy, and some extra love during perhaps the most important holiday season yet.” — Colin & Caroline
Artist: Frank Solivan
Single: “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
Release Date: November 6, 2020
In Their Words: “This holiday season I thought it was important to share a song that reminds us of the Christmas traditions that unite us. Reunions with friends and family, warm memories of olden days, and hope to once again gather together with an embrace and a kiss. … I found the lyrics particularly meaningful this year, and I hope it brings some comfort to those needing it. So please, ‘Let your heart be light. Someday soon we all will be together. Until then, we’ll have to muddle through somehow. So, have yourself a merry little Christmas now.’” — Frank Solivan
Artist: Coco Reilly
Song: “Christmas With You” (single)
In Their Words: “I didn’t set out to write a Christmas song, but as I was playing through this new chord progression Christmas lyrics just started coming to mind and it was done within an hour. At first I thought maybe it was a little silly, but it was stuck in my head for a whole week so I decided to give it a whirl. I have to thank Todd Stopera for recording this so last minute (we recorded this right before Thanksgiving, which is extremely late to be making a Christmas record!) He was so easy to work with and it came out almost exactly as I heard the production in my head.
“I knew I wanted to fully lean into a feel-good holiday vibe with a lot of percussion and warm harmonies. When the song was finished it made it made its way to Peter Asher, who I met via my manager since moving to LA. He has worked with some of my favorite artists of all time, so receiving such kind words from him is an incredible compliment. I can’t think of a better stamp of approval. Writing a holiday song is really intimidating, there are so many amazing ones out there already and it feels bold to throw my hat in the ring but it was so much fun to make and I only hope people are as happy listening to it as I was making it.” — Coco Reilly
Artist: JD McPherson
Song: “Red Bows (For A Blue Girl)” (single)
In Their Words: “‘Red Bows (For A Blue Girl)’ was a title I had while writing the Socks album in 2018, but I never followed through with the idea. I have a couple of those. The idea came up to put out a 45 for Record Store Day, and it seemed like a good time to bring that tune to life. It’s about buying your special lady friend a nice gift for Christmas to cheer her up, but the character of the song is so manic, it’s no wonder the gal is down in the dumps! Love the maracas and background vocal shouts on this one; super fun to record. It’s been a blast to play live.” — JD McPherson
Artist: Kara Grainger
Song: “The Holiday Blues” (single)
In Their Words: “In December, Nashville transforms into a Christmas wonderland and celebration of lights. I recently moved to town and wrote this song as my neighbors were already decorating their houses around Thanksgiving. ‘The Holiday Blues’ is about the feeling you get when such beauty and festivity is also accompanied by melancholy when missing someone you love. Christmas can be the most beautiful or hardest times of the year as we all well know, so I wanted to remind people not to get too caught up in the craziness, to just kick back and enjoy the season: ‘Don’t let the Holiday Blues drive you crazy, because pretty soon, pretty soon, it will be New Year’s Day.'” — Kara Grainger
Artist: Keb’ Mo’
Song: “Moonlight, Mistletoe & You”
Album: Moonlight, Mistletoe & You
In Their Words: “After 25 years of performing without releasing a Christmas album, I felt now was as good a time as any to spread some love and compassion. There’s something about Christmas time that makes everyone’s hearts a little lighter and I wanted to contribute to the movement of spreading a little joy. I feel like I was able to accomplish that through the making of Moonlight, Mistletoe & You.” — Keb’ Mo’
