Tag: Solstice

BGS Wraps: Seasonal Musical Favorites

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

In our eyes and to our ears, there’s no better family of musical genres to usher in the holiday season than roots music. Bluegrass, Americana, old-time, country, blues, and beyond – they’re all perfectly suited for the coziest time of year, for togetherness, for parties and gift-giving and cookie icing. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or Winter Solstice – or even if you feel like opting out of the ruckus altogether – there is roots music for you.

Each year, we like to share our picks for the rootsiest time of the year in BGS Wraps, a weekly collection of songs, videos, albums, shows, tours, and events that celebrate the season. We share a few of our favorites, mostly brand new but often classics and timeless selections, too. Plus, we collect all that we can into a running playlist so you’re ready when the family or party hands you the aux cable.

We hope you enjoy BGS Wraps and tune in the next week as we continue our series celebrating the holiday season. (Catch up on week one here.)

Christmas at the Ryman, Amy Grant & Vince Gill

“When I Think of Christmas” I think of Amy Grant and Vince Gill holding down the holiday fort with their iconic annual Christmas at the Ryman series. This year, they’ll offer 12 performances over eight days at the lauded venue known as the most famous former home of the Grand Ole Opry and the birthplace of bluegrass. Grant and Gill epitomize Music City and how tightly knit this town and its music creators are. There are sure to be plenty of memorable and one-of-a-kind moments across their holiday residency. Limited tickets are still available, so secure yours today. The series begins today, Wednesday, December 10 and concludes on December 20.

“Joy,” Kirby Lyle

Nashville-based songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Kirby Lyle is joined by Maya de Vitry on a brand new seasonal track, “Joy.” Featuring trickling banjos, fiddles, cellos, and guitars in a cozy and grooving 6/8 time, “Joy” feels like a folk holiday mantra, with Lyle and de Vitry singing in a call-and-response style perfect for the often ecclesiastical vibes of this time of year. “Joy” centers the feelings of working class and downtrodden folks in the holiday season, finding radical hope not through toxic positivity but through intention and community. It’s both a sonic and rhetorical antidote for those weary of capitalism and consumerism masquerading as togetherness and holiday cheer.

“Merry Christmas, Baby,” Miko Marks

Does Christmas give you the blues? Well, the blues can cure your holiday blues, too – as evidenced by Oakland-based artist and singer-songwriter Miko Marks’ brand new rendition of “Merry Christmas, Baby.” With twangy resonator guitar and whining harmonica, Marks’ ensemble stomps their way through the deep-pocketed number. The classic form and chord progression are as comforting as Christmas cookies and a mug of hot cocoa, and Marks’ soaring and soulful voice is more than angelic enough for the season.

“Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” Parker McCollum on CMA Country Christmas

Young country superstar Parker McCollum performed a quintessential classic, “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” on this year’s primetime broadcast of CMA Country Christmas. Flanked by thousands of twinkle lights and backed by brass, strings, and background vocalists, McCollum wore a crisp white “Fresh Western” trucker cap as he brought his trademark country energy to the beloved carol at Belmont University’s Fisher Center for the Performing Arts. If you missed the original broadcast of CMA Country Christmas on December 2 and the encore broadcast on December 9, don’t worry – you can stream CMA Country Christmas via Hulu or Disney+. The single version of the track is also available exclusively via Apple Music.

“Every Season,” MORGXN

On the opposite end of the mainstream country continuum from bro country and country trap you have artists like MORGXN innovating on the genre in similar sonic ways, but without the genre cognitive dissonance, toxic masculinity, or petty litmus testing of the other end of the spectrum. See how much fun, engaging, and innovative country can be with pop and electronic influences from other territories than what we most commonly find on the country airwaves? “Every Season” is the first holiday release from MORGXN, an original song that draws as much upon rootsy textures and tones as crisp and modern software sounds.

We always love when we find new seasonal music that’s inclusive of everyone’s faiths and traditions, too, so we’re especially excited to add “Every Season” to our holiday playlists this year.

Opry Country Christmas

Are you also devastated our Opry 100 Artist of the Month series concluded already? Here’s your solution, as mere days after the Grand Ole Opry’s special 100th Anniversary shows on November 28, Opry Country Christmas began in earnest at the Grand Ole Opry House on November 30. The festive, star-stacked shows will continue through December 23, each performance featuring Opry members the Gatlin Brothers, Riders In The Sky, Mandy Barnett, and Charlie McCoy plus varying special guests each night like Connie Smith, Marty Stuart, Maddie & Tae, the Isaacs, Ricky Skaggs, Marcus King, and many more.

If you’re nearby or traveling to Nashville this December, get your tickets and more info here. Not able to make it in person? Stream Opry Country Christmas on WSM Online and the Opry’s digital platforms, or listen like we do most often, over the good ol’ fashioned airwaves at 650 AM. When you hear Country Music Hall of Famer Charlie McCoy wail through a medley of Christmas carols on his harmonica, you’ll be glad you did.

Snow Globe Town, Brad Paisley

Brad Paisley’s brand new country Christmas album, Snow Globe Town, was inspired by him being asked by Hallmark Channel to write and record music for their brand new A Grand Ole Opry Christmas movie. Paisley has already taken his festive songs to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and NBC’s “Christmas in Rockefeller Center” – and the album rose rapidly to the very top of the Billboard Current Country Album chart, scoring a No. 1 while it landed on their Top Country Albums and Holiday/Seasonal Albums charts, too. With his signature croon and hearth-hot telecaster licks, Paisley offers brand new numbers and favorite classics. Snow Globe Town has been called “unmistakably Brad” and we certainly agree.

Wrapped in Paper, Sofia Talvik

We’ve enjoyed featuring Swedish singer-songwriter Sofia Talvik’s holiday songs in BGS Wraps over the years. Now, she’s collected all of her Christmas singles and tracks since 2018 into a new holiday album, Wrapped in Paper. The project also includes three brand new tracks, two originals – “Merry Christmas, Adios, So Long” and “Let Peace be the Song” – as well as her version of “Silent Night.” “Let Peace be the Song” is more than apt for the uncertain and extreme times we find ourselves living in. Seemingly a response to the attention economy of social media and the sensationalism of the news cycle, Talvik calls for peace – the true meaning of this season, regardless of faiths or traditions – while wars, conflicts, and political frays are fought all around us. If only peace could be the gift we all give each other this year.

Heart of the Holidays, Tenille Townes

A new three-song EP from singer-songwriter Tenille Townes, Heart of the Holidays, is inviting, cozy, and classic. The collection’s title track is warm and jazzy, with round hollow-body electric guitar tone that feels like a comforting hug. The drum kit shuffles along as Townes gives us an excellent track for all kinds of wintry holiday celebrations. “I love writing and singin Christmas songs,” Townes said on social media, “because it brings out all the jazzy, cozy melodies.” The project continues with “Auld Lang Syne” – preemptively add that to your New Year’s playlist now! – and a lovely three-part harmony rich version of “Go Tell It On The Mountain” featuring Caylee Hammack and Fancy Hagood rounding out the vocal trio. It’s a perfect fit for BGS Wraps!

Lead Image: Miko Marks by Karen Santos; Amy Grant & Vince Gill by Robby Klein; Tenille Townes by Robert Chavers.

BGS Wraps: Roots Music for the Season

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

In our eyes and to our ears, there’s no better family of musical genres to usher in the holiday season than roots music. Bluegrass, Americana, old-time, country, blues, and beyond – they’re all perfectly suited for the coziest time of year, for togetherness, for parties and gift giving and cookie icing. Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or Winter Solstice – or even if you feel like opting out of the ruckus altogether – there is roots music for you.

Each year, we like to share our picks for the rootsiest time of the year in BGS Wraps, a weekly collection of songs, videos, albums, shows, tours, and events that celebrate the season. We share a few of our favorites, mostly brand new but often classics and timeless selections, too. Plus, we collect all that we can into a running playlist so you’re ready when the family or party hands you the aux cable.

To kick off the season this year, we’ve got a BGS Wraps full of Good Country, jingle bells, Texas snow, holiday generosity, and plenty of glittering lights and joyous cheer. We hope you enjoy BGS Wraps and tune in the next two weeks as we continue our series celebrating the holiday season.

A Very Carper Christmas, Melissa Carper

One of our favorite purveyors of Good Country in the most legit old-school, Texas, Western swing, and outlaw styles, Melissa Carper has just launched her own album of holiday music, A Very Carper Christmas. It boasts quite a few originals and co-writes and a couple covers of classics, too. The collection is silky smooth and timeless, a perfect accompaniment to holiday cooking, decorating, gallivanting from store to store, or cozying up by the fire with your loved one of choice.

Starting December 4, Carper will join JD McPherson’s “Socks: A Rock & Roll Christmas” tour around the Southeast, East Coast, and Midwest. So don’t miss your chance to catch these Good Country seasonal songs live in person. Melissa Carper tour details here.

“When It Snows in Texas,” Chaparelle & Sierra Ferrell

Let’s keep it going with more Austin-based Good Country! Last month, alt-country supergroup Chaparelle announced a brand new co-write and collaboration with everyone’s current favorite old-time Americana goddess, Sierra Ferrell. “When It Snows in Texas” is the perfect seasonal holiday number, apt for each and every rootsy holiday playlist and certainly suited to occasions beyond just Christmas. With a languid, loping groove, it’s all wrapped up in alt sounds that remind of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and a casual sing-along sidled up to a shiny wooden bar all at the same time. This is the country & western (heavy on the ampersand western) vibe we all crave – this time of year or anytime.

Feels Like Christmas, Mickey Guyton

Singer-songwriter and country star Mickey Guyton is no stranger to festive song releases, but Feels Like Christmas is officially her first full-length holiday album. From the adorable “Sugar Cookie” to the classic pop trappings of the title track to her “Christmas Isn’t Christmas” duet with the Michael Bolton, Feels Like Christmas feels… well, grown up. Fully realized. Ready for your moody, ambient Christmas cocktail hour or a laughter-rich, full kitchen, too. Guyton makes some of the best crisp, modern, radio-ready country around today, and this holiday collection – like most if not all of her discography – feels made to last the ages, too.

Further leaning into the festivities of the season, Guyton will also appear in a brand new Hallmark movie, A Grand Ole Opry Christmas, which is premiering this year during Hallmark Channel’s 16th annual Countdown to Christmas programming event. Guyton certainly has our number, and we’ll be camped out in front of the TV with our hot ciders and sugar cookies ready and waiting for this incredible Opry, country music, and Hallmark crossover.

I’ll Be Home for Christmas, Drew & Ellie Holcomb

Drew & Ellie Holcomb have added to their deep-and-wide catalog of holiday and seasonal music with a brand new EP entitled I’ll Be Home For Christmas. The project adds three lovely covers of Christmas favorites to the stacked roster of selections the couple and their Neighbors trot out each winter for the season. This year, they’ll perform two “Neighborly Christmas Special” shows in Tennessee – in Memphis on December 5 and in Nashville on December 12 – before heading out on their next headline tour in February. Find ticket info here, then put on I’ll Be Home For Christmas while you make your holiday lists and check them twice.

The Greatest Christmas On Earth, Robert Earl Keen

Now this right here sounds like our kind of Americana Christmas circus! Robert Earl Keen kicks off his “The Greatest Christmas On Earth” tour this week, crisscrossing the South and Southeast through the month of December spreading cheer, joy, silliness, and light – and keeping the party going down the road forever, as he does.

The tour will kick off on December 4 in REK’s hometown of Kerrville, Texas, and you can be sure each night will feature his paean to the beauty and dysfunction of families at the holidays, “Merry Christmas From The Family.” Put all your own rowdy relatives in the van and don’t miss these shows. Ticket info here.

“Dream a Dream of Christmas,” Lydia Luce

Lydia Luce just released her excellent brand new album, Mammoth, in late October, but even before the project’s release she was looking ahead to the winter and holiday seasons with a A-side / B-side single release, “Dream a Dream of Christmas.” Like her songs in general, the A-side selection is contemplative, emotional, and rich with text painting and lush piano and vocals. Resonant strings play along with the contours of her vocal, punctuated by Christmas-y percussion and scoring, like Hollywood holiday offerings of the ’50s and ’60s. The track’s B-side is a delightful rendition of the beloved carol “Silent Night” that’s dramatic and rich – and features guest vocals by Caroline Spence. Both songs would be excellent additions to your themed playlists for the season.

OCMS XMAS, Old Crow Medicine Show

It’s hard to believe one of bluegrass and old-time’s longest running party string bands, Old Crow Medicine Show, have just released their first holiday album this year – but it’s true! OCMS XMAS is zany, rollicking, and unhinged. (As it should be.) It’s a collection of stories, songs, and tableaus that are just as fantastic and engaging as any of their rip-roaring live shows or any of their adored albums from their stacked discography. It’s a Christmas album as only Old Crow could make, and frontman Ketch Secor’s fingerprints are all over the track listing. From “Corn Whiskey Christmas” to “Breakin’ Up Xmas” to “Krampus Night” and beyond, this set of material will certainly be a Holiday Hootenanny on stage. Catch their Holiday Hootenanny on tour through December 20, before the band returns yet again to the Ryman Auditorium for their iconic annual New Year’s celebration performances to close out the year.

Sweet Relief’s Annual Holiday Auction

Sweet Relief is a non-profit organization with a mission that we all – in the music industry and outside of it – can get behind. For more than 30 years Sweet Relief has worked to provide financial assistance to musicians and music industry workers who are facing illness, disability, or age-related challenges. Just last week, they launched their annual holiday auction yet again, offering signed memorabilia and in-person experiences with a variety of artists in roots music and beyond, all of which benefit their important mission and vital work supporting music professionals’ mental and physical health.

Folks can bid on offerings from artists and musicians like Billy Strings, Hozier, Pearl Jam, Walker Hayes, The Decemberists, the Black Keys, Amanda Shires, Gregory Alan Isakov, and many, many more. If you’re planning your Giving Tuesday donations and also wondering what to get the music lover in your life who already has everything, perhaps you can check two things off your list in one go by supporting Sweet Relief. Learn more and view the auction items here.

Jingle All The Way Tour, Béla Fleck & the Flecktones

No holiday season would be complete without regularly returning to one of the best roots holiday albums ever made, Béla Fleck & the Flecktones’ Jingle All The Way. Released in 2008, the GRAMMY Award-winning album is beloved in and outside of roots music spheres – it even landed a mention in Oprah’s O Magazine back in ’08! Now, Fleck and the band – including Victor Wooten, Roy “Future Man” Wooten, Howard Levy, and special guests Jeff Coffin, Alash, and Sierra Hull (on select dates) – are taking their virtuosic cheer back on the road with a full slate of Jingle All The Way Tour shows. The tour kicked off in Nashville and will continue through December 20 hitting performing arts centers and theaters in the Midwest and across the Eastern U.S. To mark the occasion, Fleck & the Flecktones released their first holiday music since Jingle All The Way, a single medley of “The First Noel/Joy To The World.” If you can’t make the shows, put the original album and new single on the stereo – but we really recommend snagging tickets and seeing them live, with this superlative lineup, if you can.

Lead Image: Mickey Guyton, Feels Like Christmas; Melissa Carper by Lyza Renee; Old Crow Medicine Show courtesy of the artist.

BGS Wraps: Our Wintry, Holiday Collection

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Each year, the BGS Team likes to “wrap up” the year in music by featuring holiday, seasonal, and festive tunes and songs throughout the month of December. It’s a perfect way to generate holiday cheer while shining a light on some of the high quality new – and timeless! – seasonal music we’ve got playing on repeat each winter. And, it gives us the chance to infuse our veteran/stalwart holiday playlists with some new life, too.

This year, we’ll be sharing songs, albums, shows, and events each day for the first three weeks of December, a musical bridge to bring us to the peak holiday season, the end of one year, and the beginning of another. Check back each day as we add more selections to these weekly posts, highlighting roots music that will soundtrack our solstice, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Year.

What are you listening to this time of year? Let us know on social media! You can scroll to find our complete BGS Wraps playlist for 2024 below. Check out Week 1 of BGS Wraps here and Week 2 of BGS Wraps here.

Tim O’Brien and Ben Winship, “Santa Ate a Gummy”

Artist: Tim O’Brien & Ben Winship
Song: “Santa Ate a Gummy”
Release Date: November 22, 2024

In Their Words: “Hope you enjoy this video for my new single with Tim O’Brien, ‘Santa Ate a Gummy’ animated by Peter Wallis.” – Ben Winship, via social media

“Share away! It is sure to put a much needed smile on your faces. Thank you Ben for taking me on this trip with you.” – Tim O’Brien, via social media

From The Editor: “Let’s follow in Santa’s footsteps on this one, for a perfect way to close BGS Wraps for 2024 and really enter the holidays, full plunge. Multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Ben Winship joins forces with bluegrass legend Tim O’Brien on a hilarious and charming new holiday single they co-wrote, ‘Santa Ate a Gummy,’ about an extra exciting and dreamy Christmas Eve journey for the ol’ Kris Kringle. Sugar plum fairies may be dancing in his head, but that toy-making-season backache must surely be on retreat. As we move into the holiday break, take a page out of St. Nick’s playbook – got a headache? Need a moment of chill? Consumerism wearing you out? Wrapping paper cuts riddling your fingers? Pop your favorite THC or CBD treat, sit back, relax, and put on ‘Santa Ate a Gummy’ on our BGS Wraps playlist. And we’ll see you in January. Happy Holidays!”

Zach Top, “Hard Candy Christmas”

 

@zachtop Tis officially the season! Go stream the Christmas hits! #classiccountry #countrymusic #christmasmusic ♬ Hard Candy Christmas – Zach Top

Artist: Zach Top
Song: “Hard Candy Christmas”
Release Date: November 17, 2023

In Their Words: “Tis officially the season! Go stream the Christmas hits!” – Zach Top, via social media

From The Editor: “One of our favorite Good Country artists of 2024, Zach Top often delights his fans and followers with incredible covers of country standards and hits on his social media feeds. This short cover of ‘Hard Candy Christmas’ has more than 2.1 million views since it was posted at the beginning of this month. We can see why! Just over a minute of the iconic holiday country number – popularized by Dolly Parton – has us immediately returning to his 2023 single release of the song. (We wouldn’t have survived without a full rendition!) The picker-singer-songwriter and ’90s country time capsule has certainly been one of the major music stories of the year, with a grassroots, ground-up following hellbent on loving the honesty and ease of his trad sounds. Check out our GC interview with Top from earlier this year as we crank the classic country Christmas vibes on the stereo. We’ll be fine and dandy…”

Authentic Unlimited, “Christmas Time Is Here”

Artist: Authentic Unlimited
Song: “Christmas Time Is Here”
Album: Christmas Time Is Here
Release Date: November 15, 2024

In Their Words: “A Christmas song is like wrapping up a warm memory, ready to be shared with the world. In true Authentic Unlimited fashion, we unwrap our musical gift to listeners, hoping it brings joy and a touch of holiday spirit to every heart.” – Jerry Cole, bass, via press release

From The Editor: “Reigning IBMA Vocal Group of the Year Authentic Unlimited released their first full-length Christmas album in November. Christmas Time Is Here features an array of covers, from veteran classics to modern hits, rendered in the group’s clean, crisp, signature sound with those striking (award-winning!) vocals. The title track is beautifully done, with mandolin trills to emulate Vince Guaraldi’s twinkling piano keys and acrobatic, jazz fiddle licks inserted tastefully just like the iconic original recording from A Charlie Brown Christmas. Sure, this doesn’t listen like Authentic Unlimited’s standard, largely traditional bluegrass fare – for one, there’s piano, and the track does sounds perfectly suited for wafting through a JCPenney – but the album’s polish and shine certainly serves the season. And there’s still plenty of ‘grassy grit to go around.”

The Wildwoods, “Somewhere in the Snow”

Artist: The Wildwoods
Song: “Somewhere in the Snow”
Album: Christmas Through the Years (EP)
Release Date: November 19, 2023 (single); November 29, 2024 (EP)

In Their Words: “Ladies and gentlemen! Our Christmas EP, Christmas Through the Years, is now available on all streaming platforms. … Celebrating the holiday season with an original Christmas song captured on our favorite AEA mic.” – The Wildwoods, via social media

From The Editor: “Diehard fans of Nebraska-based Americana trio The Wildwoods will remember this strikingly lovely song, ‘Somewhere in the Snow,’ from 2023, when it was first released as a single and animated video. This year, they’ve released the track on an equally lovely EP, Christmas Through the Years, accompanied by a few tasteful and unique covers of holiday classics, too.

“The group’s brand new live performance of ‘Somewhere in the Snow’ shines bright through the winter cold, lush and warm, shot in a beautifully reverby church sanctuary decorated with twinkle lights and a festive wreath. Their tight vocal harmonies and lonesome (or perhaps winsome) chord changes bring that slight existential tinge we know and love in stalwart Christmas songs and traditional carols. It’s a fresh take on the idea of snow and winter as purifying, cleansing, and a transformative time of year – especially as we all look ahead to 2025 and what the new year might bring. Let’s bury our troubles somewhere in the snow? Sounds like a great idea to us.”

Shane Pendergast, “Winter Grace”

Artist: Shane Pendergast
Song: “Winter Grace”
Album: Winter Grace
Release Date: November 22, 2024 (single); January 2025 (album)

In Their Words: “It was such a liberating and joyous feeling, as if we were skating on the world’s biggest rink. Wintertime on [Prince Edward] Island can be so stifling, so it was a gift to be able to get outside for a skate.” – Shane Pendergast, via press release

From The Editor: “Each winter, it’s a bit of a brain teaser or a musical sudoku puzzle trying to find festive, wintry, holiday-themed songs that aren’t just about Christmas. We want holiday music for everyone, after all! We especially crave music for those of us reaching, ever-so-longingly, for solstice and the eventual lengthening of the days.

“We were very excited, then, to discover Shane Pendergast’s ‘Winter Grace,’ released late last month. The title track for his upcoming album, dropping in January 2025, ‘Winter Grace’ is cozy, warm, and enveloping. It’s a tender paean to Prince Edward Island that has a timeless production style, as if plucked from late ’60s or early ’70s folk songs of the Atlantic seaboard. A perfect soundtrack for your ice skating date – whether on a plastic public square rink, slipping and sliding on dull skates at a shopping mall, or speeding off on wild Canadian ice.”

BGS Wraps: Patty Loveless, Darin & Brooke, Brei Carter, and More

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

How is December already half over? Christmas is merely 10 days away – and in just over six days, Winter Solstice will bring the light back into our lives. We hope your home smells of evergreen and sugar cookies and that a seasonal roots music tune is wrapping you up in wintry coziness. If that isn’t the case, we can help with the rootsy seasonal tunes bit!

For our third week of BGS Wraps, we have celebratory bluegrass alongside loping country, introspective indie and gothic Tim Burton-esque tales, too. Plus, don’t miss Jeannie Seely as Grand Marshal of the Donelson Hermitage Christmas parade in Nashville tomorrow.

Whatever you’re celebrating this season, we’ve got the music, songs, albums, and events to pair with your peace and joy.

Darin & Brooke Aldridge, Hometown Holiday

One of bluegrass’s preeminent couples, Darin & Brooke’s new Christmas album, Hometown Holiday, feels like an afternoon visit in their living room, as they play down a few of their favorite seasonal numbers. The husband and wife duo are known for their covers of non-bluegrass songs, and several among this collection truly shine – like Joni Mitchell’s “River,” rendered beautifully by Brooke. You’ll hear country piano, a modern classic popularized by Amy Grant, “The Chipmunk Song,” and more, all packaged with a neat and tidy bluegrass bow.

Beth // James, Christmas at the Burchills

Friends of BGS will know this team loves a good tiki drink, so including this Beth // James original seemed essential for our holiday Wraps. “Tiki Christmas Land” is one of four originals – joined by a cover of “Blue Christmas” – on Beth // James’ new EP, Christmas at the Burchills. Make yourself a holiday mai tai or painkiller and enjoy your visit with Beth, James, and the Burchills.

Brei Carter, Twinkling Tales of Christmas

Your cheeks may be a bit rosier after listening to Brei Carter’s jazzy, pop country holiday collection, Twinkling Tales of Christmas – and not just because of the chill in the air! “50 Shades of Christmas” will certainly get you in a festive and adventurous mood, and “Santa Wontcha” is for all Christmas season fans who proudly extend the season well prior to Thanksgiving. But “Bow on You” and “Christmas Is You” are certainly the stand out tracks.

38th Annual Donelson Hermitage Christmas Parade December 16, with Grand Marshal Jeannie Seely

If you’re near to Music City USA, head out to Donelson tomorrow afternoon, December 16, to catch country legend Jeannie Seely as she Grand Marshals the 38th Annual Donelson Hermitage Christmas Parade. Seely is standing in for Brenda Lee, who ended up being unable to attend the event – and who better to step into Lee’s Christmas hit-singing shoes? Seely has been involved with the parade many a time before and this year is an especially perfect time for the Grand Ole Opry member to Marshal, as she just released a holiday single with the Flat River Band entitled “Christmas Time.”

Pat McGrath, “Let’s Just Get Past Christmas”

A smooth, swingin’ Christmas song from singer, songwriter, studio musician Pat McGrath that looks forward, willing the new year to come fast and wipe the slate clean. A great tune for anyone who feels the holidays are often bittersweet, with a heavy dose of love and putting one foot in front of the other, you can get past just about anything. Christmas included.

Drake Milligan, “Cowgirl for Christmas”

More Christmas songs need yodeling, right? Right. Drake Milligan’s “Cowgirl for Christmas” is a delight, from the sound stage music video set that feels direct from a ‘50s western to the catchy, yodeled hook, to the danceable, western swing beat. Not a brand new track or video, but one worth remembering each year when December rolls around for sure. You’ll be wishin’ for a cowgirl under your tree, too.

The Nields, “The Darkest Day”

A harmony rich neo-folk song from The Nields, “The Darkest Day” was released earlier this year on their brand new album, Circle of Days. To herald solstice, they’ve brought out a video to highlight the track and ask the titular question, “What do you want on the darkest day?” A timely reflection, as we welcome back the sun and look ahead to spring – however far away it may feel.

Malin Pettersen, “Santa”

Malin Pettersen’s first ever Christmas song is an entire vibe. With a classic R&B back beat and conversational tone with Americana touches, Pettersen lays out her wishes for the holiday – for her longing to end and for some light to brighten the holidays and dark January. Whomever you’re trying to manifest into or out of your life, Pettersen can offer a shortcut to writing your letter to the big man at the North Pole.

Hannah Rose Platt, “The Wendigo Rag”

Wendigos and skinwalkers, oh my! If your TikTok For You Page knows that you love a cryptid tale or the paranormal or other unexplained phenomenon, Hannah Rose Platt has made a wintry, stop motion, Tim Burton-esque video just for you. And if you’d like to continue your rootsy Wendigo songs playlist, we have another selection from back around Halloween by Thunder & Rain you’d enjoy, too.

Larry Sparks, “White Christmas”

Each Christmas we’re reminded of this amazing album by bluegrass legend Larry Sparks and especially of this four-chord version of a holiday classic, “White Christmas.” Only a picker like Sparks could pave over such an iconic chord progression without leaving the listener missing it – at all. “White Christmas” is a jam buster no more, anybody can play along. We put this album on every year around the holidays and are never disappointed.

Sofia Talvik, “Alone for Christmas”

Swedish folk and Americana singer-songwriter Sofia Talvik utilizes jazz touches and dramatic strings to paint a lonesome Christmas portrait that both relishes and abhors the season. Playing around within that paradox – how can lonely holidays feel so bereft of Christmas spirit, while also epitomizing so many of the feelings of the season? The repetition in the song (“Alone for Christmas… Again. Again.”) underlines how being “Alone for Christmas” really isn’t as uncommon or unfamiliar as any of us would hope it is.

The Wildwoods, “Somewhere in the Snow”

Nebraska-based folk trio The Wildwoods offer their first-ever holiday song, “Somewhere in the Snow,” replete with a Peanuts-style animated video. It’s gauzy and sweet with a burnished patina and tone of redemption. Whether you love or hate the snow, it certainly seems like a perfect place to bury your troubles and fears.

Our Classic Holiday Album Recommendation of the Week:
Patty Loveless, Bluegrass & White Snow, A Mountain Christmas

Patty Loveless’s bluegrass bona fides are unassailable, it’s true, but this album might clinch her claims to the genre, if ever challenged by a naysayer or proverbial chair snapper. Bluegrass & White Snow is a perfect combination of classic, sing-along carols and bluegrass staples, plus a couple of bespoke beauties, too, sung as only Patty could sing them. With a big, belty voice that carries with it some of that signature high lonesome grit. Dr. Ralph would be proud. (And he was.)

Photo Credit: Darin & Brooke Aldridge by Kim Brantley; Brei Carter courtesy of the artist; Drake Milligan courtesy of the artist.

BGS Wraps: Irene Kelley, Jon Pardi, Wynonna, and More

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

To celebrate one of the most roots music-y times of year – the winter holiday season – we’ll be showcasing the best in new and classic holiday music from our BGS family with a weekly BGS Wraps round up. Welcome to its first edition!

Whether you adore or abhor holiday music – and we certainly understand both of those mindsets – we hope you’ll find plenty to love with our BGS Wraps playlist (below) and these bluegrass, country, folk, and Americana albums, songs, videos, and shows all celebrating the most wonderful time of the year. From Irene Kelley to Jon Pardi, Wynonna to Brandy Clark, Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country Christmas to Warren Haynes’ Christmas Jam, BGS Wraps is a splendid roots music family reunion. Plus, don’t miss our weekly Classic Holiday Album Recommendations to close out each edition of this mini-series. Check it all out:

Brandy Clark, “My Favorite Christmas” / “I’ll Be Home For Christmas”

Brandy Clark’s self-titled, Brandi Carlile-produced album released earlier this year has been a favorite good country record of the BGS team this year. For the holidays, Clark has followed up the success of her full-length 2023 release with an A side / B side single of an original, “My Favorite Christmas” and a classic, “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.”

Helene Cronin, Beautiful December

Singer-songwriter Helene Cronin has released an EP of six original holiday songs entitled Beautiful December. This track, “I Could Use a Silent Night,” is described by Cronin as “a song for all who are holiday weary, tired of the commercial chaos that comes around every year at Christmas.” We can certainly relate! Roots music is always a perfect reminder of what really matters this time of year: People, love, kindness, and togetherness.

Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country Christmas Jam (December 16, Nashville, TN)

If you’ve been enjoying Daniel Donato’s recent Cosmic Country Mixtape – a BGS exclusive – you won’t want to miss his Cosmic Country Christmas Jam at Brooklyn Bowl in Nashville on December 16. (Tickets and info here.) It’ll be pickers’ polar paradise with appearances by Sierra Hull, Duane Trucks, Grace Bowers, Willow Osborne, and many more. 

Steven Gellman, “Jewish Christmas”

An adorable and delightfully cheesy holiday song – as all of the best holiday songs are – that reminds us how cultural traditions blend and transform, not only in the American “melting pot,” but all around the world, too. Hear more from this award winning folk singer-songwriter with our October premiere of “Little Victories.”

Warren Haynes Presents: Christmas Jam (December 9, Asheville, NC)

If you’re in North Carolina’s High Country, here’s a rockin’ Americana Christmas Jam you won’t want to miss. The annual event, organized and hosted by Grammy Award winner Warren Haynes, will be held on December 9, benefits Asheville Area Habitat for Humanity, and will feature appearances by Billy F. Gibbons, John Medeski, Gov’t Mule, Bill Evans, and many more. Plus, its bonus/offshoot event, Christmas Jam by Day, will showcase a handful of fast-rising roots artists including Colby T. Helms and Red Clay Revival. Tickets are still available and, if you don’t happen to live within striking distance of the Blue Ridge Mountains, you can stream Christmas Jam live on Volume.com.

IBMA Holiday Benefit Concert (December 11, Nashville, TN)

A heavenly host of our bluegrass buddies will be convening at the World Famous Station Inn in Nashville on December 11 to raise funds for the IBMA Trust Fund and the IBMA Foundation. The lineup – anchored by house band Missy Raines & Allegheny – features a wide swathe of artists and community members from reigning IBMA Award winners to acclaimed songwriters to exciting up-and-comers. Holidays in Nashville are truly incomplete without a visit to a festively decorated Station Inn.

Irene Kelley and the Kelley Family, The Kelley Family Christmas

Staying with bluegrass for another moment, venerated bluegrass songwriter Irene Kelley has brought along her two talented daughters, Justyna and Sara Jean – both successful artists and songwriters in their own right – for a cozy and comforting album of holiday classics, Kelley Family Christmas. The project benefits Patio Records’ Healing Gardens initiative, with a goal of raising funds to build healing gardens at hospital treatment centers. It’s a lovely family-centered album that showcases how much great music runs in the veins of the Kelleys. 

Paul McDonald & the Mourning Doves, “Maybe This Christmas”

If the holidays make you blue, you’re not alone. There’s plenty to enjoy in this tune of Christmas misery from Paul McDonald & the Mourning Doves. “So maybe this Christmas folks will just leave me alone,” he sings, plaintively. “And quit asking how I’m doing without her and if I’m ever going to let that girl go.” There’s a delicious quality to holiday melancholy and that’s on full display here, in this languid and loping alt-country holiday song of lost love.

Mr Sun, Mr Sun Plays Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite

We’re big fans of the bluegrass, old-time, and new acoustic tradition of artful and virtuosic cover albums. Here, Mr Sun bring the form to its highest level, synthesizing and transforming Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite into compositions fitting of a four-piece, ostensibly bluegrass string band. We premiered a track from this collection, “Shovasky’s Transmogrifatron (Ballet Snow Scene),” earlier this week, so we can guarantee Grant Gordy, Joe K. Walsh, Aidan O’Donnell, and Darol Anger’s rendition of this classic record will make your jaw drop – and your toe tap!

Jamie O’Neal & Ty Herndon, “Merry Christmas Baby”

Pop country is often good country too, and this collaboration from Jamie O’Neal and Ty Herndon demonstrates how artful the format can be – that ear-grabbing chromaticism in the melody of the first line, for instance. “Merry Christmas Baby” is another holiday lament, but packaged in a radio-ready production style that belies the loneliness in the lyrics, co-written by O’Neal and Allen Mark Russell. If this track came on the local Top 40 country station, none of us would be complaining. Merry Christmas, BGS readers – wherever you are!

Jon Pardi, Merry Christmas From Jon Pardi

We can’t believe just how perfect this intro is played on pedal steel and, despite the fact that we don’t think Jon Pardi could hit Mariah’s whistle notes, his rendition of this quintessential holiday smash hit is ideal for Christmas boot scootin’. Pardi is a definitional example of timeless country traditions packaged for the mainstream. His entire holiday album, Merry Christmas From Jon Pardi, is a heavy dose of joy, fun, and delight executed with flawless old country musicality. Twin fiddles on “All I Want For Christmas?” Yes, a thousand times, yes.

Wynonna, “Beautiful Star of Bethlehem”

While we argue over which modern version of this track is the exemplary version – The Judds’ or Patty Loveless’, of course – the holiday season is the perfect time to hold our fond memories of Naomi while we celebrate how Wynonna and her husband/producer Cactus Moser pay tribute to 1987’s Christmas Time with The Judds with this new iteration of “Beautiful Star of Bethlehem.” No matter who sings the song, its bluegrass bones and Stanley Brothers touches are obvious, and we adore how simple and unpretentious this recording by Wynonna and Cactus is.

Our Classic Holiday Album Recommendation of the Week:
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, It’s a Holiday Soul-Party

We miss Sharon Jones desperately. Each year, when the holidays roll around, we go back to our (now classic) Non-Crappy Christmas Songs playlist and, in general, try to remind ourselves just how much actually good Christmas and holiday music exists out there. As we do, this album from Jones & the Dap Kings is one of the first to come to mind. It’s iconic, it’s traditional, it’s far out, it’s comforting, it’s surprising, and it’s effortlessly inclusive in its scope and its sonics. We come back to this record year in and year out, so it’s a perfect first pick for our Classic Holiday Album Recommendations.

More BGS Wraps are coming your way next week!

Photo of Jon Pardi: John Shearer
Photo of Wynonna: Eric Ryan Anderson
Photo of Brandy Clark: Victoria Stevens

Sing to Me: Luther Dickinson & Sisters of the Strawberry Moon

Posted on by Editor

Luther Dickinson trusted his intuition when he set aside two or three days to make an album with like-minded friends who had never met each other. By pulling together these kindred spirits — now known as Sisters of the Strawberry Moon — Dickinson crafted a beautiful roots collection, simply titled Solstice.

“It was amazing that we all converged. We picked two or three days, met in Mississippi, and recorded the record,” he says. “Everybody brought two or three songs and we just took turns backing each other up.”

The luminous cast include Birds of Chicago, gospel group The Coco Mamas, Amy Helm, Amy LaVere, and Shardé Thomas, with finishing flourishes from fiddler Lillie Mae and B3 organ master Charles Hodges. Intimate as well as immediate, Solstice serves as a testament to the power of fast friendship.

The Bluegrass Situation caught up with Dickinson, Amy Helm, and Birds of Chicago’s JT Nero before a show at Nashville’s City Winery.

BGS: You only had two days together, people were bringing their own songs, and not everybody knew each other. You must have been operating on instinct. Is that fair to say?

Dickinson: Totally. I feel the most alive when I’m producing because you’re in the moment and you’re making instinctual decisions, but you’re drawing from your whole life and all of your experiences, and everything I learned from my dad and everything he’s taught me, and everything he’s learned from all the producers who taught him. But also you have to be open and sensitive to what’s going on in the room.

It really is a very exhilarating feeling, producing records. And sometimes it can go completely wrong if you say the wrong thing. But I really do love it. Yeah, you’re running on instinct and you’re running on blood and guts. But it’s like doing anything when you’re in the zone, whether you’re an athlete or a pilot. You’re just trained to be in that moment. Time slows down and everything comes together.

Amy, why did this concept appeal to you, to go to Memphis and make this record?

Helm: I mean, any invitation to go hang out with Luther and a bunch of cool people in Memphis is an instant yes. I had not met any of the other people on the project but I was excited about it and I trust him and trust his compass of coolness. It was a delight to be down there and hang out in Memphis. I rented a Jeep and drove around down South, which is always one of my favorite things to do — to just roll around down there. My aunt Mary lives in Memphis so I got to see her. It was a really, really nice time, and it’s led to some incredible friendships that have turned into other projects. Ally [Allison Russell from Birds of Chicago] and JT came and sang on my record that I made with Joe Henry. Now we’re doing this tour with this record. Those guys made a record together afterwards, so it’s been a nice chain reaction – the right kind of chain reaction.

For this record, everybody brought in their own songs, but the record feels unified as a whole. Do you sense a common thread that runs through the album?

Helm: I would say that, the spirit of friendship is where everybody was coming from with it. So there’s a relaxation that happens with that for me, and I’m sure for these guys. When it’s your own thing and the clock is running and there’s money going down the drain fairly quickly, you’re trying to make it work and hope you got the best performance, it’s really easy to get inside that head for me. So if you’re in a cool room in the middle of Memphis, and you’re eating great food and having great conversations on your way to the studio, and then you get to hear a singer like Allison Russell, that’s it, you’re there.

Nero: The thing that will always be particularly special about this record to me is that you can hear lifelong friendships being made on record. We hadn’t met each other, really, but we’re a family now, and part of that is Luther’s instincts. That’s the thing with music – there are a million things out there that are brilliant but they wouldn’t easily be simpatico with what we’re doing. So finding your tribe members is what it’s all about. I think Luther had an inkling that it would be that way, but you never know – and it was that way. And you can hear that happening on record. It’s rare you get to bottle that lightning.

Dickinson: Man, the music is just an artefact of our friendship. I hope that’s maybe what they’ll feel. A warmth, and we all have longing in our music, and we’re singing about our musical families and our loved ones who aren’t with us. So, hopefully we will generate a place of love. It has a grandmother’s Sunday dinner type of vibe to it.

I like “Sing to Me” — there’s power in that song. What mood were you hoping to set with this recording of it?

Helm: I recorded that song on my first record, with my dad playing drums on it, but I recorded it then with no harmonies. I knew that there were going to be a lot of other voices there this time, and I’ve always wanted to hear that song with an angel choir on it. So I brought it in for that, hoping to gain that, and it became a very cool, vibey thing. I love the way it turned out.

What goes through your mind when you hear that song now, in its new incarnation?

Helm: Just really the mastery of a master player, and how it can change a song and make you sound better! [Laughs] That’s one of the things! Because the playing on it is so exquisite, with the organ that Charles Hodges put on and the guitar that Luther put on. And just also getting to sing it with Ally and finding the magic of that vocal collaboration, and the overtone that she and I get.

Dickinson: Do you remember that take when they walked in? Like, that was the moment that you guys met, right?

Helm: Yeah, that was it.

You met basically in front of a vocal mic?

Helm: We did! They came in and sat down. Ally sat there cross-legged and started listening and closing her eyes. I don’t know, I was a little intimidated …

Dickinson: But that second take — that was the one.

How often did that happen, with the second take being the one?

Dickinson: Oh man, some of this record, especially on Ally’s songs, are the run-throughs! We had to go back and save the run-through because she pours blood and guts into the microphone. Just this heartbreak, I get goosebumps thinking about it! I usually edit two takes together – like the second half of the first take, and the first half of the second take.

But a lot of her stuff was the run-through and we’d patch it up from there. That’s the great thing about modern technology – you can capture moments. Amy LaVere, on the bass, she’d done her homework. She knew every song and had them charted out, and the fact that she was nailing the run-throughs even, really made it work. She really did a good job.

There was a lot of re-interpreting going on, with some of the songs being recorded a long time ago, but Shardé has a real unique beat. She’s a character, man, and growing up with her grandfather [Otha Turner]’s fife and drum music, but also growing up with Beyoncé, who is her idol, she is a very unique musician with great instincts. What I like about her is that you can bring a country song to her, and she won’t play anything near a country beat. And I love that!

Amy, what does that feel like when you’re singing so closely with these people you just met?

Helm: You know what, that is my favorite of all time! That’s the thing that makes all of us gamble everything else in our lives, for better or for worse. [Laughs] For financial distress or not, to keep on doing it because there’s nothing more satisfying than finding that. It revitalizes my faith, honestly. It’s like a spiritual ease that I feel when I get to do that stuff.

It reminds me that all things are possible, and all things are new upon each song and each recording. And it’s limitless, the people you can connect with and interact with in music. There’s such joy in that way. I think for people who make it and for people who listen to it, you’re having that same experience. Following that and finding that – as you can see, I could go on and on about this. It’s magic for me.

Photo credit: Joshua Black Wilkins