OK…. everyone who gets the vapors when they hear anything about Christmas before Thanksgiving, close this window and take your blood pressure medicine. Right now!
There is always a plethora of new bluegrass music over the holidays, much of it with a Christmas theme, and we have been getting information about several of them for the past two weeks. But we have held out until at least November before starting to tell everyone about it. But today is the day, with much more to come.
And even those who don’t care to see Christmas tuned into a three month spectacle still enjoy hearing those wonderful songs that have defined the season for generations.
First up this year is Frank Solivan, with a new single out today. His version of Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas captures much of the spirit of its original recording in 1943 for the musical, Meet Me In St Louis. At that time the US was deep into the fighting of WWII in Europe, Africa, and the Pacific, and Americans were dealing with grave uncertainties, wartime deprivations, and the news of fallen loved ones overseas.
In retrospect, this year is a good sight better than that.
Solivan tells us he wanted to use this classic song to bring people together as we come towards the end of a stressful year.
“2020 has been a year of hardship for so many of us. The pandemic slugs on, political and racial conflicts divide us, hurricanes… wildfires. For many, it’s been a year of uncertainty and loss… A loss of community, a loss of cherished time with loved ones.
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 find the lyrics of this timeless song particularly meaningful this year, and I hope it brings some comfort to those needing it.
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 is on guitar, mandolin, and vocals, with Jillian Lea on harmony vocal and penny whistle, Mike Munford on banjo, and Mark Schatz on bass.
Here’s a taste.
Frank’s single for Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas is available now wherever you stream or download music online.
It looks like a bumper crop of new bluegrass Christmas music this year, and we will share news of them as they are released.
