Have you ever purchased a CD for yourself or as a gift and discovered it is also benefiting those who served our country? Well, you can do just that this year if you buy a copy of Home for the Holidays on New Folk Records. 100 percent of the proceeds of the CD sales will be donated to Purple Heart Homes.
Purple Heart Homes (PHH) was founded in 2008 in Statesville, NC by veterans and friends, John Gallina and the late Dale Beatty. The two served together in Iraq and suffered life-changing injuries during combat. The support provided by PHH reaches veterans of all eras.
Their website states, “No veteran should be left behind or forgotten. We make a difference by providing peace of mind and a higher quality of life to qualifying veterans of all eras.”
Home for the Holidays includes 20 instrumental Christmas tunes featuring guitarists Doyle Dykes, Alex DeGrassi, Terry Robb, George Marinelli, and more. Some of the numbers are familiar favorites such as Greensleeves, Silent Night, and Joy to the World. Others are original compositions like Snow by Dan Evans, When the Chimes Rang by Elgin Foster and Dean Mcgraw, and When Autumn Brings Winter by Peter Janson. A personal favorite is the German Christmas carol, O Tannenbaum, (known in English as O Christmas Tree) performed by Ireland’s Patsy O’Brien. He finger picks it in a jazzy Chet Atkins/Merle Travis-style.
Most of the songs are acoustic, but there is a little electric guitar softly played by the UK’s Peter Thoms and Micho on The First Noel. Players from the United States, Ireland, the UK, and Norway are all playing soft jazz to semi-classical to new age, all arranged to usher in the holiday season.
Though not your traditional bluegrass-style presentation, the melodies are sweet, soothing, and enjoyable. Each instrumental is well played with nice arrangements. I find myself pulling it out to listen as I am working inside our home during the holiday season. It would provide a nice backdrop for entertaining guests as well.
For more information on their organization, visit Purple Heart Homes online, or to order CDs, visit the New Folk Records web site.
You can check out all the Christmas bluegrass we have covered at Bluegrass Today by following this link.
