Category: Traditional

Stubbys House of Christmas

MELAT - I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS

12/24/2014

Austin's Melat (does anybody in that town have a job that's not part of the music industry) is driving towards stardom and made great strides in 2014. She combines Soul with Alt Pop for a distinctive sound. Her Christmas songs are drenched in sincere sentimentality, which is an awkward way of saying they're gorgeous. "I'll Be Home For Christmas" was her 2013 Christmas gift. 2014's "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" was even more beautiful, but "Home For Christmas" is a free download and "Merry Little Christmas" isn't. I hate streams, but, since we do have one download, I'll include Melat's 2014 Christmas song as well. You can find them both on Soundcloud.

KIM LENZ - THE CHRISTMAS SONG

12/20/2014

Kim Lenz (with her group The Jaguars) is a real Rockabilly rebel and recording artist. Some have said that, had Elvis been born a woman, he'd have sounded like Kim Lenz. She fell in love with the Roots movement back when it was just getting started and has since released several albums (including her most recent, "Follow Me") and has toured the world.

Kim has a Christmas present for you--a sweet and simple recording of "The Christmas Song". It's not a rocker--just Kim and her guitar serenading you. A little sump'n sump'n is all. You can download "The Christmas Song" free here.

Do you have a gift to give Kim? She'll tell you want she'd like. Kim's been nominated for Best Female Rockabilly artist in the 2015 Ameripolitan Music Awards. It's a fan driven award, so your vote counts. Go here to vote for your favorites. It's what Kim wants for Christmas.

(Thanks to Ernie of Ernie (Not Bert) for the tip!)

JEFFREY PHILLIP NELSON - CHRISTMAS PLEASE

12/16/2014

1. Joy To The World
2. We Three Kings
3. Oh Christmas Tree
4. Oh Holy Night
5. Go Tell It On The Mountain
6. The First Noel
7. Auld Lang Syne
8. Hark The Herald Angels Sing
9. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
10. Holy Holy Holy
11. Angels We Have Heard On High
12. Away In A Manger
13. What Child Is This
14. Silent Night

When your ears get tired of the seasonal bombast--Walls of Sound, Big Bands, echo drenched Indie Rock, and more sleigh bells than one should really have to endure in a lifetime of Decembers--"Christmas Please" from Jeffrey Phillip Nelson makes for a nice change of pace. Keeping it simple and acoustic, Nelson reels off 14 holiday favorites done up in an easygoing Folk style. On the uptempo numbers, he sometimes sounds like Nick Lowe unplugged. On the slower numbers, it's more like Jimmy Rodgers stripped down. My favorite from this collection is "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" which, after the first verse, gets a bit of a Spaghetti Western makeover. He gets extra points for pausing where the comma is between Merry and Gentleman. They aren't Merry Gentlemen, kids, and never were. They are Gentleman whom the singer wishes to Rest Merry. Glad we could clear that up for you.

DAVI REY & FRIENDS - A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS

12/16/2014

Davi Rey & friends won me over with their lightly Jazz/Blues seasoned "Away In A Manger", Erica Stephens taking the vocals, and cinched it with the sweet and spiritual a cappella closer--"Go Tell It On The Mountain" featuring the Merimanders. Anything else is gravy.

Davi Rey and his friends all hail from the Lewiston/Auburn Maine area. Though you can certainly choose to download "A Very Merry Christmas" free, keep in mind that all proceeds from the set will go to The Root Cellar, a Community outreach organization in Lewiston. 25% of the residents of Lewiston live below the poverty line. The Root Cellar offers food and other services, all while working to lift them up emotionally and spiritually. Just sayin'.

COMMON UNION 59 - YOU & ME / THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS

12/15/2014

CommonUnion59 is the San Francisco duo of Steve McKenzie and Laura Malasig. A chance meeting spurred an avalanche of musical inspiration. They began writing music, drawing on influences as diverse as Indie Rock and Delta Blues, their Indie Folk performances are only matched by their songwriting. Their 2012 debut, "Magnolia Waltz", featured the enchanting Americana of the title track, the political power of "Too Big To Fail Blues", the Sunshine Pop of "Tonight" and so much more, offering promise as bright as the spring. As the pair work on a new album, CommonUnion59 have gifted us with not one but two Christmas tracks. "The Spirit Of Christmas" is written as the more traditional holiday song featuring a bigger sound and a sing-a-long chorus. I favor "You And I", which is a bit more intimate Indie Folk Pop. But there's no need to choose between them as both are available for free download at their web site or via Soundcloud.

HOT CLUB OF SPOKANE - CHRISTMAS TUNES 2014

12/8/2014

Hot Club Jazz is Jazz in the tradition of Django Reinhardt. It's generally a swinging acoustic kind of Jazz centered on guitar and violin. Among others, Bing Crosby, Mildred Bailey, Billy Tipton, and Jimmy Rowles all called Spokane home. Who knew that Spokane had such a long and proud Jazz history? Apparently not too many folks. At least that's what the members of the Hot Club of Spokane learned by talking to the people of the city and surrounding areas. The Hot Club's bandleader and guitarist, Garrin Hertel is also the publisher of Nostalgia Magazine, devoted to the history and culture of the local area. He believes its important that the citizens of Spokane learn of the city's prestigious Jazz history so that they might keep it alive and pass it on to future generations. And, to that end, Hot Club of Spokane is currently raising money via Kickstarter to record a CD that will feature the Jazz music written and/or made famous by Spokanians of the past (Spokanites? Spokaners?).

As a bit of a warm up, Hot Club of Spokane has dropped a few Christmas songs for all to enjoy, including the most famous Christmas song of all time made popular by the most famous Jazz singer from Spokane, Bing Crosby's "White Christmas". Of course, this group does it Hot Club style. In addition to "White Christmas", Hot Club of Spokane has provided winning covers of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas", "Baby Its Cold Outside", "Christmas Night In Harlem" (as "Christmas Night In Hillyard"), and "Zat You Santa Claus". All are available free through Soundcloud. If you like what you hear, be sure to support the band by helping them reach their Kickstarter goal.

HILL & HALE - CHRISTMASTIME

12/7/2014

Hill & Hale are Dwan Hill and Missy Hale. They wanted to make something fun for their family and friends and arrived at this Christmas EP, "At Christmastime", which they released last year. This year, its free via Noisetrade. Hill & Hale combine classic sounds with sounds of today, making for an album that combines Big Band Jazz with Indie Folk Pop. In places, its a bit too Broadway for my tastes. But the title track is smokin'! Get the EP for "At Christmastime". Anything else you like is a bonus.

VARIOUS - ULTIMATE HOLIDAY PLAYLIST

12/5/2014

1. Hill and Hale and their Merry Friends – Christmastime
2. Andrew Ripp – Joy To The World
3. Ben Woodward – It’s Christmas
4. Brooke Waggoner – O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree
5. Jars Of Clay – Hibernation Day
6. Butterfly Boucher – Cinnamon & Chocolate
7. Abigail York – Holiday At Home
8. Dave Barnes – So, Santa
9. Roses & Revolutions – It’s Christmas Time
10. Ellie Holcomb – Christmas For You And Me
11. Trent Dabbs – Raise The Tree
12. Jillian Edwards – All My Christmases
13. Wes Cunningham – Merry Christmas Baby
14. Over The Rhine – Blood Oranges In The Snow
15. Beta Radio – Winter Eclipse
16. Tommy Busby – One Little Xmas Tree
17. The Bergamot – Winter Anthem
18. Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors – Everything’s Changed At Christmas But You
19. Smalltown Poets – The Wassail Song
20. Maggie Chapman – Make It Rain, Dear
21. Matt Wertz – O Holy Night
22. FUE – Winter Wonderland
23. Young Oceans – All Who Hear
24. Track 45 – Jingle Bells
25. Wild Season – Christmas Every Day
26. Katrina Stone – Deck The Halls
27. Sleeping At Last – I Heard The Bells
28. Canaries In The Coal Mine – Falling Like Snow
29. Katey Laurel – Two Birds
30. Josh Garrels & Mason Jar Music – Silent Night

Can't tell you how happy I am that Lie In The Sound posted this one first. Thanks to them, I don't have to type out the, uh, extensive playlist; I can just copy and paste. Phew, that was hard work. ;^)

"Ultimate Holiday Playlist" finds Noisetrade teaming up with.... the Home and Garden TV network? Really? Well, whatever from wherever, I guess. Thirty tracks in all--some old, some new--mostly fairly mellow CCM, Folk Pop, and Folk and Pop. Pretty AC, all told. Among the newer tracks is "The Wassail Song", a cut from the new Smalltown Poets album. Definitely like that one. And they've saved me the trouble of buying or posting "It's Christmas Time" from Roses & Revolutions, a sweet Indie single released last month. They've also included "Falling Like Snow", one of the tracks from the Canaries In The Coal Mine EP we posted here a while back.

Among familiar favorites is "Cinnamon & Chocolate" from Butterfly Boucher, a track I've been raving about for years, and Beta Radio's "Winter Eclipse", another track I was over the moon about. There's enough, here, to make it well worth downloading. And its free. So there's that. Some will find this the perfect soundtrack for a wintry night. Me, I like a little more variety, but I can certainly pick out plenty for a mix or two. It's a free download at Noisetrade.

THE WOODHOUSE - HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS

12/3/2014

I love Jazz. I especially love Christmas Jazz. And I really, really love FREE Christmas Jazz. So it was awesome to come across this track from the Toronto based Jazz group The Woodhouse. The Woodhouse have been together since 2006 and they have a special fondness for holiday music. In fact, they came together as a seasonal band to play Christmas shows in Nova Scotia. After eight years, their loyal fanbase was wanting something more than their sold-out holiday shows. They wanted an album they could listen to throughout the season. Crowd funded through Kickstarter, it looks as though the hard copy CD of their debut release "Home For Christmas" will be officially released December 22 (one assumes the Kickstarter contributors will get theirs a bit earlier). But the digital version can be yours immediately for $10 Canadian (roughly 8 or 9 dollars, depending upon the conversion rate). The Woodhouse isn't re-inventing the wheel, here; it's just really superb classic little big band Jazz. "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" is the free teaser to get you interested in the full album. Worked on me. How could I resist the sweet sound of vocalist Jennah Barry? How can you? A note: the cover art, here, is linked to the full album; you can find the freebie from there easily enough. Or use the widget above.

SARA STEVENS - WHAT CHILD IS THIS

11/26/2014

If you're a regular visitor to Stubby's, you know I hate Opera. I'm not big on precocious kids, either. And "What Child Is This" isn't my favorite Christmas carol.

So if I'm introducing you to a young operatic singer doing "What Child Is This", it can only be because I was blown away.

14 year old Sara Stevens hails from Marietta, Georgia. Her parents recognized her talent very early, listening to her singing along to songs like "O Holy Night" on the radio. They, obviously, encouraged her singing--that's what you do when you discover your child has an angel's voice. They got her vocal training and took her to the Opera. She performed at Carnegie Hall before she was even in her teens. She's also overcome and risen above bullying at school. Hard to explain to a teen, but the kids who get bullied inevitably do better in life than their tormentors. Sara's gonna do just fine.

I'm not sure how far down the line she's thought. And, me, I always say "let the kid be a kid"--so many of us grow up too fast. But I'm guessing she'll go as far as she wants to go in music and life. You can visit Sara and hear more at her web site and you should stop by Facebook and give her a "Like". But, for now, I just want you to enjoy "What Child Is This" from Sara Stevens. She's posted it as a free download via Soundcloud. Sounds delicious on Thanksgiving Eve and I'm sure I'll return to it throughout the holiday season.