Best New Christmas Music from Mason Ramsey

Jeff Westover Christmas Music, Christmas News December 6, 2018December 5, 2018mason ramsey 0 Comment

Have you seen this kid, Mason Ramsey? Chances are you have. A year ago he was just another 11 year old kid from the midwest, likely tracking Santa and dreaming of a white Christmas. This year he is practically as famous as Santa and singing White Christmas — for millions. Only the age of the Internet can create such a thing. But here’s the deal: this Walmart Yodel Boy can actually…well, wail: Seriously. He became a sensation when a video of him yodeling Hank Williams in a Walmart went viral. He practically became a Hall of Famer when he becameRead more

Best of New Christmas Music from the Tabernacle Choir

Jeff Westover Christmas Music, Christmas News December 5, 2018December 4, 2018Tabernacle Choir 0 Comment

Christmas and choir music just go together. The Tabernacle Choir is not afraid to tackle any song of Christmas but nowhere do they shine better than on the traditional, simple songs of Christmas such as O Little Town of Bethlehem. They are, quite literally, a choir of angels: The all-volunteer choir actually puts out new Christmas music each season based upon Christmas concerts held the previous year. This gives the Tabernacle Choir perhaps the most diverse and comprehensive Christmas music portfolio anywhere. O Little Town of Bethlehem is a classic, American Christmas song. Based on the Biblical text of LukeRead more

The Naughty Stuff of Christmas

Jeff Westover Christmas News, Christmas Opinion December 2, 2018December 2, 2018naughty list 1 Comment

It was expected that in the era of President Donald Trump the war on Christmas would become more extreme. But nobody saw this coming. This time it is not the religious of Christmas under attack. It is definitively secular. Charlie Brown’s Thanksgiving, more than half a century old, is now considered by some to be racist. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, the 54-year old television special, is now deemed to be full of bigoted and sexist content. An Ohio radio station has pulled all versions of the song Baby It’s Cold Outside saying that the song is inappropriate in theRead more

Best New Christmas Music from Rehya Stevens

Jeff Westover Christmas Music, Christmas News November 30, 2018November 30, 2018Christmas music, rheya stevens 1 Comment

The strategy many emerging artists tend to take with Christmas music is to just Bing it up and release a sing of White Christmas. It’s safe, it showcases their talent and it is known. It’s also boring. Rehya Stevens is not one to take the path of least resistance. In her new album Celebrate Rehya has jumped into the deep end of the Christmas pool with songs that are all original. The album is warm, bold and festive. Take a listen: The entire album is well orchestrated, simple and directly Christmas — a great listen on a snowy December eveningRead more

Best of New Christmas Music from Trace Adkins

Jeff Westover Christmas Music, Christmas News November 29, 2018November 29, 2018trace adkins 2 Comments

I always hesistate to post reviews of new music from established stars. You get only two types of responses. It is either over-the-top love from gushing fans or bitter criticism from those who hate all things associated with the artist. Fame has a way of bringing out the weird in people. So does Christmas. Not just with the fans either. There is a long list of music stars who performed Christmas music but never celebrated Christmas. Frank Sinatra famously detested Christmas music. Perhaps that is why he isn’t best remembered for his Christmas stuff. Of course, he still gets playedRead more

Kurt Russell and the Ultimate Santasy

Jeff Westover Christmas Movies, Christmas News November 25, 2018November 25, 2018 6 Comments

There’s a new Santa in town. Everyone is talking about him. Over Thanksgiving weekend Netflix debuted their new Santa-driven Christmas film they dub, probably because they will make this a regular holiday thing, The Christmas Chronicles. In others words, it’s a story – a Christmas tale. This one is a Santa story – a fantastical, magical story as most Santa stories are. It is a Santasy. Suiting up for Santa this time is Kurt Russell. The previews for weeks have raised the eyebrows of men and set a-tingle the hearts of women. The Christmas Chronicles with this casting suddenly madeRead more

Best New Christmas Music from The Cooter Boys

Jeff Westover Christmas Music, Christmas News November 24, 2018November 25, 2018new christmas music 2018, the cooter boys 0 Comment

I’m sitting here very early in the morning of Black Friday doing what I’m always doing the day after Thanksgiving: working on Christmas. In those dark, still, productive moments a notification pops up telling me I’ve got mail. Who could that be at 1:30am? Well, it’s The Cooter Boys and they have a new song the email tells me. I’m not gonna lie. What kind of music can a group calling themselves The Cooter Boys contribute to Christmas? Then it dawned on me. I’m not the only one working on Christmas stuff. This email wasn’t from a publicist. It wasRead more

Best New Christmas Music from Caleb and Kelsey

Jeff Westover Christmas Music, Christmas News November 24, 2018November 23, 2018christmas music 2018 0 Comment

Today is the single biggest selling day for Christmas trees of the entire year. Thanksgiving weekend is filled with a great many traditions that get a lot of notice: the turkey, football and Black Friday just being the most talked about. But aside from eating turkey there is no bigger tradition than getting the family Christmas tree. For some that means pulling it out of a box that was stored in the attic. For others it means heading to a tree lot or out to a farm to cut one down and bring it home. It is the beginning forRead more

Best of New Christmas Music 2018

Jeff Westover Christmas Music, Christmas News November 23, 2018November 23, 2018Christmas music 0 Comment

We have to smile each year as we count the many radio stations claiming to be the first who switch to all Christmas music. Or for those stations who pop up on cable, satellite, and associated websites claiming to be the end-all-be-all of Christmas music. We laugh because since our first radio stream launched in 2006 we have never stopped the music. On our sites, our podcasts and our radio streams the music goes 24/7 all year long (just like the rest of our Christmas). We just don’t believe in the part time or seasonal Christmas. For us, it’s everyday.Read more

A Prediction of Christmas Future from 1896

Jeff Westover Christmas History, Christmas Opinion, Christmas Past November 17, 2018November 17, 2018Christmas future, Christmas past, Christmas tree fires 1 Comment

In preparing for another episode of the Merry Podcast I came across an editorial from a New York newspaper published in 1896. It contains an amazing prediction of Christmas-yet-to-come. It is interesting to contemplate this being written considering how Christmas was celebrated in 1896 in America. By the end of the 19th century Christmas had become the near all-encompassing celebration it is today of all things seasonally sacred and secular. Then, like now, nobody could escape it. It was embedded everywhere. But it is safe to say that it was still a different Christmas than what we see now. ThereRead more