Best of New Christmas Music from Paul Cardall

B. Francis Morlan Christmas Music, Christmas News November 26, 2018November 26, 2018Paul Cardall Christmas 0 Comment

We have no problem admitting that we are big Paul Cardall fans. He’s a local guy. He has been producing great Christmas stuff for years. He has an inspiring story, incredible talent, a creative mind, and a giving heart. Does all that translate to great Christmas music? Take a listen to this song — hundreds of years old — richly orchestrated in a new way. The Paul Cardall way. (Yeah, we love it): His new album is called Paul Cardall Christmas and you can find/listen/buy at this link.

Best of New Christmas Music from Matt Maher

B. Francis Morlan Christmas Music, Christmas News November 26, 2018November 26, 2018Jingle Bells 0 Comment

How many ways can Jingle Bells be interpreted? As long as it is fun, who cares? And that’s exactly what we get from Matt Maher this year from his album The Advent of Christmas. This version is infectious and capable of endless replay: iTunes Spotify Facebook

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 Phil Vassar and Lonestar

William Werner Christmas Music, Christmas News November 24, 2018November 24, 2018christmas music 2018, lonestar, phil vassar 0 Comment

Phil Vassar has given us some memorable Christmas stuff over the years. This year he pairs with Lonestar for a catchy, singable tune called Not So Silent Night — a song all about getting in the spirit of the season. We can get behind that! As as side note, I love the “operatic section”. Great fun. Enjoy:

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

Best New Christmas Music from Gentri

B. Francis Morlan Christmas Music November 23, 2018November 23, 2018christmas music 2018 0 Comment

Gentri brings forth the most upbeat version of Little Drummer Boy you are bound to ever hear in this single from their Finding Christmas album. The video feels good and sends a powerful message of #LighttheWorld. Worth a watch and a listen.

Lessons of Christmas Love

Jackie Foster Christmas Music, Christmas News November 22, 2018November 22, 2018Silent Night 0 Comment

Earlier this year we celebrated the 200th anniversary of Silent Night. With little fanfare and quiet storytelling yet another version of Silent Night is given to us via this touching new video: The Tabernacle Choir has made it something of a tradition to release a video story behind a classicly arranged hymn of Christmas. This version of Silent Night is no different. The almost eight-minute video tells the story of a grieving police officer, played by actor Kevin Sorbo, who finds his regular beat on Christmas Eve interrupted as he and a diverse group of strangers help a young coupleRead 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