For some Canadian pop artists, Christmas music is the gift that keeps on giving


Mariah Carey performs to a recording of All I Want for Christmas Is You at Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in New York.NBC/Getty Images

When Mariah Carey performed to a recording of All I Want for Christmas Is You at Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in New York last month, the holiday season more or less commenced. The crowd against the commercialization of the holidays cried, “Too soon!” For some musicians, however, it couldn’t come soon enough.

December is a jackpot month for artists with holiday albums in their catalogues, especially in a country where a holiday record (Michael Bublé’s Christmas) won a Juno Award for album of the year. Not only are festive songs evergreen and popular, they are the passports into the lucrative seasonal concert schedule.

“We released Barenaked for the Holidays in 2004, and we’ve toured behind it 12 years now,” said Barenaked Ladies’ drummer Tyler Stewart. “It’s the gift that keeps on giving.”

The band’s Hometown Holidays tour this month covered 14 cities, from Vancouver to Toronto. Not only does their 18-year-old album give them material for an annual show, it allows them to hit markets more frequently. Barenaked Ladies just played a Toronto-area concert in November, at Casino Rama in Orillia, Ont. Less than a month later they were back in the same region with a holiday concert at Toronto’s Massey Hall. This kind of tour routing is only feasible with a completely different show on the return visit.

“Our fans love it,” Stewart said.

The BNL show was just one of the holiday concerts that filled up this month’s calendar at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. The artists booked there, including Molly Johnson, Good Lovelies, the Tenors, Kellylee Evans, and Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy, all have recorded seasonal albums at some point in their careers. Coming off the pandemic, generally ticket sales this year have been sluggish, according to promoters and presenters who spoke to The Globe and Mail. Christmas concerts were the exception.

“There’s a significant appetite,” said Heather Gibson, responsible for non-orchestral music programming at the NAC.

What helps fuel the demand is the family nature of the events. With multi-generations attending, tickets are snapped up quickly. “It’s a holiday experience with kids, parents and grandparents,” said Tim Des Islets. “Where typically fans are buying two or three or four seats, for Christmas shows it’s six, eight and 10.”

Des Islets is the founder of the Canadian artist management company Noisemaker. His clients include the Newfoundland vocal trio the Once and Ontario’s Good Lovelies, both touring mistletoe music this month. Citing the broader audiences who attend Christmas concerts, Des Islets sees the shows as a marketing tool. “It’s an opportunity to introduce a new fan base to the band.”

Comprised of singer-songwriters Caroline Brooks, Kerri Ough, and Susan Passmore, the harmony trio Good Lovelies are a hot ticket on the summer folk festival circuit. But, with three holiday-themed albums and EPs to their credit, they’ve developed a niche as annual Christmas specialists as well.

Barenaked Ladies on the Bravo! Program in December 2006.Geoff George/Handout

“The Good Lovelies are like the Messiahs of pop music,” says the NAC’s Gibson. “Our orchestra has to do Messiah and I have to book the Good Lovelies. I think I would catch a fair bit of flack if I didn’t bring them in.”

Despite the demand for seasonal pop, it’s not as easy as decking the halls with retreads of Jingle Bell Rock and, with all due respect to Bruce Springsteen, Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Both Good Lovelies and Barenaked Ladies mix in their own holiday-themed material with traditional chestnuts and covers. “It was important for us to write original songs,” says BNL’s Stewart. “With the complete saturation of the shopping environment today, by the time Christmas rolls around, you’re kind of done with hearing the same old songs.”

It’s hard to deny the bottom-line implications of putting out Christmas music. According to a 2017 report from The Economist, singer Carey, the self-branded Queen of Christmas, had earned more than US$60-million from All I Want for Christmas Is You since its release in 1994. That big number doesn’t reflect touring income from seasonal concerts. With a pair of jingle-belled shows this month at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena and two more at New York’s Madison Square Garden, Carey is laughing all the way to the bank.

Other seasonal ventures are more organic. Hawksley Workman recorded Almost a Full Moon in 2001 as a mediation on his sentiments toward Christianity and as a nostalgic celebration of family. It was also a reaction to 9/11. “The songs were written at a time when the world was rethinking its position on religion and how these things play out globally,” said Workman, whose Almost a Full Moon tour this year hit 14 Ontario markets. “There were zero commercial intentions for the record.”

The album is tuneful and thoughtful, with such nose-nipping gems as First Snow of the Year, Common Cold and Let’s Make Some Soup. Workman tours the record every year now. As well, the songs were adapted by playwright Charlotte Corbeil-Coleman for a stage musical that premiered at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton this fall. Rather than a one-off holiday lark, Almost a Full Moon endures as one of the Juno-winning musician’s finest works.

“There’s nothing maudlin, which is what Christmas music is turning into,” Workman said. “All the songs came from my gut and my heart, which is why I think the music has fallen into people’s lives in a way that is meaningful enough that it has become an annual tradition. I mean, I’m not singing garbage.”

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Bay Area Independent Music Label Set To Launch 3 Albums Jan….


(MENAFN- EIN Presswire)

Fresh Cut Wax LLC Three Album Launch

Sunday Brunch Playlist Volume 1 – The Blue Moon Cafe Cover – The Five1Hero’s first full length solo album

The Big September – Young Beard Album Cover

Global Remixes the Renegades Worldwide Remix Album

The Five1Hero in the Studio

East Bay Area Indie Record Label set to start 2023 off with a Bang.

I am very excited for New Years Day 2023…I may be biased but I truly believe the people want and need our music.” – The Five 1 HeroOAKLAND, CA, UNITED STATES, December 11, 2022 /einpresswire.com / — To say it has been an impressive first year for Bay Area Independent Record Label, fresh cut wax llc , is an understatement. Right out of the gate, the infant record label launched their first full length album, Renegades Worldwide, global domination , in early March, a powerful hip hop collective addressing everything from break ups, to the pandemic, to the War on Ukraine, and get this, there are 12 emcees on this album and no swearing, cussing, or potty talk, whatever you want to call it. Something truly unique in Hip Hop.

From there, we saw the five1hero come onto the scene with his breakout debut single ‘Summer in SoCal’, a laid-back boom bap track with a myriad of up-and-coming female vocalists. After the release of ‘Summer in SoCal’ we saw Fresh Cut Wax LLC., release a handful of singles from both brands, The Five1Hero and Renegades Worldwide, including the single for ‘On the Run’ from Renegades and ‘The Hit’ and ‘A Mi Lado’, a surprise down tempo song featuring the Jazzy Argentinian bombshell, Mica Franco with lyrics completely in Spanish.

Then in the Fall, Fresh Cut Wax came out with a huge announcement that NorCal rock band, Young Beard, was signing up and releasing some of their music with the label and creating a new album. With that came the final release of the year, Young Beards’ track The Big September remixed by the Five1Hero with a cameo from Renegade Worldwide rapper King Marino.

Today, The Five1Hero, President, CEO, and Executive Producer, of the label announced that each brand is releasing a full-length album on New Year’s Day 2023.

“I am very excited for New Years Day 2023. I feel like after that day I can really focus on blowing up the label and out brands of talent. I have been in producer mode for a couple years now and really need to get our products out there. I may be biased but I truly believe the people want and need our music.”

The first album is Young Beard’s full release of The Big September, including every track they have recorded, including the remix.
The second album is Renegades Worldwide’ Global Remixes, a remix album with a lot of EDM, Dub, & Dancehall influence.“Global Remixes is basically a brand-new album even though it is remixes from Global Domination. They are so different and unique, and the album flows together so well, I am really excited to see what people think.” Explains ‘Hero.

The third album is Five1Hero’s official 1st full length album entitled Sunday Brunch Playlist Volume 1 – The Blue Moon Café.“This album is a lot of my life in my later teens and 20’s when I was in the club and rave scenes quite a bit. I am very proud of this album. I think it pays tribute to my years in San Francisco and the music I love. I wanted it to have some hip hop but not e a hip hop album, but really show a lot more musical diversity. I think we hit the nail on the head.”

All 3 albums will be for sale digitally on all major platforms for just $5.99 each.“We really appreciate anyone who buys these albums. The way streaming services work it is almost impossible for an artist to make money these days, so we definitely appreciate the purchases!” says ‘Hero.

You can Save and Preorder the tracks albums here:

For more information on Fresh Cut Wax please visit:
Buy Swag at:

For more music check out:
Global Domination – The Album

The Big September – Maxi Single

Muzik for Wendi

Summer in SoCal

On the Run Maxi Single

Burning

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Fred James
Media Music Wire
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3 Albums in One Day!

Aled Jones’ Christmas album with Russell Watson flies to No.1 in classical charts


19 November 2022, 17:25

Aled Jones’ Christmas album with Russell Watson flies to number one in classical charts.

Picture:
Alamy


The Christmas duet album is Classic FM presenter and singer Aled Jones’ 41st album released to date.

Two of the UK’s most popular classical voices, Aled Jones and Russell Watson, have hit number one in the classical charts with their new Christmas album, Christmas with Aled Jones & Russell Watson.

The album features new recordings of universally beloved Christmas songs, including traditional carols such as ‘O Holy Night’, ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’ and ‘In The Bleak Midwinter’.

Festive favourites including ‘White Christmas’ and ‘Little Drummer Boy’ also make an appearance on the 21-track album, as well as a new duet recording of ‘Walking in the Air’, released by boy soprano Aled in 1985. Six years ago, in November 2016, Aled released a hugely popular rendition of The Snowman song, in which he duetted with his younger self (watch below).

Listen on Global Player: Aled Jones, Sunday mornings on Classic FM

Aled and Russell released the album on 11 November and are currently performing songs from the new release on a UK-wide tour, performing at some of the nation’s most beautiful concert halls and theatres.

The powerhouse vocal duo’s Christmas tour began at the Manchester Opera House on 13 November and will end on 12 December at Croydon’s Fairfield Halls.

Christmas With Aled and Russell follows the success of the duo’s first two albums, In Harmony (2018) and Back In Harmony (2019), which both shot straight to number one on the UK Classical Album Chart and top 10 of the UK Official Album Chart.

“Album 41 in my career,” Aled said, “and I always am so excited by a new album and thrilled that it’s number one.

“You never get bored of being number one in the chart!” he added.

Listen to Aled Jones every Sunday morning, 7–10am on Classic FM.





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