Little Big Town
Bio
Little Big Town
NIGHTFALL
The night, with its curtain of darkness, contains many things. Hope, doubt, faith, need, resolution, joy, rage, dreams, exhaustion, romance. From that first dusky “Babe…” over a few vacillating guitar notes, Nightfall’s intimacy washes over listeners. Opening with a velvety song of desire, “Next To You” suggests a subtle look at how the world gets the best of us, how connection heals and ultimately, love is the answer.
Easily Little Big Town’s most nuanced project, upon inception, they didn’t realize they were on the verge of producing their ninth studio album. But with songs to capture, creative fires to stoke, Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Phillip Sweet, and Jimi Westbrook went into the studio to develop what was there with no masterplan. It wasn’t long before the fiercely musical foursome realized they’d found a new creative horizon – and they just kept going until Nightfall emerged from 34 songs, myriad experiments and the inherent harmony singing that has defined the Grammy-winning group since they emerged with the steamy, stark “Boondocks.”
“From the first time we sat in the living room, it was amazing that we all gravitated to the harmonies we sing,” explains the sunny-voiced Schlapman. “In 20 years, we really have stayed with the harmonies we settle into organically. We’re all really strong and opinionated, and we’ve always been really involved, but over the years, we’ve become more comfortable with who each of us is. Our different personalities and strengths have become the thing that brings us together as us.”
Nightfall includes the Grammy-nominated consciousness tug “The Daughters,” debuted to universal acclaim on “The Academy of Country Music Awards,” the cascading loveliness of “River of Stars,” the Mexican horn stomping revelry of “Wine, Beer, Whiskey,” the James Taylor-esque hope of “Bluebird” and the naked piano/gospel vocal chorus-tinged soul plea of Sweet’s raw vocal pledge on “Forever And A Night.” This is grown-up music, complex, wise, yet vulnerable.
“It’s so easy to keep layering guitars on top of each other,” Westbrook says of the sonics. “Every sound is intentional on this record. We’d empty tracks out to create more space. Those spaces let the energy come through. The space allows you to absorb what we’re saying.”
In the ache, there is surrender. In the conflict, solutions. Fairchild injects “Sugar Coat’s” whispery self-examination with a dose of awareness. Ruminating “Sometimes I wish I liked drinking, Sometimes I wish I liked pills/Wish I could sleep with a stranger, but someone like me never will,” her clear-eyed examination of societal expectations suggests the potential for a rejection of the good girl’s smile in the face of what’s handed her with a truth-reckoning “One of these nights I’ll meet you in the driveway, and tell you to go to Hell…” “How many of us are going through Hell in secret?” Schlapman asks. “For generations, women were taught not to complain, not to explain, while behind the scenes, it’s a total disaster. Secrets are so cancerous, and most of us have them. That’s the empowerment: she suffers for knowing…until…” Fairchild agrees, “Through her awakening she finds resolve and is willing to tell the truth. No more sugar coating.”
It’s followed by Westbrook’s searching “Problem Child,” which turns the rejoinder of “What’s your problem, child?” into a recognition and invitation to seek solace. As Fairchild, who Schlapman calls, “the Tom Brady of the project,” says of the song’s tenderness, “We had just written this song and instantly wanted to record it. That’s Jimi’s very first vulnerable vocal, where he said, ‘I don’t know if I know this enough to really sing it…’ That made this vocal, and everything this song is trying to communicate.”
Sweet sees the cinematic juxtaposition of it. “With those beautiful strings and that vocal, it speaks to everyone that has felt like a black sheep, like a problem child. We’ve all been that person, whether (it was when) we were a child or not, and it takes something sad and cloaks it in hope.” Not that Nightfall is a somber place. Yes, it opens the gates to reflection, but in that comes freedom and joy.
“Over Drinking,” which sounds like a throw down, celebrates moving through angst to lighter ground… “I’m Over Drinking, Over You.”
Real country, classic material with a metaphor that turns the tropes inside out. Pretty profound. “If I’m out at a bar and I’ve tied one on…I’m drunk ‘cause I’m happy not drunk ‘cause you’re gone.”
“When ‘Over Drinking’ got texted to my phone,” Fairchild marvels, “it was such a fun song, country and smart. We immediately knew it belonged on Nightfall, although the record was basically mastered and finished. We knew this was a song our fans would love. We didn’t waste a moment despite being on the road.”
Dispatching a runner to a local Bed, Bath + Beyond to buy all the baffling they could find, an “instant session” was born in an empty room backstage. “It was so spontaneous and creative!” Fairchild continues. “We carry a recording rig with us, and set it up. The drums, bass, and guitars sounded amazing. That ‘in the moment’ feeling is all over the track.”
In perfect 6/8 time, Little Big Town leaned into hard country with a slinky, celebratory earthiness. The Telecaster stings and the sticks on the rims usher in a triumph from tear-in-my-beer anguish. It juxtaposes the pluck of the teasing nag of the gently undulating “Throw Your Love Away,” which finds the ether-voiced Schlapman sparkling through a catalogue of indelible memories, or the acoustic smolder “Questions,” where the burgundy in Fairchild’s voice illuminates as she sifts through the post-breakup doubts she will never voice.
Obviously, there are layers of Fleetwood Mac’s intoxicating harmonies, the acoustic nature of Laurel Canyon, the sweeping sense of emotion that underlies Joni Mitchell and the great respect and love for the songwriters of Nashville, TN. “I’m a dreamer,” Sweet offers. “This music hopefully honors that as musicians in country music. If people can open their hearts and just connect with music in a way that feeds them, makes them feel what they need or want to, then we got it.”
Westbrook explains, “The atmosphere everyone’s living in right now had our heads in more adult places. You always want to have fun, but we’re adults with families – and needed to say something that mattered.” Still, as Schlapman boils it down, “This was a journey, and still is. Whether you’re going to the mountains, or the beach, even sitting in your living room with a glass of wine, this record is an experience. It will take you through so many places in life, hopefully sink in, and take you where you need to go, or give you what you’re looking to find.” Fairchild adds, “The sequence is deliberate to take you through the romance of Nightfall…the questions we have when we’re alone, the joy and the frolic of love and friendship, and the strength to overcome.”
As fingers find a gut string guitar, then a piano, that tranquility closes Nightfall with the reality tug of “Trouble with Forever.” Four voices caressing the breathlessness of how things start, showering the truth about how love and life fade like a benediction for the best of who we are.
News
View all news on Little Big TownUMG NASHVILLE’S NEW YEAR’S LINERS (AUDIO)
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Audio / LINER Brothers Osborne (New Year)
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Audio / LINER Bryce Leatherwood (New Year’s) 1
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Audio / LINER Bryce Leatherwood (New Year’s) 2
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Audio / LINER Carrie Underwood (New Year)
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Audio / LINER Dalton Dover (Happy New Year)
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Audio / LINER Dalton Dover (5 Countdown)
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Audio / LINER Darius Rucker (Happy New Year)
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Audio / LINER Dierks Bentley (Happy New Year)
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Audio / LINER Dierks Bentley (New Year)
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Audio / LINER Eric Church (5 COUNTDOWN)
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Audio / LINER Eric Church (Happy New Year)
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Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (New Year)
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Audio / LINER Jordan Davis (New Year)
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Audio / LINER Josh Ross (New Year’s)
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Audio / LINER Josh Ross (5 Countdown)
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Audio / LINER Josh Turner (New Year)
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Audio / LINER Kacey Musgraves (New Year)
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Audio / LINER Kassi Ashton (New Year)
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Audio / LINER Keith Urban (New Year)
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Audio / LINER LBT (New Year)
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Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (New Year)
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Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (ring in the New Year)
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Audio / LINER Maddie & Tae (New Year)
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Audio / LINER Mickey Guyton (New Year)
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Audio / LINER Parker McCollum (New Year)
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Audio / LINER Priscilla Block (New Year)
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Audio / LINER Reba McEntire (New Year)
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Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Happy New Year)
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Audio / LINER Shania Twain (Happy New Year)
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Audio / LINER The War And Treaty (New Year) 1
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Audio / LINER The War And Treaty (New Year) 2
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Audio / Tucker Wetmore - Happy New Year
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UMG NASHVILLE CHRISTMAS CONTENT
CHRISTMAS SOUNDBITES:
Dierks Bentley, who is the father of three children (Evie, Jordan, Knox), says you revert back to your childhood at Christmas when you start having a family of your own.
Audio / Dierks Bentley.- Christmas Is For Kids (AUDIO)
DownloadDierks Bentley (Christmas is for kids) OC: …one again. :29
“You know, Christmas didn’t lose any of its real meaning, as far as its religious meaning with Jesus’ birthday. But as far as like the whole tree and all of the Christmas spirit stuff, the secular stuff, it just kind of goes away to be honest. But then you have a family, and all of a sudden, it’s like I’m all Clark Griswold out there decorating the tree, putting lights up around the house, you know. So, all of those things that you did as a kid and appreciated as a kid, you get a chance to do over again when you have kids, because you kinda become one again.”
Audio / Dierks Bentley - Christmas In The Desert (AUDIO)
DownloadDierks Bentley (Christmas in the desert) OC: …in Arizona. :32
“I grew up in Arizona, so we didn’t have like a white winter kind of deal. It’s kinda…once you experience that, it’s hard to go back and like celebrate Christmas in the desert but…for us, we would…me and my family and a couple other families would go out to the desert and bring a big turkey and just kinda have a cookout in the middle of the desert…and drink beers and ride four-wheelers and…well, I wouldn’t drink beers, but they would. We’d ride four-wheelers and horses and just kind of spend it out in the middle of the desert, which was kind of a cool way to spend Christmas. So, whenever I think of Christmas, I always think of the desert, which is a little weird, but that’s just the way we did it out in Arizona.”
Audio / Dierks Bentley - Christmas Tough For Jordan (AUDIO)
DownloadDierks Bentley (Christmas tough for Jordan) OC: …for you! :21
“It’s tough kind of for Jordan because her birthday IS on Christmas, so it’s kind of one of those things where we try to give her an extra present or two. It’s kind of tough to share your birthday with Jesus. You can get a little overshadowed on that one, but she’s good about it, but we just tell her, ‘All these Christmas trees and lights, these are all for you.’”
Audio / Dierks Bentley - Christmas Traditions
DownloadDierks Bentley (Christmas traditions) OC: …old ones, as well. :22
“One of our favorite Christmas traditions is just driving around looking at lights. Love seeing all the lights back in the valley, back in Arizona and Phoenix where I’m from, and that tradition is carried over to here for me in Nashville. We’ve got a lot of lights up on the house. We’ve got a Grinch in the front yard, as well as a talking Santa, so new traditions here in Nashville and some old ones, as well.”
Darius Rucker, who released his Christmas album Home for the Holidays in 2014, loves to take it easy during the holidays after being on the road all year long. One way he winds down is to watch Christmas movies…however, he can’t pick just one favorite.
Audio / Darius Rucker - Christmas Movies (AUDIO)
DownloadDarius Rucker (favorite Christmas movies) OC: …favorite movies. :32
“That’s such a hard question, favorite Christmas movie, because there are so many great movies that I can think of just off the top of my head that are great Christmas movies. But it would be a tie between Miracle on 34th Street, which is still just great acting, great movie. I just love it. I love watching it. I watch it probably four times every Christmas and cry at the end every time. And I love Elf. I just think Elf is one of the absolute great stories and just funniest movies I’ve ever seen and it just happens to be a Christmas movie. It’s one of my favorite movies.”
Audio / Darius Rucker - Favorite Christmas Song
DownloadDarius Rucker (favorite Christmas song) OC: …listen to. :09
“Oh, ‘The Christmas Song,’ no doubt about it. There’s a reason it’s called, ‘The Christmas Song.’ That’s my favorite Christmas song to sing and my favorite Christmas song to listen to.”
Audio / Darius Rucker - Christmas Dish (AUDIO)
DownloadDarius Rucker (Christmas dish) OC: …sweet potato pie. :17
“I’m a big food guy, as you can tell by looking at me up here. I like food a lot. But my favorite thing is my sister’s sweet potato pie. I love sweet potato pie so much, and I don’t get it very often. And my sisters always make sure I get a couple during Thanksgiving and Christmas, so that’s my favorite thing – sweet potato pie.”
Since he’s been touring so much this year, Josh Ross says he’s barely spent any time at home with his family back in Canada, so he’s looking forward to having several days with his family.
Audio / Josh Ross - Favorite Christmas Memory (AUDIO)
DownloadJosh Ross (a favorite Christmas memory) OC: …from out West. :22
“I’d say as a kid, so my sister is 12 years older than myself, so she moved out West to go to school when I was like six-years-old. She used to always come home during Christmas. I never knew when because I was young and didn’t really understand how the calendar worked, but I always remembered that my sister would fly home and come wake me up and like would always surprise me. So, that’s definitely one of my favorite Christmas memories is when my sister would come home from out West.”
Audio / Josh Ross - Christmas Present (AUDIO)
DownloadJosh Ross (Christmas present) OC: …front of a screen. :32
“All my friends had video games, and I was never very, very big into video games. I wasn’t really allowed. I was more like the go outside and play type, and honestly, this is really what speaks to me as a person now with different things in life, but I really wanted a PlayStation 2 and I remember like that was the big thing that I wanted. And I got a PlayStation 2, and I bet you I only played it for like a couple of weeks and then I was back to outside playing, and really just wasn’t super interested in it. I think that kind of still speaks to me today is I’d much rather be in the outdoors and not necessarily in front of a screen.”
Audio / Josh Ross - Christmas Spirit (AUDIO)
DownloadJosh Ross (Christmas spirit) OC: …in the spirit. :35
“My mom would definitely always be playing Christmas music. She loved Christmas music, so that’s always playing when she’s decorating and things like that. I’m excited to go back and listen to her songs on repeat (laughs), but the thing for me that would always solidify that Christmas is happening is we’d go and cut a tree down. So, my mom, dad, myself and we used to take the dog that I had as a child, we’d all go out and cut a tree down, and that’s just like a Canadian thing. I think here we import the Northern trees, so the ornaments stay on them, but up there that’s what we got to do, so that’s something I’ll always remember as a kid year after year would get me in the spirit.”
Audio / Josh Ross - The Grinch Story (AUDIO)
DownloadJosh Ross (The Grinch story) OC: …freshman year boyfriend. :36
“We were talking about Christmas movies, and I think I said I watched Elf all the way through. Now I understand what the World’s Best Coffee Shop means and all this kind of stuff and people have all these jokes around Christmas time. It’s funny, The Grinch was one of my favorite movies, and that was one that I watched, and I got to fill people in, I was like, ‘Well, my mom used to date ‘The Grinch.’’ And everybody was like, ‘Wait! What do you mean?’ And my mom’s boyfriend in high school was Jim Carrey. So, it’s kind of a cool, I guess, fun fact that most people would not know is he grew up in Burlington, Ontario and went to Aldershot High School and he was my mom’s ninth grade, or freshman year, boyfriend.”
Kassi Ashton grew up in a rural town called California, Missouri, and she took ballet and other dance classes for many years. So, one of her favorite Christmas memories include being in The Nutcracker every year. “One of my favorite Christmas traditions growing up was always being a part of The Nutcracker,” says Kassi. “[I took] ballet my entire life, and now that I’ve graduated and moved on, I go see The Nutcracker at the Nashville Ballet every year. I can’t wait to have a little girl some day and put her in ballet class.”
Audio / Kassi Ashton - Christmas Traditions (AUDIO)
DownloadKassi Ashton (Christmas traditions) OC: …ballet class. :21
“Hey, it’s Kassi Ashton. One of my favorite Christmas traditions growing up was always being a part of The Nutcracker. [I took] ballet my entire life, and now that I’ve graduated and moved on, I go see The Nutcracker at the Nashville Ballet every year. I can’t wait to have a little girl some day and put her in ballet class.”
Audio / Kassi Ashton - Christmas Song (AUDIO)
DownloadKassi Ashton (Christmas song) OC: …along perfectly. [laughs] :11
“My favorite Christmas song is ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ by Judy Garland in the key of G, because that’s my key [laughs], and I can sing along perfectly.” [laughs]
Audio / Kassi Ashton - Christmas Music (AUDIO)
DownloadKassi Ashton (Christmas music) OC: …the best. :23
“Hey, it’s Kassi Ashton. My favorite thing about Christmas hands down is Christmas music. I start playing eh, the day after Thanksgiving usually, if not a little sooner. I love the classics – Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, anything that you know by heart and you don’t have to really think about. Christmas songs are the best.”
Keith Urban and his family, including wife Nicole Kidman and daughters Sunday and Faith, usually head Down Under for the holiday, visiting family and hitting the beach, which is what he did on Christmas Day when he was a kid.
Audio / Keith Urban - Beach (AUDIO)
DownloadKeith Urban (Christmas-beach) OC: …to the beach. :24
“I have great memories of getting up early and going and jumping on your parents’ bed and getting them up. You know, and then of course you tear open the presents and then it’s done and it’s like eight in the morning, and you’ve got all morning now to sort of wish you had more presents to open. We had great Christmases growing up. I really, really enjoyed them. Mostly, we’d go to the beach, you know, ’cause there it’s summertime. Load up the station wagon and head off to the beach.”
Audio / Keith Urban - Yellow Tonka Truck (AUDIO)
DownloadKeith Urban (Christmas—yellow Tonka truck) OC: …forever, too. :09
“I got a yellow Tonka truck when I was about 6, I think, and it’s probably still my favorite Christmas gift ever. Those things last forever, too.”
Audio / Keith Urban - Christmas Spirit (AUDIO)
DownloadKeith Urban (what gets him in the Christmas spirit) OC: …goes away. :10
“The lights going up, uh, the lights, the music, all of that, the house sort of transforming into Christmas. I love it. It’s sad when it all has to go away.”
Audio / Keith Urban - Going To Beach at Christmas (AUDIO)
DownloadKeith Urban (still loves going to the beach at Christmas) OC: …explains a lot. :33
“Yeah, we still love going to the beach at Christmas time, as long as we’re in Australia, because it’s like the Fourth of July. It’s huge. Everybody’s out. It feels very celebratory. It’s in the ‘90s. It’s crazy, but having grown up with that, it feels very natural to me. Albeit it, we still had all of the same Christmas songs, so we’re in like 90-degree heat with shorts and tank tops singing ‘Walking in a Winter Wonderland,’ and I remember getting Christmas cards of like Santa on a surfboard, so that probably explains a lot.”
Reba McEntire has graced us with a couple of Christmas collections, including 1995’s Merry Christmas to You and 2006’s Secret of Giving: A Christmas Collection, as well as last year’s compilation, Ultimate Christmas Collection.
Audio / Reba McEntire - Christmas Pake
DownloadReba McEntire (Pake) OC: …down the hall. :22
“The funniest thing I can always remember about Christmastime is my older brother Pake, when we were kids at home, he’d always be the first one to jump out of bed and run down the hall, and he’d just run down the hall with his underwear on. And he’d say, ‘If y’all don’t hurry up and get up and get in here, I’m opening all the presents by myself.’ But he knew it was a standing rule we all had to be in there before anybody could open up a present, but I can still see Pake running down the hall.”
Audio / Reba McEntire - Leaving Christmas Tree Up After Holidays (AUDIO)
DownloadReba McEntire (leaving Christmas tree up) OC: …really festive. :13
“How long do I leave my Christmas tree and decorations up? Well, after Christmas I am so in tune with the sparkly lights, I leave the lights on and take the Christmas ornaments off. It keeps it really festive.”
Audio / Reba McEntire - Artificial Tree (AUDIO)
DownloadReba McEntire (artificial tree) OC: …half the year. :24
“I definitely have an artificial tree, because when we were growing up, we’d all go out on the ranch and cut down a Christmas tree, bring it in and then we had to water it every other day – make sure the coffee can was full of water – and the cedar needles got everywhere, so nowadays I just go with an artificial tree…and two, I can leave it with the lights on half the year.”
Audio / Reba McEntire - Christmas Shelby (AUDIO)
DownloadReba (Christmas memory of Shelby) OC: …he was so cute! :28
“I’ll never forget one (Christmas) morning I woke up and I was laying on my left side and I felt something, and I opened up my eyes, and Shelby was three inches away from my face. He said, ‘Mom, you’re not gonna beweive what Santy Claus weft for me.’ And so, he said you’ve got to come here. I got up out of bed and went in there and there was this little tractor trailer set that he had just fallen in love with at the store. He’s seen it, and he said, ‘I can’t beweive he bought this for me.’ He was so cute.”
Jordan Davis started a Christmas tradition when he moved to Nashville a few years ago. He goes to the historic Belcourt Theatre to catch a viewing of the classic It’s a Wonderful Life. “They play it at a theater here in town, and it’s something that I really look forward to going and seeing that movie,” he says.
Audio / Jordan Davis - Favorite Christmas Movie (AUDIO)
DownloadJordan Davis (favorite Christmas movie) OC: …a great movie. :19
“The one Christmas movie I have to watch, which Elf has slowly taken over that spot, but I would have to say It’s a Wonderful Life. Then moving to Nashville, they play it at a theater here in town, and it’s something that I really look forward to going and seeing that movie. Man, it’s just a great movie.”
Audio / Jordan Davis - Favorite Christmas Gift (AUDIO)
DownloadJordan Davis (favorite Christmas gift) OC: …great present. :41
“The one Christmas present that stands out to me – I can remember I asked for go-karts. Me and my brother asked for go-karts together. And I was actually worried that we weren’t going to get ‘em, because I knew my mom probably thought we were going to kill ourselves, but we woke up Christmas morning and me and Jacob, we run into the living room and don’t see a go-kart. I remember being like sad opening presents, and then my dad tells me he thought he heard some reindeer in the backyard. So, we jet to the back of the house and there’s two blue-and-white go-karts in the backyard. So, that’s the one I always remember. That was a great present.”
Audio / Jordan Davis - Christmas Music (AUDIO)
DownloadJordan Davis (Christmas music) OC: …music on. :41
“My favorite Christmas song is Nat King Cole’s ‘Buon Natale.’ I don’t know the record it’s on it, [but] we would just play that song over and over and over. So, that’s by far my favorite, but anything by Nat King Cole. I mean Nat King Cole is Christmas to me, always playing, always having some type of Christmas music on. I remember growing up, my mom, she would start on Thanksgiving. We would start listening to Christmas music and anytime you’d walk into the house if Mom was home, there was Christmas music playing. It was just background music, and it’s something I’ve carried over like there’s Christmas music that is played all the time. If we’re home, there’s Christmas music on.”
Parker McCollum grew up in Conroe, Texas and he and all of his family and extended family would go to his grandmother’s house on Christmas. One of his favorite childhood memories on Christmas Day was playing football in the front yard. “Every year, we would all play football in my Grandma’s front yard probably until the time I was 15 or 16 years old, every Christmas morning,” he says.
Audio / Parker McCollum - Childhood Christmas Tradition (AUDIO)
DownloadParker McCollum (Christmas childhood tradition) OC: …Christmas morning. :10
“As a kid, it was definitely football in the yard. Every year, we would all play football in my Grandma’s front yard probably until the time I was 15 or 16 years old, every Christmas morning.”
Audio / Parker McCollum - Christmas Movies (AUDIO)
DownloadParker McCollum (Christmas movies) OC: …newer ones. :21
“Favorite Christmas movie – this is gonna sound kind of goofy, but one of them is definitely Annabelle’s Wish, because Randy Travis narrates it. I used to watch that when I was really little with my mom, but I mean, Christmas Vacation is a phenomenal movie. And I always really liked the Santa Clause series with Tim Allen. I always thought those were really good, even the newer ones.”
Audio / Parker McCollum - Christmas Gift As A Kid (AUDIO)
DownloadParker McCollum (favorite Christmas gift as a kid) OC: …son of a gun. :18
“It would be a Browning 270 Deer rifle I got when I was 13? So, I wanted it so bad, and I’d always had to use my older brothers’ or my Dad’s gun, you know? They wouldn’t even let me shoot anything then. So, I was probably 11 or 12 years old and a Browning 270 Deer rifle…bad son of a gun.”
Both Maddie and Tae have their favorite Christmas movies, and they are planning a Christmas movie night sometime soon, so Tae can see one of Maddie’s favorites. MADDIE: “Favorite Christmas movie? I know Tae’s.” TAE: “What?” MADDIE: “Polar Express!” TAE: “I do love me some Polar Express. Every time the kids do the duet, my heart breaks.” MADDIE: “I would say my favorite Christmas movie – I love Polar Express. I love Arthur Christmas.” TAE: “Arthur Christmas is great. People sleep on that one.” MADDIE: “And The Holiday! Ahhhhhh.” TAE: “I’ve never seen that one.” MADDIE: “Jude Law-It’s a rom-com, but it’s so heartwarming.” TAE: “Christmas movie night.” MADDIE: “YES!”
Audio / Maddie & Tae - Christmas Movie (AUDIO)
DownloadMaddie & Tae (favorite Christmas movies) OC: …YES! :24
MADDIE: “Favorite Christmas movie? I know Tae’s.” TAE: “What?” MADDIE: “Polar Express!” TAE: “I do love me some Polar Express. Every time the kids do the duet, my heart breaks.” MADDIE: “I would say my favorite Christmas movie – I love Polar Express. I love Arthur Christmas.” TAE: “Arthur Christmas is great. People sleep on that one.” MADDIE: “And The Holiday! Ahhhhhh.” TAE: “I’ve never seen that one.” MADDIE: “Jude Law-It’s a rom-com, but it’s so heartwarming.” TAE: “Christmas movie night.” MADDIE: “YES!”
Audio / Maddie & Tae - Christmas Movie Character (AUDIO)
DownloadMaddie & Tae (Christmas movie character) OC: (Tae) …it’s so you. (both laugh) :28
MADDIE: “If we could be any movie character, who would we be? I think I would want to be a part of Clark Griswold’s vibe. Like, he’s so funny. I don’t know. I’d want to be Clark Griswold’s wife ‘cause I feel like Jonah is Clark Griswold, and that would be really funny, and she just allows his Christmas chaos happen and just embraces it.” TAE: “And you would totally do the fork thing where ‘Oh, this is so yummy.’ (laughs) It’s so you.” (both laugh)
Audio / Maddie & Tae - Christmas Traditions (AUDIO)
DownloadMaddie & Tae (Maddie’s Christmas traditions) OC: …White Elephant. :31
“We always get a real tree every year, because Jonah’s a stickler for a real tree thing. We always shave off a little part of the bottom of the tree and make an ornament out of the little thing, so we’ll put the year on all of them and collect them. We’ve actually just started collecting nutcrackers, which is super weird, but we name them all. Oh, and White Elephant. We play White Elephant on the Font side of things, and I always end up with the best gift somehow, because Jonah and I tag team White Elephant.”
Audio / Maddie & Tae - Taylor's Family Christmas (AUDIO)
DownloadMaddie & Tae (Taylor’s Family Christmas) OC: …the fun stuff. 1:01
“My family has always done Christmas to the nines. My dad is a very big Christmas decorator. He would have the entire house decorated. We had this like life-sized, giant nutcracker, and at one point, we had like a talking Santa at our front door that my dad would talk through. But the decorations were always just like so much fun, really got us all in the Christmas spirit. And every Christmas, one of our traditions was the kids – me and my two brothers – we would all stay in the same room on Christmas Eve and then we’d wake up when it was time to wake up, and we’d go down the stairs my parents would have a sheet at the bottom of the stairs so we couldn’t see all the presents; not that we weren’t going to see them in two seconds, but to them it was just the magic of the big reveal, them showing us all the gifts that Santa had gotten us. I’m just so thankful that my parents really kept that magic alive. And for me, I’m already thinking about Elf on the Shelf. I’m going to do all of the fun stuff.”
CHRISTMAS LINERS:
Audio / LINER AJ (Christmas)
Download“Hi! This is Alan Jackson, and I’m wishing y’all a very Merry Christmas.”
Audio / LINER Billy Currington (Happy Holiday Season)
Download“Hi! Billy Currington here, wishing you and your family a safe and Happy Holiday Season.”
Audio / LINER Brad Paisley (Seasons Greetings)
Download“Season’s Greetings, folks, it’s Brad Paisley, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”
Audio / LINER Brad Paisley (Happy Holidays)
Download“Hey everybody, it’s Brad Paisley. Happy Holidays.”
Audio / LINER Brad Paisley (Happy Holidays) 2
Download“Brad Paisley here. Happy Holidays!”
Audio / LINER Brad Paisley (12 Days of Christmas would include)
Download“Hey everybody, it’s Brad Paisley. If I were to re-write the ’12 Days of Christmas,’ I would include things like chocolate, Bourbon, guitars and maybe not French Hens or Geese a’laying.”
Audio / LINER Brad Paisley (Penguin James Penguin)
Download“Hi, this is Brad Paisley. Make sure you’re good this Christmas, ‘cause Santa’s got a secret agent bird. Penguin James Penguin is watching.”
Audio / LINER Brenda Lee (Seasons Greetings)
Download“Season’s Greetings. This is Brenda Lee, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”
Audio / LINER Brenda Lee (Merry Christmas)
Download“Hi, I’m Brenda Lee with wishes for a very Merry Christmas.”
Audio / LINER Brenda Lee (Here's Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree)
Download“Hi, this is Brenda Lee, and here’s my favorite holiday song, ‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.”
Audio / LINER Brothers Osborne (Christmas)
Download“Hey! This is T.J., and I’m John, and we are Brothers Osborne, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”
Audio / LINER Carrie Underwood (Christmas)
Download“Hi! I’m Carrie Underwood, wishing you a Merry Christmas.”
Audio / LINER Carrie Underwood (Christmas) 2
Download“Hey, it’s Carrie Underwood. From our house to yours – Merry Christmas.”
Audio / LINER Carrie Underwood (Seasons Greetings)
Download“Season’s Greetings! I’m Carrie Underwood, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”
Audio / LINER Catie Offerman (Christmas)
Download“Hey everybody, this is Catie Offerman, wishing you a very Merry Christmas, y’all.”
Audio / LINER Catie Offerman (Christmas) 2
Download“Hey everybody, this is Catie Offerman. Merry Christmas.”
Audio / LINER Catie Offerman (Happy Holidays)
Download“Hey everybody, this is Catie Offerman. Happy Holidays.”
Audio / LINER Caylee Hammack (Christmas) 2
Download“Hey y’all, this is Caylee Hammack. Merry Christmas!”
Audio / LINER Caylee Hammack (Happy Holidays)
Download“Hey y’all, this is Caylee Hammack. Happy Holidays, everybody!”
Audio / LINER Dalton Dover (Christmas)
Download“Hey y’all, this is Dalton Dover. Merry Christmas.”
Audio / LINER Dalton Dover (Christmas) 2
Download“Hey y’all, this is Dalton Dover, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.
Audio / LINER Dalton Dover (Season's Greetings)
Download“Season’s Greetings. I’m Dalton Dover.”
Audio / LINER Darius Rucker (Christmas)
Download“Hey y’all! What’s up? This is Darius Rucker, wishing you a Merry Christmas.”
Audio / LINER Dierks Bentley (Christmas)
Download“Hey! This is Dierks Bentley, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”
Audio / LINER Dierks Bentley (Happy Holidays)
Download“Hey everybody! It’s Dierks Bentley, wishing you a very Happy Holiday season.”
Audio / LINER Eric Church (Christmas)
Download“Hey everybody! It’s Eric Church, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”
Audio / LINER George Strait (Happy Holidays)
Download“Hey everybody! This is George Strait, wishing you and your family a Happy Holiday season.”
Audio / LINER Hootie & The Blowfish (Christmas)
Download“Hey Everybody, we’re Hootie & The Blowfish, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”
Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (Merry Christmas)
Download“Hey! This is Jon Pardi, wishing you a Merry Christmas!”
Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (Season’s Greetings)
Download“Season’s Greetings, everybody! I’m Jon Pardi, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”
Audio / LINER Jon Pardi (Merry Christmas) 2
Download“Hey! This is Jon Pardi. Merry Christmas!”
Audio / LINER Jordan Davis (Christmas)
Download“Hey! I’m Jordan Davis, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”
Audio / LINER Jordan Davis (Happy Holidays)
Download“Happy, Happy, Happy Holidays, everybody. I’m Jordan Davis.”
Audio / LINER Josh Ross (Christmas)
Download“Hey, y’all, this is Josh Ross, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”
Audio / LINER Josh Ross (Season’s Greetings)
Download“Season’s Greetings, I’m Josh Ross.”
Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Happy Holidays)
Download“Hey! I’m Josh Turner, wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday season.”
Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Seasons Greetings)
Download“Season’s Greetings—I’m Josh Turner, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”
Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Merry Christmas)
Download“Hi, I’m Josh Turner with wishes for a very Merry Christmas.”
Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Happy Holidays) 2
Download“Hey everybody, this is Josh Turner. May your days be merry and bright. Happy holidays from my family to yours!”
Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Holidays)
Download“Hey y’all, I’m Josh Turner. Wishing you peace, love and joy this holiday season.”
Audio / LINER Josh Turner (Christmas sweater)
Download“Hey y’all, I’m Josh Turner. May all your sweaters be ugly and bright!”
Audio / LINER Kacey Musgraves (Christmas)
Download“Hey! This is Kacey Musgraves, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”
Audio / LINER Kassi Ashton (Christmas)
Download“Hey, it’s Kassi Ashton. I’d love to wish everyone listening a very Merry Christmas.”
Audio / LINER Keith Urban (Christmas)
Download“Hi folks, this is Keith Urban, wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas.”
Audio / LINER Keith Urban (Holiday season)
Download“Hi everyone, this is Keith Urban, wishing you and all your family the very best this holiday season.”
Audio / LINER LBT (Christmas)
Download“Hey! We’re Little Big Town, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”
Audio / LINER LBT (Very Merry Christmas)
Download“Hey! We’re Little Big Town, and we just want to say Have Yourself a Very Merry Christmas.”
Audio / LINER LBT (Happy Holidays)
Download“Hey! We’re Little Big Town. Happy Holidays!”
Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (Christmas)
Download“Hey! It’s Luke Bryan, wishing you a Merry Christmas.”
Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (Happy Holidays)
Download“Hey! It’s Luke Bryan. Happy Holidays!”
Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (Season's Greetings)
Download“Seasons Greetings, I’m Luke Bryan. Hope your holidays are filled with joy and happiness.”
Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (eggnog)
Download“It’s Luke Bryan, and may your eggnog be spiked with plenty of rum to get you through this holiday season!”
Audio / LINER Luke Bryan (gifts of the season)
Download“Hey y’all, it’s Luke Bryan, wishing you the gifts of the season — Peace, Joy, and a case of beer.”
Audio / LINER Maddie & Tae (Christmas)
Download“Hi! We’re Maddie & Tae, wishing you a Merry Christmas.”
Audio / LINER Maddie & Tae (Happy Holidays)
Download“Hi! We’re Maddie & Tae. Happy Holidays.”
Audio / LINER Mickey Guyton (Christmas)
Download“Hey! It’s Mickey Guyton, wishing you a Merry Christmas.”
Audio / LINER Parker McCollum (Happy Holidays)
Download“Hey, I’m Parker McCollum, and I’m wishing you a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year.”
Audio / LINER Priscilla Block (Christmas)
Download“Hi! This is Priscilla Block wishing you a very Merry Christmas.
Audio / LINER Reba McEntire (Christmas)
Download“Hey-Reba here-hoping you have a very Merry Christmas. Ho, Ho, Ho.”
Audio / LINER Reba McEntire (Happy Holidays)
Download“Hey, this is Reba, wishing you a Happy Holiday Season.”
Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Christmas)
Download“Hey everybody! This is Sam Hunt, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”
Audio / LINER Sam Hunt (Happy Holidays)
Download“Hey everybody! I’m Sam Hunt. Happy Holidays!”
Audio / LINER Shania Twain (Christmas)
Download“Hi! This is Shania Twain, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”
Audio / LINER Taylor Swift (Happy Holiday Season)
Download“Hey, this is Taylor Swift, wishing you a very Happy Holiday Season.”
Audio / LINER Tucker Wetmore Merry Christmas
Download“Hey what’s goin’ on guys it’s Tucker Wetmore. I just want to say Merry Christmas from my family to yours. Have a happy and safe holidays.”
Audio / LINER Tyler Hubbard (Christmas) 1
Download“Hey y’all, it’s Tyler Hubbard. Merry Christmas.”
Audio / LINER Tyler Hubbard (Christmas) 2
Download“Hey y’all, it’s Tyler Hubbard, wishing you a very Merry Christmas.”
UMG NASHVILLE THANKSGIVING CONTENT
The Thanksgiving holiday tradition traces its origins to a 1621 celebration at Plymouth, in the state that’s now known as Massachusetts. The 1621 Plymouth feast and thanksgiving was prompted by a good harvest. While initially, the Plymouth colony did not have enough food to feed half of the 102 colonists, the Wampanoag Native Americans helped the Pilgrims by providing seeds and teaching them to fish. The practice of holding an annual harvest festival like this did not become a regular affair in New England until the late 1660s. People now celebrate the holiday by giving thanks for their blessings over the past year, as well as feasting on turkey and other festive goodies.
Some festive fun facts about Thanksgiving:
- President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday on October 3rd, 1863.
- Harry Truman is often credited with being the first president to pardon a turkey, but that’s not quite true. He was the first to receive a ceremonial turkey from the National Turkey Federation – and he had it for dinner. John F. Kennedy was the first to let a Thanksgiving turkey go, followed by Richard Nixon who sent his turkey to a petting zoo. George H.W. Bush is the president who formalized the turkey pardoning tradition in 1989.
- The average number of calories consumed on Thanksgiving is 4,500.
- Butterball answers more than 100,000 turkey-cooking questions via their Butterball Turkey Hotline each November and December.
- The tradition of football on Thanksgiving began in 1876 with a game between Yale and Princeton. The first NFL games were played on Thanksgiving in 1920.
- The Wednesday before Thanksgiving has become known as “Drinksgiving.” Bars experience a huge boom the night before the holiday.
Thanksgiving Day is Thursday, November 23rd, and most people might be enjoying time with a group of their friends and families, including some of your favorite country stars, such as Alan Jackson, Brothers Osborne, Carrie Underwood, Catie Offerman, Caylee Hammack, Dalton Dover, Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley, Jon Pardi, Josh Turner, Keith Urban, Little Big Town, Maddie & Tae, Mickey Guyton, Parker McCollum, Priscilla Block, Reba McEntire, Sam Hunt, Tyler Hubbard and more. They share their thoughts of thanks this year, their lessons in gratitude, memories and favorite Thanksgiving dishes.
THANKSGIVING SOUNDBITES:
Audio / Alan Jackson talks about his favorite Thanksgiving dish.
DownloadAJ (Thanksgiving) OC: …enjoy it. :19
“My favorite Thanksgiving dish would be the homemade dressin’ that we, cornbread-based kind of dressin’ that we always have with turkey. That recipe is a kind of a combination of my mama, and Denise has taken it and perfected it over the years, so that me and my children really enjoy it.”
Audio / Brothers Osborne talk about their favorite Thanksgiving tradition – a Misfits Thanksgiving -- that they started when they moved to Nashville because they couldn’t afford to go home for the holiday.
DownloadBrothers Osborne (Misfits Thanksgiving) OC: (TJ) …Happy holidays, y’all. 1:02
“What’s up, y’all? It’s Brothers Osborne here. And a Thanksgiving tradition that we did for so many years. John and I would host what we would call a Misfits Thanksgiving, and we would have everyone, I mean we must’ve done this for 15 years or so and it really started because we didn’t have enough money to go back home to see our family, so we would hang out in Nashville. And so everyone that was kind of in our same shoes, we’d all end up at our house, and it really turned into really blossoming some of our most cherished relationships. We would be there with Kacey Musgraves. It was the first time I really got to hang out with Mickey Guyton (JOHN: “Maren Morris.”) Maren Morris. They would come over and we just became like family to each other because we couldn’t get home to see our own families. And that’s a Thanksgiving tradition that we still to this day try to keep, and it’s a revolving door of who’s there or who’s not there, but yeah, it’s a wonderful tradition. And let me tell you, spending it with our friends in Nashville, there’s a little less arguing than back home. (laughs)” JOHN: “We’re still arguing, but we get over it faster.” (laughs) TJ: “Anyways, Happy Holidays, y’all.”
Audio / Carrie Underwood says she’s grateful for her family.
DownloadCarrie Underwood (Thanksgiving 2023) OC: …we all are. :30
“I am grateful for so many things this Thanksgiving. I think the thing I’m most grateful for, though, is family. I mean, that’s what it’s all about, and that’s what this life is all about. I’m blessed to have two incredible boys that I get to take care of and that love on me daily, and they’re just giant blessings in my life, and of course, my extended family, as well. That’s what this time of year’s all about – getting together and just realizing how blessed we all are.”
Audio / Carrie Underwood says she and her family don’t have too many Thanksgiving traditions.
DownloadCarrie Underwood (Thanksgiving) OC: …the other one. :34
“We don’t have too many set-in-stone Thanksgiving traditions. I find myself a lot of times working on or around Thanksgiving or unable to get home or whatever. We try to be together, but sometimes that just doesn’t work out. But yeah, I mean, I think it’s just about we eat. I eat a lot every year on Thanksgiving. [laughs] I never skip THAT tradition. But yeah, that’s the gist of it, and I’m kind of lucky. I get two Thanksgivings, because I also get to celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving with my husband’s family, so if I don’t hit one, I’ll definitely be able to get the other one.”
Audio / Catie Offerman
DownloadCatie Offerman (Thanksgiving) OC: …what I do. :17
“I am so thankful for a lot of things. I think my family, the gift of being able to put music out this year has been huge for me. I think that’s something I’ve waited on for a really long time, and I’m so thankful for that. I’m thankful for my health and just being able to keep playing music and doing what I do.”
Audio / Caylee Hammack says Thanksgiving is her favorite holiday, because she gets to just spend time with her family.
DownloadCaylee Hammack (Thanksgiving) OC: …favorite holiday. :27
“Thanksgiving is the one holiday where we stay at home. We stay at my family’s house, and it’s just me, my mom and dad, my brother and sister and their families. We all sit around and just eat all day. And I love Thanksgiving because you don’t have to worry about getting gifts for people; you don’t have to worry about wrapping them. You just show up and you eat all day with the people you love. So, I absolutely love Thanksgiving. It’s my favorite holiday.”
Audio / Caylee Hammack talks about her favorite Thanksgiving dish.
DownloadCaylee Hammack (Thanksgiving eats) OC: …cranberry jelly. :15
“My favorite Thanksgiving meal (dish) is definitely cornbread dressing. My mom makes the best, er, some people call it stuffing, but I’ve always called it dressing for some reason. But I love that with canned cranberry jelly.”
Audio / Dalton Dover says this one dish HAS to be on the dinner table at Thanksgiving.
DownloadDalton Dover (Thanksgiving eats) 1 OC: …at Thanksgiving. :04
“Like I’m a big deviled eggs guy, so they got to be on the dinner table at Thanksgiving.”
Audio / We asked Dalton Dover who makes the deviled eggs at Thanksgiving.
DownloadDalton Dover (Thanksgiving eats) 2 OC: …best. :02
“My grandma, and she makes the absolute best (deviled eggs).”
Audio / Darius Rucker talks about his favorite part of Thanksgiving.
DownloadDarius Rucker (favorite part of Thanksgiving) OC: …my family. :17
“My favorite part of Thanksgiving is easy – it’s food. It’s eating. It’s hanging out with family and getting some great food, ‘cause that’s really what Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving is about giving thanks for all of the great things you’ve got, and I always give thanks for the greatest thing I’ve got and that’s my family.”
Audio / Zealous football fan Darius Rucker says Thanksgiving is his favorite sporting day of the year.
DownloadDarius Rucker (Thanksgiving Day favorite sporting day) OC: …big for me. :10
“Thanksgiving Day is my favorite sports day of the year. It’s crazy how much football you get to watch (laughs) on Thanksgiving Day, so I really like that a lot. Thanksgiving is big for me.”
Audio / Dierks Bentley, who is thankful for his wife, two daughters and son, talks about his Thanksgiving must-have! It’s an oldie, but a goodie!
DownloadDierks Bentley (Thanksgiving must-have) OC: …for Thanksgiving. :34
“You gotta have a big turkey. Thanksgiving is not possible without a turkey. We cook it traditionally, but when we’re in, a couple of Thanksgivings ago, we were here in Nashville, we did the whole fry the turkey up, and it was great. It just tasted so good; all those juices get locked in there, and I love that too. You really can’t, to me, cook a turkey wrong. I’m gonna eat it any way, and I have over the years. Trust me, I’ve played a lot of county and state fairs, where I’ve seen gigantic turkey legs, you know, I’ve had the flat meat. I’ve done turkey every way you could do it. I’m pretty good any way you want to cook it up, but you’ve got to have a turkey for Thanksgiving.”
Audio / Jordan Davis talks about his childhood Thanksgiving traditions.
DownloadJordan Davis (Thanksgiving) OC: …lot of football. :12
“When I was growing up at Thanksgiving, we just got all the family together. You know, did the traditional turkey, ham, all the sides, but it was always at either one of my grandparents’ house. Just a lot of family, a lot of food and a lot of football.”
Audio / Jordan Davis says his favorite Thanksgiving side dish makes him happy all year round.
DownloadJordan Davis (Thanksgiving side dish) 2 OC: …Cheese guy. :09
“My favorite Thanksgiving side dish – Macaroni and Cheese – anytime. Thanksgiving, a random Tuesday. I don’t care. I’m a Macaroni and Cheese guy.”
Audio / Jordan Davis says one of his new favorite Thanksgiving traditions is frying a turkey.
DownloadJordan Davis (Thanksgiving turkey) OC: …most forward to. :11
“Favorite Thanksgiving tradition for me? I just recently got into frying the turkey, so I’m the turkey-frying guy, and I’m getting pretty good at it. So, I would have to say that’s my thing that I look most forward to.”
Audio / Jordan Davis talks about the Davis family Thanksgiving.
DownloadJordan Davis (Thanksgiving memory) OC: …really special. :17
“A typical Thanksgiving in the Davis household growing up – we would always go to East Texas to my grandparents’ house. You know, during the day, me and my grandfather would always go fish. My grandma would always have a huge spread, and just get to spend time around a lot of family members I don’t get to see a lot of, so they were always really special.”
Audio / Josh Turner shares his favorite Thanksgiving side dish.
DownloadJosh Turner (fave side dish) OC: …’em myself. [laughs] :24
“Uh, deviled eggs! [laughs] Where I’m from in South Carolina, I don’t think I’ve tasted a bad deviled egg. It’s like everybody has their own twist on it, but they’re all good, but I always loved it when my mama made ‘em. I’m learning as I get older, making deviled eggs is no easy task. It’s more complicated than it looks, and so that’s probably why I never made ‘em myself.” [laughs]
Audio / Josh Turner explains what he enjoys about the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
DownloadJosh Turner (holidays) OC: …the peace and quiet. :38
“I love being outside in nature and the outdoors, and the holidays is a great time for me to go and partake in that part of my life. A lot of times, Thanksgiving and Christmas, it’s a little cold to go fishing, but when it comes to Thanksgiving and Christmas, it’s a great time to go hunting, especially in South Carolina, that’s when the temperatures are starting to drop and the conditions are getting right, and especially in November, kind of the tail end of the rut, as far as deer season. So, it’s a good time to get in the deer stand whether you kill anything or not, it’s just a great time to just get away from everything and get away from the noise and the lights and the diesel fumes [laughs] and just relax and just enjoy the peace and quiet.”
Audio / Keith Urban's First Thanksgiving
DownloadAudio / The members of Little Big Town love Thanksgiving since they get time off to be with their families.
DownloadLBT (Thanksgiving) 2 OC: (Kimberly) …and eat. :31
KIMBERLY: “Thanksgiving—we love Thanksgiving, ‘cause we get to be with our families and we don’t often get to spend time with our families, our extended families, until the holidays. I love being around the table with my family and talking and laughing and cooking and eating…” JIMI: “And eating and eating and eating and eating…” PHILLIP: “The laughter around the eating, the good cheer, the celebration, the music…” JIMI: “The eating, going taking a nap, then coming back and eating.” KIMBERLY: “Go to bed with a full belly, take a nap, and then get up and eat.”
Audio / Maddie & Tae talk about their Thanksgiving traditions.
DownloadMaddie & Tae (Thanksgiving) OC: (TAE) …I do. :41
MADDIE: “I love Thanksgiving because I get to see my family, and it’s not as much pressure as Christmas I feel like because there are no gifts exchanged. It’s just all about quality time and I love quality time. My favorite dish is some broccoli-cheese casserole and Tae’s favorite dish, I know, is cranberry sauce, just plain. Just plain ole cranberry sauce, no turkey, just cranberry sauce.” TAE: “She knows.” MADDIE: “That’s it.” TAE: “I genuinely feel there’s something wrong with me. (MADDIE: “Out of the can.”) out of the can. My parents know just to have cranberry sauce for me, like no one else can touch it. There’s a home video where my brother Mason tries to eat it, and I’m like, ‘What are you doing? This is mine.’” MADDIE: “She eats it out of the can.” TAE: “I do.”
Audio / Mickey Guyton talks about one of her favorite Thanksgiving traditions.
DownloadMickey Guyton (Thanksgiving traditions) OC: …Thanksgiving traditions. :17
“One of my Thanksgiving traditions is playing charades after Thanksgiving dinner. I’m not the most competitive person in the world, but as soon as you put some Charades in the picture, I am crazy, and you will definitely want to be on my team if we’re playing Charades. I’m just saying. So, that’s one of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions.”
Audio / Mickey Guyton reveals her favorite Thanksgiving dish.
DownloadMickey Guyton (favorite Thanksgiving dish) OC: …both so much! :39
“My favorite Thanksgiving dish that has to, has to, has to be at Thanksgiving dinner is dessert. Dessert is my favorite Thanksgiving dish. I mean, it doesn’t matter what it is, as long as it’s sweet. My mom actually makes an Italian cream cake that’s absolutely awesome. It’s homemade, and the entire family, that’s the first thing to go at Thanksgiving dinner. And my Grandma D, she makes a pecan pie that is awesome. She taught me how to make them when I was little, and I just love them, and that’s the other thing that I look forward to at Thanksgiving dinner, and I love them both so much!”
Audio / Parker McCollum talks about his family’s Thanksgiving tradition.
DownloadParker McCollum (Thanksgiving tradition) OC: …go there. :27
“I mean, my parents have been split up for a long time, but they’re all from the same town. My mom and dad went to high school together and all that stuff and all the family still lives back there on both sides. So, we kind of do a Thanksgiving with my dad’s side of the family, but all my life, we’ve always gone to my mom’s parents’ house on Thanksgiving, and they got a big ole house and a bunch of property and it’s really where I grew up is right there. That’s kind of home for me, so that’s kind of our thing. We always go there.”
Audio / One of Parker McCollum’s favorite dishes at Thanksgiving is his Aunt’s creamed corn.
DownloadParker McCollum (Thanksgiving eats) OC: …creamed corn. Mmm hmmm. :04
“My Aunt’s creamed corn is pretty bomb. I love creamed corn. Mmm hmmm.”
Audio / Priscilla Block describes a typical Thanksgiving holiday with her family.
DownloadPriscilla Block (Thanksgiving) OC: …so much. :34
“Thanksgiving has always been chaos, actually any holiday that my entire family is there is straight chaos. But for Thanksgiving, we all try so hard to be together and it’s such a fun holiday to, my family’s a little cheesy. Like, we actually still go around the table and being like, ‘What are you thankful for?’ ‘What are you thankful for?’ So, that means a lot where it’s not about presents, it’s not about anything else. It’s just about truly being thankful, and that’s why I love Thanksgiving so much.”
Audio / Reba McEntire explains what she's most thankful for this year.
DownloadReba McEntire (Thankful) OC: …happy camper. :39
“Omigosh I wake up in the morning grateful that I can, that I’m alive, I can breathe, I can move, I can get out of bed on my own. (I’m) very grateful for the lifestyle that I have and if anybody needs help, please Lord please, direct me in what you want me to do. Just grateful for getting Rex in my life, my family being healthy and happy, my friends being healthy and happy. I’ve got a great job and people I love and get to work with, and I’ve got a huge faith. So, no matter what happens to me, I know where I’m going, so I’m a happy camper.”
Audio / Sam Hunt talks about his favorite Thanksgiving eats.
DownloadSam Hunt (Thanksgiving eats) OC: …disappears. :12
“When I pile my plate up, it’s mostly turkey and then I’ll put a little dressing on the side, and I’ll usually go ahead and grab my dessert on the first run [laughs] and have it ready before it all disappears.”
Audio / Tyler Hubbard talks about his favorite Thanksgiving traditions.
DownloadTyler Hubbard (Thanksgiving) OC: …I love it. :22
“Favorite Thanksgiving tradition for me is probably just getting together with family, having a big meal and watching a little football and taking a nice long nap. I mean, we didn’t reinvent the wheel with Thanksgiving by any means. But my Nanny (grandmother) does make a pretty mean sweet potato casserole, so that’s one of my favorites that I look forward to and I don’t know if that’s a tradition or not, but in my head it is. I love it.”
Audio / Tyler Hubbard This Year's Thanksgiving
DownloadTyler Hubbard (Thanksgiving 2024) OC: …be grateful. :47
“This year’s Thanksgiving, it’s a time to reflect and I feel like I have a lot to be thankful for. This year’s been incredible. On the personal front, on the professional front, I have so much to be grateful. (I) got to do my first headline tour. I got to put out my second album, got to go to Australia and Canada and yeah, it’s just been a great year. I had a lot of great time with the family, as well, got to go on some great trips and so I’m just in a place of gratitude all around. Life is good, and I can think back to times when life wasn’t so sweet and life was a lot more difficult, so this is truly a time where I’m just reflecting and being grateful for the things in my life – my kiddos, my wife, our house and just the time together. Anyway, it’s been a great year, and I’m excited to shut it down for a little bit of time and just reflect and be grateful.”
THANKSGIVING LINERS:
Audio / LINER Alan Jackson - Thanksgiving
Download“Hi! This is Alan Jackson. I hope y’all have a very happy Thanksgiving out there.”
Audio / LINER Billy Currington - Thanksgiving
Download“Hey Guys, I’m Billy Currington. Have a great Thanksgiving.”
Audio / LINER Brad Paisley - Thanksgiving
Download“Hi, this is Brad Paisley. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.”
Audio / LINER Brothers Osborne - Thanksgiving
Download“Hey! This is TJ, and this is John, and we’re wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving!”
Audio / LINER Carrie Underwood - Thanksgiving
Download“Hi! I’m Carrie Underwood, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”
Audio / LINER Catie Offerman - Thanksgiving
Download“Hey y’all, it’s Catie Offerman, wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving.”
Audio / LINER Caylee Hammack
Download“Hey y’all! This is Caylee Hammack, wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving.”
Audio / LINER Darius Rucker - Thanksgiving
Download“Hey y’all! What’s up? This is Darius Rucker, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!”
Audio / LINER Dierks Bentley - Thanksgiving
Download“Hey! It’s Dierks Bentley! Happy Thanksgiving!”
Audio / LINER Eric Church - Thanksgiving
Download“Hey folks! It’s Eric Church, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”
Audio / LINER George Strait - Thanksgiving
Download“Hi! This is George Strait, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”
Audio / LINER Hootie & The Blowfish - Thanksgiving
Download“Hey everybody, what’s up? We’re Hootie & the Blowfish, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”
Audio / LINER Jon Pardi - Thanksgiving
Download“Hey! It’s Jon Pardi, wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving.”
Audio / LINER Jordan Davis - Thanksgiving
Download“Hey I’m Jordan Davis. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.”
Audio / LINER Josh Turner - Thanksgiving
DownloadFamily, Friends, Football and Food – it sounds like a great day to me! Hi, I’m Josh Turner – Happy Thanksgiving!
Audio / LINER Kacey Musgaves - Thanksgiving
Download“Hey! It’s Kacey Musgraves, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!”
Audio / LINER Keith Urban - Thanksgiving
Download“Hey everyone, this is Keith Urban, wanting to wish you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving.”
Audio / LINER Little Big Town - Thanksgiving
Download“Hey, we’re Little Big Town. Happy Thanksgiving!”
Audio / LINER Luke Bryan - Thanksgiving
Download“Hey! It’s Luke Bryan, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving!”
Audio / LINER Maddie & Tae - Thanksgiving
Download“Hey everybody! I’m Maddie, and I’m Tae, and we’re Maddie & Tae, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”
Audio / LINER Mickey Guyton - Thanksgiving
Download“Hey! It’s Mickey Guyton here, and I want to wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving.”
Audio / LINER Parker McCollum - Thanksgiving
Download“Hey everybody. I’m Parker McCollum, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”
Audio / LINER Priscilla Block - Thanksgiving
Download“Hi! This is Priscilla Block, wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving.”
Audio / LINER Reba McEntire - Thanksgiving
Download“Hey everybody! This is Reba McEntire, wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving.”
Audio / LINER Sam Hunt - Thanksgiving
Download“Hey everybody! This is Sam Hunt, wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.”
Audio / LINER The War & Treaty - Thanksgiving
Download“Hey everybody, The War And Treaty here, and we’re thankful for you, so Happy Thanksgiving.”