DAWES
‘Christmas Tree in the Window,” Dawes (Dead Ringers)
In the March 2009 issue of the Deep Roots predecessor TheBluegrassSpecial.com, we published the first in-depth profile of a young California rock band touring around the country in a van, playing small venues such as Arlene’s Grocery in New York City and even smaller ones elsewhere around the lower 48. That band was called Dawes and it was fronted by a gifted singer-songwriter guitarist named Taylor Goldsmith and included his brother Griffin on drums. The band had one self-released album to its credit, North Hills, and on it an instant classic anthem in “When My Time Comes.” Our profile, headlined “Dawes Comes Out of the Blue and Goes Straight for the Heart,” took note of the gentle folk-rock nature of North Hills but was quick to point out how the band in concert presented a starkly different persona: that of “a full-on rock ‘n’ roll juggernaut of classic dimensions and potentially legendary proportions,” an observation built on the enormous promise Taylor Goldsmith offered in his literate, piercing lyrics that, at the time, suggested a strong Paul Simon influence. Cut to 2024 and Dawes is now considered in the upper tier of contemporary California rock bands, has 10 albums to its credit and a devoted global audience to boot. If Dawes has not achieved “legendary proportions,” there’s a huge fan base out there that might argue with you. Taylor has turned out to be everything North Hills promised, and then some. Now, for Christmas 2024, the band is issuing its first-ever Yuletide tune, a Goldsmith original with an introspective, slightly melancholy vibe that hearkens back to the folk-rock style of early Dawes save for its smoldering edge that suggests an uplifted spirit aborning.
“Christmas Tree in the Window” is “a song about the spirit of Christmas making someone decide to be a better person,” Taylor explains. “It’s been easy to get cynical about the holiday season as I’ve gotten older, but there are still moments when a song, a decoration, or a special moment can bring all the magic back. This song is obviously a ridiculous example of that feeling, but hopefully still an experience we can all relate to at its core.”
Dawes co-founders Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith will further mark the Yuletide season with their second annual star-studded Dawes & Friends: Christmas In LA holiday event, set for Los Angeles venue The Bellwether on December 7. Good work, gents, and have yourselves a merry little Christmas. –David McGee
RED CAMEL COLLECTIVE
‘Christmas Through the Eyes of a Child,’ Red Camel Collective (Pinecastle Records)
Red Camel Collective‘s stellar lineup of bluegrass veterans includes Heather Berry Mabe (who wrote the tune), Sharon White and Suzanne Cox, along with Grammy-winning fiddle virtuoso Michael Cleveland. The band’s first-ever holiday single, “Christmas Through the Eyes of a Child,” available to download or stream now, is a gentle, harmony-rich reflection on fondly remembered days of Christmas past, penned by Heather Berry Mabe. It will be featured on a collection of Yuletide music by Pinecastle artists titled A Pinecastle Christmas Celebration, to be released just in time for the holidays on November 29. Red Camel Collective’s eponymous debut album is scheduled for release on February 21. The group’s first single off the album is a cool bluegrass strut on Pam Sawyer’s breakup classic, “Last Time I Saw Him,” which was a #1 single for Diana Ross in 1973 and a #8 single for Dottie West in 1974 and features a muscular, emotional vocal by Ms. Mabe that explains why she’s the reigning IBMA Momentum Vocalist of the Year. Of the single, Ms. Made says: “This is such a cool tune. It was suggested to us by Dale Ann Bradley. She’s been loving this song since she first heard Dottie West’s version years ago. In our version, we wanted to pay homage to the Nashville A-Team and their incredible arrangement of this song but with Bluegrass instrumentation. We love the retro feel and melody line, and we are so proud to be joined on this tune by Suzanne Cox, Sharon White, and Michael Cleveland! It’s a doozy for sure!” In addition to the formidable Cleveland, ace musicians Tony Mabe, Curt Love and Johnathan Dillon are backing the all-star vocalists. –David McGee
TORI MARTIN
‘Warm for December,’ Tori Martin (Lucky sky Music)
Fans of sultry Christmas balladeering can get that warm, soft glow by settling into Tori Martin‘s breathy come-on animating her holiday single, “Warm for December,” co-written by Martin, Bill DiLuigi and Kristi Manna. The spirit of Eartha Kitt’s “Santa Baby” hovers in the video’s fireside glow and Ms. Martin, singing soft, warm and intimate in a voice betraying both pop and country influences, is in full command of the scene and the sensuous groove as Russ Pahl’s steel guitar moans and Dane Bryant‘s keys fashion the proper atmospherics to create a “smoky, late-night jazz club vibe,” in Ms. Martin’s words. She added: “We wanted this to be low key with a throwback feel. I think we succeeded.” In addition to Paul and Bryant, guitarist Bill Warner and drummer Brian Czech round out the band. The track was produced by Bill Warner.
As of this writing, Tori’s current single, “Lost In The Country,” is #2 and rising on the Texas Regional Radio Report and is Top 10 on the CDXTraction Texas Chart. She was named one of the “Future Faces” of 2024 at the TRR Music Awards. –David McGee
