A Holly Jolly Christmas
Ax and the Hatchetmenaxandthehatchetmen.com
Chicago-based indie rock sextet Ax and the Hatchetmen released their cover of Bing Crosby and The Andrews Sisters’ “Mele Kalikimaka,” available now on Arista Records.
Frontman, Axel (the “Ax” in Ax and the Hatchetmen) explains “It was probably about time for us to do a holiday song anyway, but when Hunter (our bass man extraordinaire) suggested “Mele Kalikimaka,” we were sold. When I was about thirteen or so I spent a month during the holidays in Kauai house-sitting for a friend with my parents, which to this day is probably the most beautiful place I’ve been to in my life. Anyway, about the cover art, on Christmas Eve while taking out the garbage in town, we stumbled upon a fake palm tree in the dumpster. It was pretty beat & sad-looking, drooping like a tropical version of that Charlie Brown tree, but seeing as we didn’t have a Christmas tree yet, it was perfect. We threw some string lights on it that night and unwrapped gifts under it on Christmas morning. We loved our little dumpster tree. Love to Hawaii, happy holidays from the land where palm trees sway.”
The band will be headlining the 7th Street Entry on February 22, 2025, with
Easy Honey as opener.
Tour dates:
- January 30th, 2025 – Saturn – Birmingham, AL
- January 31st, 2025 – The Wooly – Gainesville, FL
- February 1st, 2025 – Crowbar – Tampa, FL
- February 2nd, 2025 – The Abbey – Orlando, FL
- February 4th, 2025 – Charlotte, NC – Amos Southend
- February 5th, 2025 – Vinyl – Atlanta, GA
- February 6th, 2025 – The End – Nashville, TN
- February 7th, 2025 – Radio Room – Greenville, SC
- February 8th, 2025 – Motorco Music Hall – Durham, NC
- February 11th, 2025 – The Atlantis – Washington, DC
- February 12th, 2025 – The Foundry – Philadelphia, PA
- February 13th, 2025 – Bowery Ballroom – New York, NY
- February 14th, 2025 – Brighton Music Hall – Boston, MA
- February 15th, 2025 – Space Ballroom – Hamden, CT
- February 17th, 2025 – Mahall’s – Lakewood, OH
- February 18th, 2025 – Longboat Hall – Toronto,ON Canada
- February 19th, 2025 – Blind Pig – Ann Arbor, MI
- February 20th, 2025 – HI-FI Indianapolis – Indianapolis, IN
- February 21st, 2025 – High Noon Saloon – Madison, WI
- February 22nd, 2025 – 7th St Entry – Minneapolis, MN
Willow Avalon
willowavalonmusic.com
Breakout singer, songwriter and musician Willow Avalon recently shared “Save A Little Christmas.”
On the song, Avalon shares, “For me, Christmas is all about spending time with the people you love. We’ve all known what it feels like when you can’t be with that one person you really want to be with on Christmas. This is a song about that feeling.”
Avalon will head out on her first-ever headline tour the U.S., U.K. and Ireland, in 2025. Check out her show to find out why Holler named her as one of “Upcoming Country and Americana Artists You Need to Know.”
We saw Avalon in Sep 2024 and wrote, “The multi-genre evening began with a brief half-hour set from Georgia native, Willow Avalon, in support of her debut EP, “Stranger”. Her music leaned towards very traditional Country, with a cool and personable demeanor, three-piece band and mic stands decorated with lavish songs. A clever transition between songs was sound clips of her great-aunt and grandmother talking about music. For her first time in the area, she briefly embarrassed herself thinking she was on the Kansas side of the state line (acts seem to confuse KC frequently), blushing and admitting, “My brain is mashed potatoes, ya’ll” and the set ended with recent anthem, “Homewrecker” about a recent relationship she discovered (via social media) was with a married man (classic Country subject matter!).”
Tour Dates
- January 31—Washington, D.C.—The Atlantis
- February 1—Richmond, VA—Richmond Music Hall
- February 3—Charlotte, NC—Neighborhood Theatre
- February 4—Durham, NC—Motorco Music Hall
- February 6—Athens, GA—40 Watt
- February 7—Nashville, TN—Exit/In
- February 8—St. Louis, MO—Off Broadway
- February 10—Indianapolis, IN—Hi-Fi
- February 11—Columbus, OH—A&R Bar
- February 12—Cleveland, OH—Grog Shop
- February 14—Detroit, MI—El Club
- February 15—Toronto, ON—Horseshoe Tavern
- February 16—Montreal, QB—Bar La Ritz
- February 18—Hamden, CT—Space Ballroom
- February 19—Boston, MA—The Sinclair
- February 20—New York, NY—Bowery Ballroom
- March 10— Manchester, U.K.— YES
- March 11— Birmingham, U.K.— O2 Institute3
- March 12— London, U.K.— Colours
- March 14— London, U.K.— Country to Country
- March 16— Glasgow, U.K.— Country to Country
- March 18— Glasgow, U.K.—Oran Mor
- March 20— Belfast, U.K.— The Limelight 2
- March 21— Dublin, IE— The Ambassador
- April 6—Georgetown, TX—Two Step Inn
- May 10—Knoxville, TN—Southern Skies*
- July 20—Whitefish, Montana—Under the Big Sky Festival
*with Charley Crockett
Sunturns
fikarecordings.com
Norwegian indiepop supergroup Sunturns have recently released Christmas III.
The third Christmas album is described as an alt-Christmas album, taking inspiration from Sufjan Stevens’ epic indie Christmas compendium and Phil Spector’s wall of sound classic A Christmas Gift From You.
Sunturns was formed as a Christmas super group by members of Oslo indiepop bands Monzano, My Little Pony and Einar Stray Orchestra. While those bands broke up, the original band members remain in Sunturns. So, every year, around this time, they come together like Voltron and write and record a new Xmas album. Can’t wait to hear about Christmas IV next year!
Sunturns are:
- Ola Innset – vocals, guitars, banjo etc.
- Sjur Lyseid – vocals, guitars etc.
- Einar Stray – vocals, keyboards, guitars etc.
- Eivind Almhjell – guitars, bass, etc.
- Simen Herning – guitar
- Jørgen Nordby – drums
The Cords
instagram.com
Scottish band The Cords (sisters Eva and Grace) have released their holiday song “Favorite Time” on Flexi Disc and Digital via Slumberland and Heavenly Creature.
This year was a big highlight for the duo, having been on stage for Belle and Sebastian’s Glasgow Weekender and Glas-Goes Pop!
Look for the Cords’ debut album soon. The album was recorded in the course of two days with Jonny Scott (CHVRCHES).
In the meantime, there’s a surprise pop-up online streaming with the Cords today (December 22). The event by H.I. Art on the Edge is called Sunday Surprises and will features
Meltway, Callière , The Cords, and Ryli, and described as “Enjoy great music and conversation from the dreampop, shoegaze, and indie musicians.”
“Favourite Time” sample lyrics
I put on my favourite scarf to wear under the snowy stars
Sing a Christmas lullaby and drink up your ginger chai
Yes it’s true, there’s mush in my shoes
Always my favourite time
Always my favourite time
The Boy Detective
facebook.com
Michigan’s The Boy Detective (not to be confused with the comic book Boy Detective or Dead Boy Detectives or Kid Detective) is a ska punk band and they just released their festive holiday single “I Renounce Verdukianism!”
Lead vocalist Benny Capaul describes the song as “our nod to the holidays gone wrong, packed with all the regrets and frosty mishaps one could hope for.”
“So you might not believe this is a Christmas song, but nobody is going to argue with John Williams,” says Geridan St Peter, who plays trombone for The Boy Detective.
Tour dates:
- DEC 26 Magic Stick Detroit, MI
The Shindellastheshindellas.com
Nashville-based trio The Shindellas (Kasi, Tam, and Stacy) have a new holiday song, “Christmas Chills”.
“This song is our love letter to the holiday season,” shared The Shindellas. “When we first created ‘Chills,’ it was about the feeling of love that takes over your soul. For ‘Christmas Chills,’ we wanted to capture that same energy but amplify it with the wonder and warmth of the holidays—family, togetherness, and the magic of this time of year.”
What Christmas means to the Shindellas:
Tam: Growing up, Christmas was always about celebrating the birth of the Savior by coming together with family/friends and showing love and compassion for all through giving.
Stacy: A story from a long time ago about a baby that was born. This baby would grow, live, and die to save our souls. He became a legend and his name lives on forever. Christmas is the celebration of his story, the birth of Jesus Christ.