Old Crow Band Members

About Us

For Old Crow Medicine Show, playing music has always felt like a holiday celebration.

 "We're in the joy business," says frontman Ketch Secor, who launched the Grammy-winning band in 1998. "From the very start, a lot of the virtues of Christmas — the revelry, the singalongs, the happiness — have been present in our show."

Nowhere is that more apparent than OCMS XMAS, the group's first holiday album. Decorated with seasonal spirit and string-band stomp, it's the rare breed of Christmas record that packs a punch all year long, shining new light on the band's chart-topping version of American roots music. Old Crow Medicine Show aren't just reinterpreting their favorite yuletide standards; they're adding new songs to the canon, too, from "Jolly Man" — a country-blues number inspired by Mississippi John Hurt and laced with harmonica, sleigh bells, and resonator guitar — to the Zydeco-flavored "All About A Baby."

 They're telling fresh stories, too. On "Corn Whiskey Christmas," a bootlegger drives his Chevrolet through the snow on Christmas Eve, bringing moonshine to those craving a cup of cheer. On the John Prine-worthy "Bethlehem, PA" — a sly reimagining of Jesus' birth story, with lyrics that substitute Steel Country for Jerusalem — the band heads to the Keystone State to witness the Nativity, making stops at Wawa and Motel 6 along the way. "Grandpa's Gone" grapples with the loss of a family figure during the holiday season, while the wicked "Krampus Night" puts a minor-key spin on the Christmas catalog, paying tribute to a folkloric creature who, according to Secor, "just might leave ya coal and steal your soul."

 For more than a quarter century, Old Crow Medicine Show's albums have built a bridge between past and present, updating the sounds of pre-war folk, country, old-time, and bluegrass for the 21st century. OCMS XMAS continues that custom. There's plenty of tradition here: a cover of "Holly Jolly Christmas," featuring horns from the Tennessee State University ensemble Brassville; a rowdy version of the Appalachian standard "Breakin' Up Xmas," recorded live in the band's East Nashville headquarters; and a timely take on John Lennon and Yoko Ono's global peace anthem "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)," stacked with church harmonies. Balancing out that reverence for the past, though, are songs that boldly live in the present, from barn-burners like "December 26" (which marks the songwriting debut of longtime band member Morgan Jahnig) to "North By Northeast," a tribute to New England winters. That fusion of old and new has always played a crucial role in the band's longevity. More than 20 years after the release of "Wagon Wheel" — one of the best-selling country singles of all time, combining a forgotten chorus by Bob Dylan with original verses from Ketch Secor — OCMS XMAS uphold's Old Crow's combination of the timely with the timelessness.

 "Some of our favorite country artists are those in the Grand Ole Opry," says Secor, who was inducted into the Opry alongside his bandmates in 2013. "The kind of country music that came out of Nashville during the '60s, '70s, and '80s is so different than what you hear today, and we've learned a lot from the elder statesmen of our genre. Many of those cats released Christmas albums and went out on Christmas tours every year, so there's a real legacy there. We get to be part of that with this project."

 A real legacy, indeed. Old Crow have thrived for more than a quarter century. Like many of their heroes, they've become torchbearers of classic folk music, reshaping those sounds for the modern world. They're creators, not replicators, and OCMS XMAS finds them tackling another tradition — the time-honored Christmas album — with humor, hillbilly twang, and novel ideas. Supported by the band's first-ever "Holiday Hootenanny" tour, OCMS XMAS just might be the start of a new tradition itself: a celebration of the seasonal sounds, shared joy, and holiday rituals that bring us all together. Christmas just got a new soundtrack.

Endorsements

Contact