Holiday Music 2017

Holiday Music 2017: From Darlene Love to The Messiah, here’s a couple dozen holiday concerts from Broadway to The Brandenburg Concertos, The Blind Boys of Alabama, to Sal “The Voice”, Melissa Etheridge, Cyndi Lauper & Mariah Carey. 

Darlene Love, Love for the Holidays, Ridgefield Playhouse, Fri, 11/17: 8pm: “Darlene Love’s thunderbolt voice is as embedded in rock and roll as Bob Dylan’s lyrics and Eric Clapton’s guitar.” – The New York Times She started as a background singer for The Blossoms before scoring major hits on lead with “He’s a Rebel”, “The Boy I’m Gonna Marry”, “He’s Sure the Boy I Love” and “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”. Rolling Stone called her “one of the greatest singers of all time. (1008 Brown St., Peekskill; www.paramounthudsonvalley.org)

A Darlene Love Christmas, Ridgefield Playhouse – Sat, 11/18: 8pm: This Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is best known for her signature tune “Christmas, Baby Please Come Home” and other chart-toppers with Phil Spector’s “wall of sound” hit factory: “He’s A Rebel,” “Da Doo Ron Ron,” and “He’s Sure The Boy I’m Gonna Marry.” Love sang backup forThe Blossoms,  Sam Cooke, Dionne Warwick, Aretha Franklin, Elvis and Cher. (Ridgefield Playhouse, 80 E. Ridge, Ridgefield;  www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org)

Mariah Carey, All I Want for Christmas Is You, Beacon Theatre – Mon-Tues, 11/27-28, Fri-Sat, 12/1-2 & Mon-Tues, 12/4-5: 8pm: Mariah’s fourth annual holiday show at the intimate Beacon Theatre is the deal of the season for Mariah Carey fans. Imagine the electricity when the sings the show’s signature song and Mariah’s contribution to the classical holiday songbook, “All I Want For Christmas Is You”.  (Beacon Theatre, 2124 Broadway, NYC; www.beacontheatre.com)

John Tesh Grand Piano Christmas, Ridgefield Playhouse, Fri, 12/1: 8pm: Two time Grammy-winner, John Tesh plays holiday favorites from his four holiday albums including Grand Piano Christmas, A Romantic Christmas, We Wish You The Merriest and Big Band Christmas. (80 E. Ridge, Ridgefield, CT; www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org)

Westchester All Stars Christmas for Wounded Veterans, Paramount Hudson Valley, Fri, 12/1: 7:30pm: Comedy, classic rock and holiday music from The Vanilla Fudge and a cavalcade of the NY area musicians accompanied by the All Stars Band and Holiday Horns. The event benefits Veterans Adaptive Sports Inc.. Disabled American Veterans Chapter 144 and Friends of Fallen Heroes NY. Plus Santa visits, straight from Radio City Music Hall. (1008 Brown St., Peekskill;  www.paramounthudsonvalley.com) 

Jane Lynch: A Swinging Little Christmas, Ridgefield Playhouse, Sat, 12/2: 8pm: Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Jane Lynch (Sylvester of Glee and Miss Hannigan in Annie) throws her comic skills and musical prowess into this new holiday show that pays homage to the Christmas albums of the 1950s & 60s. Complete with both poignant and hilarious takes on holiday favorites! (80 E. Ridge, Ridgefield, CT; www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org)

Cherish the Ladies “A Celtic Christmas”, Tarrytown Music Hall – 
Sat, 12/2: 8pm: This Grammy Award nominated Irish-American super-group broke the glass ceiling in the male-dominated Celtic music scene with their virtuosic instrumentals, vocals and step dancing. They’ve played at the White House, the Olympics and on their own PBS television special. (13 Main St., Tarrytown; www.tarrytownmusichall.org)

Local! Chappaqua Orchestra Holiday Sing-Along, Bell Middle School – Sat, 12/2: 3:30pm: TCO’s assistant conductor Davis Knobloch leads the orchestra’s annual holiday sing-along followed by the New Castle Historical Society tree lighting at the Horace Greeley House. (50 Senter St., Chappaqua;  www.chappaquaorchestra.org)

The Blind Boys of Alabama Christmas Show, Paramount Hudson Valley – Sun, 12/3: 7pm: Hailed as “Gospel titans” by Rolling Stone, The Blind Boys have racked up five Grammy Awards plus a Lifetime Achievement Grammy. Their special brand of “jubilee singing” (a livelier version of Gospel) infused with blues and jazz and “soul-stirring harmonies” lifted them out of the segregation south to the world’s largest and most prestigious concert stages and to collaborations with Stevie Wonder, Mavis Staples, Lou Reed and Prince. (1008 Brown St., Peekskill;  www.paramounthudsonvalley.com) 

Melissa Etheridge, Merry Christmas Baby, Ridgefield Playhouse – Wed, 12/6: 8pm: Melissa performs songs from her 2008 holiday album New Thought for Christmas including “Merry Christmas Baby”, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “O Night Divine”. If you’ve been good boys & girls she may even sing her mega-hits “Come to My Window” and “I’m The Only One”. (80 E. Ridge, Ridgefield, CT; www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org)

Cyndi Lauper & Friends: Home for the Holidays, Beacon Theatre – Sat, 12/9: 8pm: For the past five years this concert has played to sold out audiences. This year’s lineup includesJackson Browne, Dr. John, Paulina Rubio, Sandra Bernhardt, Ani DiFranco, comedians Judy Gold and Bridgett Everett, Peaches, Ballets with a Twist, Vivian Green, Ricky Shroeder, Arianna and the Rose, Wrabel, host Carson Kressley and more. (Beacon Theatre, 2124 Broadway, NYC;  www.beacontheatre.com)

Linda Eder Holiday Show, Ridgefield Playhouse – Fri, 12/8: 8pm: North Salem resident and Drama Desk Award-nominee for her starring role in Jekyll & Hyde, Linda Eder has released 15 albums and performed her repertoire of Broadway, American Standards, Pop, Country & Jazz at Carnegie Hall and Radio City Music Hall. Here she performs her holiday show. (80 E. Ridge, Ridgefield, CT;  www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org)

America’s Got Talent’s Sal “The Voice” Christmas Concert, County Center – Sat, 12/9: 8pm: This Long Island native sold out a three-show gig at Huntington’s 1500 seat Paramount Theatre in 12 hours after finishing as a Finalist in last year’s America’s Got Talent. The show features hits from his first EP “The Way You Look Tonight” and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You”, a mix of holiday favorites and classic Rat-Pack era standards and comic interludes about his days delivering pizza and singing at restaurants between the clams casino and the chicken parm. (198 Central Ave., White Plains; www.countycenter.biz)

Vienna Boys Choir, Tarrytown Music Hall  – Sat, 12/9: 8pm: Founded by Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I in 1498, the Vienna Boys’ Choir is the longest running holiday act in the world ­– by half a millennium. Their program of classical and popular holiday music offers an eclectic repertoire from Carl Orff’s “O Fortuna” to Jose Feliciano’s “Feliz Navidad” and “Oh Happy Day” by the Edwin Hawkins Singers. And “Jingle Bells” – of course. (Tarrytown Music Hall, 13 Main St., Tarrytown; www.tarrytownmusichall.org)

Jessica Lynn’s Country Christmas Spectacular, Paramount Hudson Valley – Sat, 12/9: 8pm: This native Westcher-ite has been hailed as “the new woman of country music” and “Shania’s successor.” She returns to the Paramount with her holiday show full of dancers, carolers, drum corps, snow and Santa. Plus a Toys for Tots toy drive. So bring a toy. Hosted by Mr. Morning and Suzy from Kicks 105.5 FM. (1008 Brown St., Peekskill;  www.paramounthudsonvalley.com) 

Local! Sloan Wainwright Kicks Holiday Whiz-Bang Shin-Dig Concert, Bedford – Sat, 12/9: 8pm: Sloane Wainwright brings special guests including her bug band and Snow Flakes background singers, Sesame Street puppeteer Peter Linz & Friends, singer/songwriters Julie Snow and Sam McTavey, dobro player Abbie Gardner, John Jay HS’s Rolling Tones and a surprise or two. (Bedford Presbyterian Church, 44 Village Green, Bedford)

Christmas with The Celts, Ridgefield Playhouse – Sun, 12/10: 7:30pm: This popular PBS “pledge show” features real falling snow and a mix of traditional Irish and American pop music, ancient Irish and Scottish carols and their own rock versions of “Run, Run, Rudolph”, “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and “Jingle Bells”. They are accompanied by traditional Irish instruments such as the bhodran, uilleann pipes, fiddles, Irish whistles  and Irish step dancers. (80 E. Ridge, Ridgefield, CT; www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org)

Rob Mathes Holiday Concert, Performing Arts Center – Fri-Sat, 12/15-16: 8pm: This annual celebration featuring Mathes and his all-star band and chorus, is a high-energy evening of rock, jazz, and blues – original tunes and holiday classics. Mathes has worked with virtually every big name including Bono, Bennett, Sting, and Springsteen. “This holiday production puts a new spin on Christmas classics” –The New York Times (735 Anderson Hill Rd., Purchase; www.artscenter.org)

Tenet, Caramoor – Sat, 12/16: 5 & 7:30pm: One of New York’s preeminent vocal ensembles, Tenet visits the intimate Rosen House Music Room for two shows of carols to celebrate the season. This vocal quintet joins with lute to perform carols old and new. (140 Girdle Ridge Rd., Katonah; www.caramoor.org)

Rockapella Holiday, Ridgefield Playhouse – Sun, 12/17: 8pm: This critically acclaimed a capella group first achieved recognition on PBS’s Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego? Since then, they’ve provided a funky soundtrack to several generations of vocal music fans with buckets of catchy original pop songs, and contemporary revisions of Motown, pop, and soul classics. Here the rockapella the holidays! (80 E. Ridge, Ridgefield, CT;  www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org)

Local! Dr. Anthony Newman’s Holiday Concert, The Sanctuary Series, S. Salem Presbyterian Church – Sun, 12/17: 4pm: Time called keyboardist and composer Dr. Anthony Newman “the high priest of the harpsichord”. Here he performs a special holiday concert. (111 Spring St., S. Salem; www.thesanctuaryseries.org)

Hot ticket alert! Winter Pops, Westchester Philharmonic with Laura Michelle Kelly, Performing Arts Center – Sun, 12/17: 3pm: Ted Sperling conducts the Westchester Phil and Broadway star Laura Michelle Kelly in a program of the Great American Songbook and holiday favorites. Laura created the stage role of Mary Poppins in London’s West End earning the Olivier Award for Best Actress. She went on to star in West End and Broadway productions of South Pacific, The King and I and Finding Neverland. Plus Kelly Hall-Tompkins performs her acclaimed solos from Fiddler on the Roof. We go every year! (735 Anderson Hill Rd., Purchase; www.westhcesterphil.org)

The Brandenburg Concertos

Local! The Brandenburg Concertos, Bedford Chamber Concerts – Wed, 12/13: 8pm: Wynton Marsalis called Dr. Anthony Newman “the high priest of Bach”. His Bedford Chamber Concerts made our Bucket List so his semi-annual take on the Brandenburg’s would be a Bucket List event on steroids. Newman has performed this Bach holiday staple with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center 12 times at Alice Tully Hall. (St, Matthews Church, 382 Cantitoe St., Bedford; www.bedfordchamberconcerts.org)

The Brandenburg Concertos, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center – Fri, 12/15: 7:30 pm, Sun, 12/17: 5pm & Tues, 12/19: 7:30pm: The Brandenburg Concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach are considered among the finest musical compositions of the Baroque era. The New York Times called The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s annual performances at Alice Tully Hall a “New York holiday staple.” This is when you can get your holiday Bach fix. (Alice Tully Hall, 1941 Broadway, NYC; www.lincolncenter.org)

The Messiah

New Choral Society, Messiah, Part I & Three Nativity Carols, Scarsdale – Fri, 12/1: 8pm & Sun, 12/3: 3pm: The Christmas portion of Handel’s Messiah is the traditional season-opener for the New Choral Society. Filled with familiar and uplifting choruses and solos, including the famed “Hallelujah Chorus”, it is a festive way to begin the holiday season. This year’s concert will also present a new work by Stephen Paulus, Three Nativity Carols. (Hitchcock Presbyterian Church, 6 Greenacres Avenue, Scarsdale; www.newchoralsociety.org)

The Messiah, Westchester Oratorio Society, South Salem Presbyterian Church, Sat, 12/2: 7pm: Westchester Oratorio Society, Benjamin Niemczyk, artistic director, celebrates its 20thAnniversary Season with the complete Handel’s Messiah. The chorus will be accompanied by a professional instrumental ensemble and soloists Corine Byrne, soprano, Mun-Tzung Wong, alto, Michael Anderson, tenor, and Benjamin Bloomfield, baritone. (111 Spring St, S. Salem; www.westchesteroratorio.org)

Stamford Symphony presents Handel’s Messiah – Sat, 12/9: 8pm: Ted Sperling conducts the Stamford Symphony takes on Part I & and the Hallelujah Chorus from Part II of Handel’s classic oratorio at The Basilica of St. John The Evangelist in Stamford. “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill made low, the crooked straight and the rough places plain.” (Basilica of St. John The Evangelist, 279 Atlantic St., Stamford; www.palacestamford.org)

Handel’s Messiah, New York Philharmonic, Tues- Sat, 12/12-16: Conductor Andre Manze and the Westminster Symphonic Choir take on Part I and Part II of the most famous and beloved chorale works of all time. (David Geffen Hall, 10 Lincoln Center Plaza, NYC: www.newyorkphilharmonic.com)  

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