The Grand Ol’ Christmas Show builds its entire concept around a live retro radio broadcast — airing Christmas classics and original sketch comedy in real time from 1225 AM N-O-E-L Radio Studios. When the anchor band describes their own sound as “a Depression-era radio played on a Brazos River steamboat,” the conceit stops feeling like a gimmick and starts earning its stage time.
About the Show
The production is the work of The Grand Ol’ Production Company, produced by Will Hearn. The cast confirmed for the Houston stop includes Blue Water Highway, Dalton Flake, The Dirty River Jazz Band, and the NOEL Radio Orchestra and Gospel Singers. The show blends holiday classics with original sketch comedy; the production’s own materials describe it as blurring “the lines between nostalgia and satire” and call it an annual tradition designed to “get better every year.” Venue listings describe the night as showcasing “the very best singers and musicians in the Lone Star State.”
Blue Water Highway carries the Americana core. The Kyle, TX band formed around childhood friends Zack Kibodeaux (lead vocals and songwriter) and Greg Essington (guitar and co-writer), both originally from Lake Jackson. Kibodeaux studied vocal performance at Texas State in San Marcos; Essington went the musical technology route at NYU. Their self-described genre is “Texicana” — Essington frames it as “a sonic landscape like a Depression-era radio played on a Brazos River steamboat,” which also happens to be an apt description of what the show is trying to do. The Austin American-Statesman called them “one of Austin’s best Americana acts” with “legitimate national potential.” More than a decade of touring has put them on stages alongside the Turnpike Troubadours, Bob Seger, Reckless Kelly, and Shane Smith and the Saints. Their most recent album, Year of the Dragon, is self-produced and described by the band as their most ambitious record yet. Before it, Paper Airplanes was produced by Cason Cooley, whose credits include NEEDTOBREATHE and Drew Holcomb. Lone Star Music Magazine compared them to the Turnpike Troubadours and the Damn Quails; a January 2016 afternoon show at Gruene Hall drew a crowd described as “almost Keen-sized.”
Venue & Logistics
House of Blues Houston on Caroline Street hosts the Houston stop of this multi-city tour on Tuesday, December 22. Show time is 7:00 p.m.
Tickets
No ticket price was available from sources at the time of publication. Tickets went on sale Friday, June 19 at 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster. Buy tickets