Robert Earl Keen "Merry Christmas from the Family"

Oh Holy Night, O Christmas Day.

You might have noted in the past, we at Music Fog can turn on a dime, going from the sacred to the profane with whiplash speed. It's all good. Anyway, I figure there should be room for the span of all kinds of moments in our lives. And although we try to keep that serene 'real meaning of the holiday' feeling as long as we can, it is like trying to balance on one leg when you have been stopped by the cops, even if you haven't been indulging! Things can just go awry after a while. So here is hoping Christmas brings you pleasure from gifting, feasting and the making of new memories. And if you wind up with an overstuffed closet, an overstuffed belly, and an overstuffed headache the day after, we wish you Godspeed though the chaos. If you have chosen - or don't have a choice - to work today, or if you are donating your time to a food bank or to help others another way, we salute you. If you are serving our country and can't be home with your friends and family, we hold you dearest in our hearts and our prayers. We offer thanks for what you do humbly, knowing that is not nearly enough.

We revisit one of my favorites today. Robert Earl Keen is the Texas Music Pied Piper and National Treasure who appeals to the frat boy in us all. He is legend: a songwriter whose work runs the abovementioned gamut, from the sublime to the ridiculous, or from the sacred to the profane. He is a must see showman with a kick ass band.

O Merry Christmas from Music Fog. Wishing you tidings of comfort and joy, and an acceptable level of dysfunction, because remember, it could always be worse. O Robert Earl Keen. O Merry Christmas From The Family. O!

- Jessie Scott

Eric Brace & Peter Cooper "Silent Night"

Gonna be a quick one today because we are all so busy. But let it be known that Music Fog is proud to call Eric Brace and Peter Cooper friends. They make beautiful music with powerful harmony. They both have backgrounds as journalists, and that adds keen insight to the lyrics they write. On the eve of the holiday, it is time to slow down. We bring you a thought provoking statement propelled by today's work commitments, may they give way to the well-earned kick back. We hope you can do that today...and tomorrow too! As a society, we don't relax nearly enough, and for some, the holiday itself must act as the enforcer. To quiet the chatter, external and internal, to be able to hear oneself at "normal" is a gift in itself.

Christmas Eve. May your shopping and wrapping and prep be done. May you have made a list and checked it twice. May you be surrounded by people you love. May you have peace in your heart. Today's video offering was recorded during Music Fog's Americana Fest sessions in Nashville this past September, but obviously with today in mind. Here's a tune written by their friend Jon Byrd and featured on their latest CD, Master Sessions. Eric Brace and Peter Cooper "Silent Night."

- Jessie Scott

Mandy Barnett "This Time of the Year"

We are a Fog divided. The guys like their Waffle House as we roll down the highway going gig to gig. Well, actually, I do too, but if truth be told, I am happier luxuriating in a multi-course breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Eggs and thick sliced bacon, grits, and cinnamon apples, and BISCUITS, now we're talking! And I would also like to point out that Cracker Barrel has quietly become a force in the music biz, with their exclusive music program CD releases available in their nearly 600 locations. It is a robust music delivery system to an audience coming to eat and then browse awhile. The last time I was there, I was coveting their new Smokey Robinson CD Now And Then. And now comes word that Mandy Barnett has released her first holiday album, Winter Wonderland, through Cracker Barrel. Allow me to introduce you to her if you are unfamiliar. She is a crooner extraordinaire. Her voice is reminiscent of Patsy, in fact, she played her in the stage show "Always...Patsy Cline" at the Mother Church of Country Music, The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. This is Mandy's fifth solo CD, and on that list is the last album recorded with legendary producer Owen Bradley, I've Got A Right To Cry from 1999.

We are talking legacy today, and what with this being Christmas Eve-Eve, we offer you something traditional, heartwarming, and pure. A production style emerged in Nashville back in the early '60s which included pop elements, backup singers and strings. It was called Countrypolitan. Mandy recalls that golden era on this album, with help from music veterans Harold Bradley, Lloyd Green, Louis Nunley, Gene Chrisman and Tony Migliore. Amazing to think that guitarist Harold Bradley and back-up singer Louis Nunley also played on the original versions of some of the songs on this collection. And a month before Owen passed away, he asked Mandy to do a show with him at St. Thomas hospital for his doctors and their patients. Owen played "This Time Of The Year" for her, and they performed it at the party. Here is Mandy Barnett with it for you now. Merry almost Christmas!

- Jessie Scott