Sat 12/6 @ 2PM (doors 12:30pm)
It’s been about 20 years since local singer/songwriter Chris Allen ran into some of his musician friends at a Christmas party and together they cooked up the concept of the Ohio City Singers, a band that emerges from the depths of the area music scene but once a year to celebrate the yuletide season. What makes them different from a lot of seasonal bands is that they don’t do interpretations of popular holiday music: they write their own original carols. Given the A Team talent in this group, that’s not a stretch.
The ensemble includes, in addition to Allen on guitars, Doug McKean on guitar, keyboards and accordion; blues musician Austin Walkin Cane Charanghat on guitar; producer Don Dixon on a variety of offbeat instruments; ubiquitous scene catalyst Brent Kirby on drums; Meredith Pangrace of Maura Rogers & the Bellows on accordion, Dave Padrutt on bass; Matt Sobol on guitar; and the entire ensemble (plus Kelly Wright) on vocals.
The band has released numerous albums featuring their own holiday tunes, and have just dropped two new holiday singles for the 2025 season: “Christmas Card from Heaven” and “Santa Won’t You See Me Tonight?”
Their 2025 holiday “tour” starts at the Music Box Supper Club on Saturday December 6. Get tickets here. Later in the month, you can find them at the Winchester Music Tavern, Forest City Brewery and, on December 21, at the Winterloo on Waterloo Festival in the Waterloo Arts district.