Leading the sing-along at Christmas at Red Bank — all photos by Leslie Ann Smith
If you’re a fan of local music and have lived in the midlands a while you are likely familiar with Christmas at Redbank. For seventeen years Redbank Methodist Church in Lexington has hosted an array of local musicians presenting their unique take on classic and sometimes completely original Christmas songs. Jasper Magazine’s music editor Kevin Oliver is the creator and founder of the concert and shares some inside baseball about the event, “Most of the acts perform acoustic, but some add electric instruments and bigger arrangements. We started acoustic simply due to logistical concerns with getting a dozen or more acts on and off a stage in two hours’ time, and it just became what we did.”
Along with music the audience can also now expect poetry and scripture readings. Oliver notes that last year the readings, “really tied the show together as less a string of performances punctuated by me talking, and more of a fluid, almost theatrical story.” They have chosen to do them again this year with Jasper board member, poet Al Black, narrating.
Al Black
Along with the new format Oliver says that what makes the event so successful and keeps the night fresh is, “outside of the requirement that songs be ‘sacred’ and not ‘Santa’ in theme/content, I allow the artists involved to pick what they want to sing. That usually includes familiar carols and hymns, but they can also throw me for a loop with a left field or unexpected selection. I try not to reveal too many of the song choices ahead of time, because that's part of the magic of the show--you know who's about to sing, but not WHAT they will come up with.”
Throughout the years the lineup has included an assortment of popular local musicians and bigger names who are just passing through or are returning home like Ryan Monroe, who is now in Band of Horses. Johnny Irion and Sarah Lee Guthrie, daughter of Arlo Guthrie, Mark Bryan, Jake Etheridge, Hannah Miller, and Danielle Howle are frequent performers, as well.
Todd Mathis
This year’s lineup includes Brent Lundy, Band of Pilgrims, Admiral Radio, Todd Mathis, The Water Kickers, Ashleigh Morse with Jim Morse, Chris Reed, Prettier Than Matt, Buck and Rhonda Mooneyhan, James Etheridge, Jr., Matt and Becky Goudelock, and Al Black. Oliver mentions that this year there are a few new names on the bill, “Chris Reed is a local musician that's burning up the local bar and restaurant scene but also performing original rock with his band The Bad Kids, and I'm glad to have him aboard this year as our rookie. The Water Kickers are a new group name, but the duo has both appeared at CARB before with other ensembles. Brodie Porterfield was in the Dawn Key Shotguns, while Kelley McLachlan Douglas Porterfield was in both Post Timey String Band and The Prairie Willows. Ashleigh Morse will be expanding the CARB family as well, bringing her father Jim Morse along for a song–he's been a Columbia musician for a long time himself.”
Kevin Oliver, founder of Christmas at Red Bank and Music Editor for Jasper Magazine
The show is Sunday, December 4th from 6:30pm-9pm. It is free to attend, but an offering will be collected for Mission Lexington (formerly LICS). This opportunity to give has been a part of the event from the start and each year they raise an average of $1,200 for the organization with last year's total reaching over $1,500. Find more details and get directions to the church from the Facebook event.