Well it’s that time of year coming up again and for mid-October we have done well not to mention it yet so far. Still, what better artist to kick things off with than the reliably Christmassy Kate Rusby who releases her 7th Christmas album (!) and her 22nd in total on December 1st, three days before her fiftieth birthday. The album is called ‘Light Years’ and as the press release tells us, “Christmas is a state of mind for Kate, a way of life. Never mind a month of peace and good will, those Christmas values are buried deep in her DNA and she can’t wait to hit the road for her annual festive tour in December. For Kate, abiding memories of childhood are full of carols in the tap room of many a Yorkshire pub, surrounded by family, community, warmth, happiness, colouring books and crisps. For many others, the season hasn’t started until a Rusby Christmas album has been aired, or one of the band’s seasonal shindig shows has been attended. Or both!”
The album features Alsion Krauss on one track ‘The Moon Shines Bright’ accompanied by her bandmate Ron Block. As Rusby commented: “Singing with Alison and Ron felt like the best early birthday present imaginable: “When I was sixteen, my Dad was a sound engineer working at Edale Bluegrass Festival. I was sitting beside him, when onto the stage came Alison Krauss and Union Station, including Ron Block, who plays banjo and sings with Alison after all these years. I was completely blown away and my love of bluegrass began there. I have been a fan of Alison and Ron ever since. Ron has become a dear friend and has recorded on my last few albums, so it feels like we have completed the circle somehow.” It also contains a cover of ‘A Spaceman Came Travelling’ which we love dearly around these parts.
Here are all her festive dates for 2023:
December 7 – York Barbican, YORK
December 8 – St. George’s Hall, BRADFORD
December 10 – Cambridge Corn Exchange, CAMBRIDGE
December 11 – Cadogan Hall, LONDON
December 12 – Brighton Dome, BRIGHTON
December 14 – Sheffield City Hall, SHEFFIELD
December 16 – BIRMINGHAM Town Hall MATINEE SHOW
December 16 – BIRMINGHAM Town Hall EVENING SHOW
December 17 – Bristol Beacon, BRISTOL
December 18 – Theatre Royal Concert Hall, NOTTINGHAM
December 20 – The Glasshouse International Centre For Music, GATESHEAD
December 21 – Bridgewater Hall, MANCHESTER
