These 3 eps - Three great 'mini' releases for this holiday season!

LOVE the eps that come out during the holiday season!

These are kind of 'mini' offerings of four or five tunes from an artist rather than a full-blown release... Kind of a Christmas hit & run that often don't bog the listener down with a ton of tunes, but rather share the cream of the musician's crop before giving way to other releases. This year, I've been enjoying three of note that I'm passing along to you:

1) Christmas at the Burchills ep by Beth // James -

Austin-based indie-Americana duo Beth // James recorded a selection of tunes that fit perfectly into the existing holiday music canon without losing the award-winning songwriting duo’s signature touch. Beth // James—married Texas music scene veterans Mikaela and Jordan Burchill—navigated through the process by combining classic Christmas sounds, an Elvis cover, an Elvis-influenced original, a Hawaiian-infused shot of Christmas paradise, and a candle-lit Yuletide ballad; simultaneously cozy-as-a-sweater and bursting with catchy tropical cheer.

The stand-out track here is an Americana ode to their annual post-holiday vacation destination, “Marfa Christmas Lights.” “Marfa, Texas is one of our favorite places in the world,” says Mikaela. “When writing this song, we imagined Marfa as Santa’s favorite town too. We pictured Santa in a dive bar, exhausted from his long night of delivering presents, drinking a hot toddy - away from all the hustle and bustle.” Infused with contemplative, country-western lap steel and subtle B3 organ pads, “Marfa Christmas Lights” finds the duo looking out for jolly old Saint Nick in a funny, thoughtful manner. “At the North Pole, he’s the boss and everyone always needs something from him,” says Jordan. “But in Marfa, he can just be himself and spend some quality time unwinding with Mrs. Clause under the magical Marfa lights.”

Also included on the ep is a great renditions of the classic "Blue Christmas" along with originals "Tiki Christmas Land, "Santa Won't You Deliver (My Baby this Winter)," and a wistful "The Christmas We Used to Know." You can check them all out on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album...

2) Christmas on a Greyhound Bus ep by Amanda Anne Platt & the Honeycutters -

Asheville, North Carolina -based Americana music storytellers Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters are known for critically acclaimed songwriting that is at once incisive, insightful and witty. Platt includes 5 selections here — originals and covers alike — that are pleasantly outside the norm for a holiday release, packaged in a quintessentially New Traditional Country Music style.

Original songs from Platt include the old school country title track and a nostalgic “One for the Ages.” Both are filled with the interwoven imagery that has brought Platt national praise, married to arrangements that amplify the lyrics’ emotional effects. On a lighter note, Platt and her band dish up a playful “Santa Looked A Lot Like Daddy,” borrowed from country legend Buck Owens.

The ep is bookended with a powerful choice of cover songs. Opening with a cover of Willie Nelson’s forlorn “Pretty Paper,” about a forgotten soul on Christmas, it concludes with the optimism of Nick Lowe’s classic, “(What’s So Funny About) Peace, Love and Understanding” — the pair underlining, between the very sad and the very hopeful, Amanda Anne Platt & The Honeycutters’ dramatic musical range.

Backed by her touring band that includes Matt Smith on guitar and pedal steel, Rick Cooper on bass, acoustic guitar and vocals, and Evan Martin on drums, piano, organ and vocals, Platt and The Honeycutters bring a Roots Country sound to the season.

Over images of a Waffle House, loneliness and drinking tequila on a Greyhound Bus, Amanda Anne Platt and the Honeycutters have crafted a true-to-reality perspective on Christmas. This is exactly what we all need during the holidays.

Check out the record here: https://open.spotify.com/album...

3) The Newborn King ep by Nathan Angelo -

Nathan Angelo shines as a refreshing alternative, embracing the classic elements of popular music and celebrating the backbeat of American tradition. His talent is to take a standard tune & make it his own by infusing his own, inimitable style into the song... Not an easy thing to pull off, but if it's done well, it's a magical thing to experience!

At first blush, this four-song collection appears to be a traditionally-based track list, but one listen of these stirring renditions, accentuated by Angelo's thoughtful acoustic guitar, string arrangements, and built upon the foundation of his soulful vocals and seasoned piano work make these songs part of a very special project.

You'll find Nathan's take on "The First Noel," "Silent Night," and "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" all contained within - My personal favorite on the ep is his version of "Joy to the World" which delivers to the listener just that - JOY! It makes me smile every time I listen to the track play...

Go to Spotify to give it a listen: https://open.spotify.com/album...

Okay, that what I have for now - More to follow as Christmas gets closer! ENJOY!