SimpleGifts – Announcing SimpleGifts 2013
Announcing SimpleGifts 2013 – New CD WinterGrace
It’s been a busy off-season for members of SimpleGifts and our awesome staff and crew. Not only has a great tour been confirmed for the 2013 holiday season but there’s a new CD we’re just finishing up called “WinterGrace.” Like all the CDs that came before it, “WinterGrace” features traditional music that tells the real story of Christmas arranged and performed with a modern twist. Familiar classics include “O Little Town of Bethlehem”, “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”, and “Little Drummer Boy” while the lesser known title track provides a fresh but timeless melody from the hills of Appalachia. Celtic whistle, violin, bagpipes, piano and percussion combine with pristine three-part vocals and the signature sound of Billy McLaughlin’s acoustic guitar. “WinterGrace” continues to separate SimpleGifts from the pack of annual holiday artists by its creative arrangements, thoughtful song choices and lush recording engineering from co-producer Jeff Arundel. Listen to samples from WinterGrace here.
New band members join SimpleGifts for 2013 Tour
SimpleGifts 2013
If you are a parent with young kids you can only imagine what it would be like to be gone for all of the holiday season not just one year but for eleven years in a row! SimpleGifts wishes all of our previous members and their families a blessed and peaceful 2013 holiday season! At the same time, we welcome new members Ashleigh Still, Torie Redpath and Amy Courts. These super-talented artists join returning members Heather Garborg, Billy O., Laura MacKenzie and Billy McLaughlin in a rotating sextet line-up for the busy 2013 “WinterGrace” Tour.
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About SimpleGifts
As long-time fans will tell you, SimpleGifts makes musical magic by bringing a modern flair to traditional Christmas carols and hymns. Staying close to the heart of Christmas by avoiding commercial and pop holiday repertoire has become the trademark of this award winning six-piece ensemble.
SimpleGifts combines violin, Celtic whistle and bagpipes, piano, acoustic guitar and percussion with angelic three part female vocals to create a “modern Old-World” sound. There is nothing ordinary about the arrangements this team delivers both in the studio and in concert. Seen by over 20,000 live audience members last season, this group continues to grow in popularity throughout the Upper Midwest and has successfully transitioned from their early days in coffeehouses and small listening rooms to prestigious performing art centers and larger churches.
