Songs of Good Cheer is going virtual
Here’s everything you need to know to join our annual holiday singalong
This is your official invitation to the 22nd annual Songs of Good Cheer— and the first to be held online.
Songs, aswe informally call it, is the holiday singalongmy Tribune colleague Eric Zorn and I have hosted for two decades in the beautiful auditorium of the Old Town School of FolkMusic in Chicago. We play and sing with a band of great musicians affiliated with the school. In recent years, we’ve put on six shows a season, all of them sold out.
The tradition grewout of our conviction that in our harried holidays, singing together could calm us down and connect us to each other.
But 2020 is the year of the pandemic. Singing in a group is dangerous. What to do?
We’ve been getting emails since June posing that question, one of them fromEmily Kallemeyn with the subject line: “Virtual Songs of Good Cheer?”
“I am sure thiswould be tricky,” she wrote, “but I am hopeful that it might happen? And if it doesn’t, please knowthis has becomemy favorite holiday tradition (I draggedmy parents, husband and kids about 6 years ago andwe have all enthusiastically attended every year since!!) andwe’ll be there with bells on in 2021.”
Well, Emily. It has been tricky, but get your bells out. Encouraged by all the people who’ve asked, we’re venturing into the frontier of online concert-making.
Over the past couple of months, the Cheerios, aswe call the band members, have recorded themselves singing and playing holiday songs, usually at home. In some cases, our longtime sound engineer, Dan Glomski, and bandmate-turned-tech-whiz, Paul Tyler, have met with us individually to oversee our recording, always, of course, masked and
socially distanced.
Paul andDan then embarked on the complicatedwork of synching individual recordings to create the look and sound of a band.
We couldn’t have done it without the support of the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, which supplied money to help with the costs involved.
Now, at last, we can confidently say: On with the show. Here are answers to questions you may have.
So what exactly is this? It’s a singalong with a virtual twist.
Buy a ticket, and on the day of the showyou’ll get a private YouTube link. Click on the link and sing along in the comfort and privacy of your home. Or hum. Or just listen.
Unlike most years, this show won’t be live, but it will be livestreamed, meaning that it will be released at a designated hour on a designated day. You’ll be singing alongwith all the other people who’ve clicked on the link
at the same time. Youwon’t hear them, but you’ll feel them.
Andwe’ve done our best to create the feel of the live shows. It will be shorter than usual— a little over an hour. But rest assured, most of the familiar band members will be there, the songs will be lively, and Eric Zorn will appear in his tuxedo. We’ve shot some of it in the Old Town School auditorium to retain a flavor of the live event.
Dates? Ticket holders will receive an email on Dec. 18 with the private YouTube livestream link. The showwill begin streaming at 7 p.m. that day. After the original broadcast, the link will be available to view through Dec. 20.
Your ticket also gets you a link to a PDF of a songbook with all the lyrics. You’ll get that before the show. Print out as many copies as youwant.
Howdo I get tickets? They’re on sale now. Call Old Town School at 773-728-6000 or visit its website, atwww.oldtownschool.
org, and click on the concert button.
Cost? $25 per household. If you buy more tickets, you support good causes, including the Old Town School.
A portion of the ticket sales will benefit community partners of the Chicago Tribune’s holiday community giving campaign. Through ticket sales, Songs has raised $712,000so far forChicagoland charities.
Who’s in the band? They’re professional musicians affiliated with the Old Town School: Fred Campeau, Anna Jacobson, Lanialoha Lee, RoyMcGrath, Rashida Phillips, Zacbe Pichardo, Steve Rosen, Barbara Silverman, Gail Tyler, Paul Tyler and Aaron Smith.
I play piano. Eric plays fiddle and banjo, sings and is his usual convivial self.
As usual, we’ll do a mix of familiar holiday songs and somewe’ve discovered
What are the songs?
through the years. They include pop standards like “Winter Wonderland,” sacred tunes like “SilentNight,” the rollicking “Happy, JoyousHanukkah” and the rousing “Conga del Viejo.”
What else? The year 2020 has been one long improv act. Virtual Songs of Good Cheer is our part of the improvisation. We hope you’ll join us in the spirit of Scott Uhler, a longtime attendee, who summed it up perfectly in a recent email.
“We are 110% in favor of a virtual event,” hewrote. “Since you have been sold out in the past, this may be away to include even more folks in this seasonal gem. It would not be the holidays without the ‘Songs.’ We also have no other real use for our Christmas light necklaces and antler headgear. If Eric is hesitant, maybe you can entice him by letting him knowhewould not even have to get out of his pajamas this year. Let’s do this thing!!!”