The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Lorain native to release Christmas album
Lorain native Jaclyn Bradley Palmer has always wanted to release a holiday album.
“I’ve always loved Christmas music; it’s always something that I’ve wanted to do, to put together an album,” said the singer-songwriter. “Every year, (my producer and I) have talked about it.”
At the end of last year, Bradley Palmer decided to take action and start producing and writing songs a year early.
Now, her first holiday and fourth studio album “December” will be released Dec. 1.
“Most of the recording we did was in the summer,” Bradley Palmer said. “It was quite funny to be singing Christmas songs in June and July in the 90-degree heat.”
Bradley Palmer, who now lives in Dublin, Ireland, first began pursuing her interest in music when she played Wendy in the Lorain Palace Theater’s summer youth program production of “Peter Pan.”
That year, the production strapped young actors into harnesses, allowing them to fly onstage.
“So, here I was, at 13, in a harness and able to fly onstage,” Bradley Palmer said. “My impressions on singing in the arts got a good start in my hometown.”
She describes her music as a mix of many different genres.
Having studied opera in college, she also enjoyed listening to artists like Dean Martin.
“I love everything from classical and rock,” Bradley Palmer said.
Having traveled internationally for her music and having been the only American featured on “The Voice of Holland,” she said growing up in the International City cultivated a deep sense of appreciation for other cultures that has aided in her travels.
“I think coming from Lorain has given me an advantage,” Bradley Palmer said. “Being around so many cultures and nationalities, I entered the world at large with an advantage.”
Bradley Palmer said the Lorain International Festival has allowed her to make friends in other countries by talking about their food and culture.
She brought this ideology into her album in her song “Happy December,” which celebrates all the winter holidays, she said.
“I think people get caught up in the separation of religion and how different we are, but I think I wanted to write a song about Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa,” Bradley Palmer said. “It’s about honoring each other and having a happy December.”
Although physical copies have sold out, the eight-song album can be downloaded and streamed on iTunes, Amazon and Spotify.
“I’ve always loved Christmas music; it’s always something that I’ve wanted to do, to put together an album.”
— Lorain native Jaclyn Bradley Palmer