Hi and welcome back for another year of festive holiday musical happy-time!

No big hurrah here, no major write-ups, I thought I’d jump right into this year’s selections with an instrumental piece from legendary prog-rock band Jethro Tull. Their 2003 release Jethro Tull Christmas Album is one of my favorite seasonal listens. It’s equal parts Pagan reverie and Christmas cheer, celebratory of the atmosphere no matter how you approach it. I could pretty much just do all 16 tracks from this album as part of this year’s list, except that (1) that’d be really, really unimaginative, and (2) I already did Ring Out Solstice Bells last year. Great tune. No seriously, go give that one a listen to.

Holly Herald kicks things up beautifully, an instrumental medley of holiday favorites arranged by front-man Ian Anderson, with his unmistakable flute prowess put on strong display. It almost makes you want to dance by a roaring fireplace. I have to fight that urge constantly. Anyway, if you’re gonna kick a spirited Christmas celebration off, you couldn’t do much better with this zestful rendition of holiday faves. Enjoy!