🎄 Christmas Songs You Need To Learn This Holiday Season

It’s December… Which Means One Thing for Performers...

Holiday Music Season!

The cold weather is rolling in. Snow is falling. And for performers like us, it could mean that it’s time to add some holiday music into our live shows.

Whether you love Christmas music or just tolerate it for the sake of the gig, incorporating holiday songs into your setlist can be a fun, refreshing way to connect with your audience and break out of your normal routine.

This week, I needed to relearn a few holiday songs for some upcoming performances. So I sat down at the keyboard, hit record, and decided to walk you through the songs I’m using and a few others that might work incredibly well for your own shows.

The Songs I Needed to Relearn

Here is what was included in the setlists for this weekend.

• Last Christmas &
• Feliz Navidad

Both are crowd-pleasers. Both are instantly recognizable. And both are deceptively easy to work into just about any style of live show.

Feliz Navidad works wonderfully (especially because I play with a horn line) and the main structure is simple G, A, D, B and various inversions of these chords.

Last Christmas is one of the easiest Christmas songs to pick up on keys because the chord progression is straightforward and it sounds great with a soft pad patch. (If you’re on a Yamaha keyboard like Montage or MODX, you can search patches by text and the one I liked is called Pad & Syn.)

Some Other Holiday Songs That Work Live

As performers, we often underestimate how many holiday songs can actually enhance a show. Here are a few strong options:

• Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
  A classic that pairs perfectly with At Last when performed in the key of F, their chord structures are nearly identical. This makes for a beautiful holiday/non-holiday medley.
• Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
  Especially the Jackson 5 version. High-energy, fun, & danceable. It's perfect for events where people want to move.
• This Christmas
  A soulful favorite commonly played in F. Pairs surprisingly well with Stevie Wonder’s Signed, Sealed, Delivered if you’re looking for a medley with energy and groove.
• Christmastime Is Here
  A jazz standard from A Charlie Brown Christmas. Great for cocktail hours, dinner sets, or softer moments in your show. Easy to “jazzify” with alternate chords.
• All I Want for Christmas Is You
  Maybe you love it. Maybe you don’t. But the crowd loves it. And that alone makes it worth having in your back pocket.
  
  

Choosing the Right Holiday Songs for Your Show

Remember, not every holiday song is going to fit the vibe of your performance.

Ask yourself:

• What is the vibe of the gig? (Jazz, dance-heavy, pop, acoustic?)
• What kind of audience will be there?
• Do you want energy, nostalgia, or ambiance?
• What fits perfectly between the songs you already perform?

I find that higher-energy songs tend to work best for most performers, but softer jazz tunes shine in more intimate settings.

Holiday songs can add variety, fun, and emotional connection.

They also give you a chance as the performer to get out of your comfort zone and do something different...

Why Holiday Songs Make You a Better Performer

One of the best parts of adding seasonal music to your setlist is this:

It forces you out of your routine.

When we perform the same songs the same way at every show, we stop growing. Holiday songs push you to try new chord voicings, new energies, new transitions, new medleys & mashups and that helps you evolve as an entertainer.

Challenging yourself creatively is one of the fastest ways to grow as a performer.

Best of luck with your holiday gigs and have fun trying out a few new songs this season!