October 2025 Edition
Howdy Friend,
Ketch here - glad to be in touch. I look forward to these newsletters because I’m the kind of person who likes to keep in touch. But I sometimes wish it went the other way, and that I got to hear from YOU! During the pandemic I would get at least 3 letters a week, and I miss that. Recently, a guy wrote me from St. Louis saying his students were singing ‘I Hear Them All’ in the classroom. Wonderful! And I heard from a lady in Texas who pitched Old Crow a song that was pretty compelling. Oh, and amazingly I got an Alaskan care package from Ninilchik where we made our midnight sun debut a few summers ago. Thanks, sister (and the strawberry jam was delicious by the way).
But more often, the only way I hear from the folks without whose support I'd have to go find a real job is through social media. Did you send me a fire emoji or a fluttering heart? Well, thanks. Did you write something cynical or say "shut up and sing"? Hey, that’s ok too. I’ll never forget the first time I used the internet back in the early 90’s. I went into a sports chat room and typed "Phillies SUCK! Cardinals RULE!". See, even during the dial-up years it was just as true as it is today that something about our communication online is just not like it is in the real world. Online, we put things in a way we never would in person. That's why I love letters, postcards, snail mail! Whatever they say, they always deliver a small piece of someone's unique spirit to the recipient. Also, ironic isn’t it how this year the Cardinals really suck and the Phillies might just win it all…?
OMG the most incredible thing happened last month. Old Crow went to Switzerland! It was amazing, breathtaking, soul-stirring, and there was chocolate and fondue, and a special liqueur called Krautterbitter that was sehr gut! One of the best parts of the trip was performing in a place where I could finally put my high school German to use. Looking back, Spanish sure would have been a good choice for a guy who was going to be a singer someday. And if I had taken French, we’d probably be a whole lot bigger in Quebec right now. But dang it I took German, and aside from the occasional Oktoberfest there’s not a lot of places I get to use my Deutsch onstage. Well, last September in Switzerland over two nights at the Country Nights Gstaad festival, I spoke German nearly the entire show, intro’d the band, explained the meaning of songs, told funny stories, all auf Deutsch. And let me tell ya’ll, it was frickin’ wunderbar.
Maybe it was the dusting of fresh snow on the Alps, or the clanging of bells from the beautiful Brown Swiss cows whose hoofs seemed to be better equipped for the steep hillsides than my Hoka’s, but something about playing in Switzerland was a bit like stepping into a snow globe. Ah, the perfect segue for some pretty exciting news: move over Mariah, buzz off Bublé, Old Crow Medicine Show has a new Christmas album coming out next month!!!! ‘OCMS XMAS’ hits shelves Friday, November 21! Preorder begins THIS Thursday, October 9th!!! Yup, we’re going all in on the holidays this year.
Last December, while shoppers raced through Nashville in Christmas parcel pandemonium, the band and I were busy at the world famous Hartland Studios cutting our very first holiday record. 13 songs long, including a few traditional favorites (sadly no Wham!, sorry) this mostly-original album was a real joy to write and record. Inspiration struck and the songs just really came together for the project, especially with both Morgan and Mike contributing to the canon. I’m really excited for you to hear what we came up with. One thing's for sure, Christmas songs and Old Crow songs aren’t too far apart. I wouldn’t be surprised if long-time fans of our music will keep spinning this record long after the tree's been hauled off to the mulch pile.
Our first offering, though is not an original, instead a holiday classic, and my most favorite Christmas song of all time (again, sorry it’s not by Wham!) - Yoko Ono and John Lennon penned this opus back in 1971 as a protest song to the war in Vietnam. Recorded at NYC’s famed The Record Plant and produced by the legendary Phil Spector it featured the cherubic young voices of the Harlem Community Choir. Old Crow took a similar approach, recording the Purple Martin Choir from the school I founded, Episcopal School of Nashville. My hope for this song is an echo of John and Yoko’s message that peace in our time in possible. Whether your heart is heavy with the news of more needless death in Palestine, Ukraine, Sudan, and elsewhere in the world, or if you just feel like your own hometown somewhere in these United States could use a little more peace, well, buddy this one's for you!
One thing that makes this first single even a little more special is that we’re releasing it on John Lennon’s birthday. John, you would have been 85 this year if your life hadn’t been tragically cut short by a madman’s gun. In your memory, Old Crow stands up proudly against violence in all its forms, from war to political assassination. We love you, John Lennon! OCMS knows the reason for the season, that the Christ child is the prince of peace, and that there’s no greater virtue for our species than simply to love one another; and the second greatest is to turn the other cheek to our transgressor. As Christmas approaches, let's all remember the life and legacy of John Lennon. Then let’s do what Yoko said, "Think PEACE, Act PEACE, Spread PEACE, Imagine PEACE. Together, we will shift the axis of the world toward PEACE”
Alrighty then! Well, I've got to run and jump on this bus for Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota.
And you’ve got to preorder your copy of OCMS XMAS!!
Until next month…Peace!
Ketch