Merry Christmas everyone!
Last Christmas, I wrote about my favorite versions of Christmas carols, standards and lesser known originals. This year, I knew I wanted to do some kind of Christmas post, but couldn't pinpoint exactly what that would be. Then it hit me: this would be a good opportunity to promote the artists that I support on Patreon. I've written a fair amount about a couple of them, but not all. That's about to change. I know some of you are familiar with Patreon, but others of you aren't. So first things first: Patreon is a crowdfunding platform that helps content creators create content on a regular basis. It's not about funding one big project; it's about helping them make multiple projects over time. This is done through the use of subscriptions. You choose your level of support and each level comes with its own perk. You also have the option of not receiving any perks, if that is your preference. Worth nothing that you can change your level of patronage or opt out at any point. You can also set a monthly cap on your donations to help you stay within your budget.
All kinds of content creators use Patreon, but all of the artists I support use it to create music videos. People, this is a game changer. See, it's usually the record labels who pay for the music videos. As such, they usually have the final say in which songs become singles and which get music videos. But Patreon puts this power in the hands of the artists. Why is this significant? Well let's look at two of my favorite vocal groups: Little Big Town and Home Free. Since 2002, Little Big Town has released 19 singles from 6 studio albums. 18 of those singles got official videos. 10 points to anyone who can tell me which single did not get a video.
Now Home Free on the other hand? 20. Big deal, you might be thinking. That's only two more than Little Big Town. Oh wait, I forgot to mention that those 20 videos? 21, if you count the lyric video for "I've Seen"? All released in 2015. Yes, I counted. 38 total since 2013, if you go by their official music videos playlist on their YouTube channel. About 30 of these were Patreon funded. I'm telling you: Patreon = game changer.
Back to Christmas. I'm currently supporting six acts of Patreon: Home Free, VoicePlay, Peter Hollens, Evynne Hollens, Pentatonix and the Hound + the Fox. All of them have released Christmas videos. Several Christmas videos in a couple of cases. Some of these were Patreon funded, but not all. I must say that trying to narrow it down to my favorites was pretty difficult. So without further ado, here's some of my favorites.
The order these videos appear in will be fairly random. That said, it only seems appropriate to kick things off with the first act I decided to support on Patreon: Home Free. Country music's first a cappella vocal group. Vocal percussionist Adam Rupp did the arrangement for this one and what an arrangement it is. Seriously, he did an incredible job with it. Here's "Do You Hear What I Hear?"
Next up: Evynne Hollens, along with pianist Nathan Alef, puts a jazzy spin on "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". You know, my favorite performers are the ones who really get into their songs. Evynne seems like she's having so much fun with this and it makes it that much more enjoyable to watch.
Here's a question for you all: "What Can You Get a Wookiee for Christmas (When He Already Owns a Comb?)" Don't know? Never fear, VoicePlay is here! In Star Wars onesies, no less. This video features some of the most cheerful coordinated head bobbing I've ever seen. A great lead vocal from Eli Jacobson. That opening line, man. The whole thing, actually. This also has me wanting to hear them do "If I Were King of the Forest" from The Wizard of Oz - or even a medley from the movie. I think it'd be super entertaining. Like this.
Time to move on to something a little more relaxed. This next song is a Christmas classic from the Hound + the Fox. They're a husband and wife duo from Oregon that do both covers and originals. Not only do they make music they, alone with friend Jimmy Bates, produce music videos as FifGen Films. These guys do such great work, some of which is featured in this list as they do videos for Home Free, Pentatonix and Peter Hollens. Their version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is both beautiful and soothing. Check it out!
Speaking of Pentatonix, it's time for one of their videos and this one has been nominated for a Grammy for best arrangement, instrumental or a cappella. Not too shabby. It is a great arrangement and it comes with a cool video (thank you, FifGen!). Here's "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy".
The next video comes from Peter Hollens with Peter Hollens and Peter Hollens and...okay, so here's the thing about Peter Hollens. While he does do the occasional collaboration with instrumentalists, Peter is an a cappella artist. One who sings each part of the arrangement or most, if it's a collaboration with another singer. So everything that you hear in this video? All Peter. He did a wonderful job with this. Here's Peter's version of "Mary, Did You Know?"
Three things: Home Free, Kenny Rogers, and "Children Go Where I Send Thee". This happened and it rocks. You're welcome.
Back to the lovely Evynne Hollens. This time with with a duet partner, Emily Sangder, and joined once again by Nathan Alef. The song is "Love is Christmas" and I had never heard it before discovering Evynne, but what a lovely song. Evynne and Emily sound wonderful together and the piano playing is just beautiful. Gorgeous cover all the way around.
It is my hope that this might at the very least inspire you to check out more of their music. I support these acts because I believe in them and want to see them do well. They're all great in different ways and more people should know about them. Hence why this is a two-parter. Interested in checking any of them out on their Patreon pages? Links below.
Home Free: http://www.patreon.com/HomeFree
Evynne Hollens: http://www.patreon.com/evynnehollens
VoicePlay: http://patreon.com/voiceplay
the Hound + the Fox: https://www.patreon.com/TheHoundTheFox
Pentatonix: http://www.patreon.com/pentatonix
Peter Hollens: https://www.patreon.com/peterhollens
Last Christmas, I wrote about my favorite versions of Christmas carols, standards and lesser known originals. This year, I knew I wanted to do some kind of Christmas post, but couldn't pinpoint exactly what that would be. Then it hit me: this would be a good opportunity to promote the artists that I support on Patreon. I've written a fair amount about a couple of them, but not all. That's about to change. I know some of you are familiar with Patreon, but others of you aren't. So first things first: Patreon is a crowdfunding platform that helps content creators create content on a regular basis. It's not about funding one big project; it's about helping them make multiple projects over time. This is done through the use of subscriptions. You choose your level of support and each level comes with its own perk. You also have the option of not receiving any perks, if that is your preference. Worth nothing that you can change your level of patronage or opt out at any point. You can also set a monthly cap on your donations to help you stay within your budget.
All kinds of content creators use Patreon, but all of the artists I support use it to create music videos. People, this is a game changer. See, it's usually the record labels who pay for the music videos. As such, they usually have the final say in which songs become singles and which get music videos. But Patreon puts this power in the hands of the artists. Why is this significant? Well let's look at two of my favorite vocal groups: Little Big Town and Home Free. Since 2002, Little Big Town has released 19 singles from 6 studio albums. 18 of those singles got official videos. 10 points to anyone who can tell me which single did not get a video.
Now Home Free on the other hand? 20. Big deal, you might be thinking. That's only two more than Little Big Town. Oh wait, I forgot to mention that those 20 videos? 21, if you count the lyric video for "I've Seen"? All released in 2015. Yes, I counted. 38 total since 2013, if you go by their official music videos playlist on their YouTube channel. About 30 of these were Patreon funded. I'm telling you: Patreon = game changer.
Back to Christmas. I'm currently supporting six acts of Patreon: Home Free, VoicePlay, Peter Hollens, Evynne Hollens, Pentatonix and the Hound + the Fox. All of them have released Christmas videos. Several Christmas videos in a couple of cases. Some of these were Patreon funded, but not all. I must say that trying to narrow it down to my favorites was pretty difficult. So without further ado, here's some of my favorites.
The order these videos appear in will be fairly random. That said, it only seems appropriate to kick things off with the first act I decided to support on Patreon: Home Free. Country music's first a cappella vocal group. Vocal percussionist Adam Rupp did the arrangement for this one and what an arrangement it is. Seriously, he did an incredible job with it. Here's "Do You Hear What I Hear?"
Next up: Evynne Hollens, along with pianist Nathan Alef, puts a jazzy spin on "Santa Claus is Coming to Town". You know, my favorite performers are the ones who really get into their songs. Evynne seems like she's having so much fun with this and it makes it that much more enjoyable to watch.
Here's a question for you all: "What Can You Get a Wookiee for Christmas (When He Already Owns a Comb?)" Don't know? Never fear, VoicePlay is here! In Star Wars onesies, no less. This video features some of the most cheerful coordinated head bobbing I've ever seen. A great lead vocal from Eli Jacobson. That opening line, man. The whole thing, actually. This also has me wanting to hear them do "If I Were King of the Forest" from The Wizard of Oz - or even a medley from the movie. I think it'd be super entertaining. Like this.
Time to move on to something a little more relaxed. This next song is a Christmas classic from the Hound + the Fox. They're a husband and wife duo from Oregon that do both covers and originals. Not only do they make music they, alone with friend Jimmy Bates, produce music videos as FifGen Films. These guys do such great work, some of which is featured in this list as they do videos for Home Free, Pentatonix and Peter Hollens. Their version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is both beautiful and soothing. Check it out!
Speaking of Pentatonix, it's time for one of their videos and this one has been nominated for a Grammy for best arrangement, instrumental or a cappella. Not too shabby. It is a great arrangement and it comes with a cool video (thank you, FifGen!). Here's "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy".
The next video comes from Peter Hollens with Peter Hollens and Peter Hollens and...okay, so here's the thing about Peter Hollens. While he does do the occasional collaboration with instrumentalists, Peter is an a cappella artist. One who sings each part of the arrangement or most, if it's a collaboration with another singer. So everything that you hear in this video? All Peter. He did a wonderful job with this. Here's Peter's version of "Mary, Did You Know?"
Three things: Home Free, Kenny Rogers, and "Children Go Where I Send Thee". This happened and it rocks. You're welcome.
Back to the lovely Evynne Hollens. This time with with a duet partner, Emily Sangder, and joined once again by Nathan Alef. The song is "Love is Christmas" and I had never heard it before discovering Evynne, but what a lovely song. Evynne and Emily sound wonderful together and the piano playing is just beautiful. Gorgeous cover all the way around.
It is my hope that this might at the very least inspire you to check out more of their music. I support these acts because I believe in them and want to see them do well. They're all great in different ways and more people should know about them. Hence why this is a two-parter. Interested in checking any of them out on their Patreon pages? Links below.
Home Free: http://www.patreon.com/HomeFree
Evynne Hollens: http://www.patreon.com/evynnehollens
VoicePlay: http://patreon.com/voiceplay
the Hound + the Fox: https://www.patreon.com/TheHoundTheFox
Pentatonix: http://www.patreon.com/pentatonix
Peter Hollens: https://www.patreon.com/peterhollens
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