New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Shore Fire Media) This December, musician/songwriter
Judith Owen and her husband, actor and humorist Harry Shearer, will send up the season with their annual "Holiday Sing-Along" tour, a series of evenings to provide music, mirth and guest performances from their friends. Teddy Thompson and Alice Ripley will join the tour for its stop in Brooklyn while Van Dyke Parks and Alfie Boe sit-in during the show in L.A. With a circle of friends this expansive anyone can show up and past guests have included Owen's close friend and collaborator Richard Thompson,
Christopher Guest, Weird Al Yankovic, Jane Lynch, Keb' Mo', Loudon Wainwright and Fountains of Wayne.
Geared toward Christmas lovers and Scrooges alike, the "Holiday Sing-Along" grew out of the Christmas gatherings Owen and Shearer (The Simpsons, Spinal Tap) would host around their family piano, and the tour continues to reflect that intimate, anything-goes spirit. The show is divided into two acts. The first features performances by Owen, Shearer and their cast of guests, each of whom picks two holiday songs of their choice -- selections range from sentimental ("Winter Wonderland," "Have Yourself a Merry
Little Christmas") to irreverent ("F&*k Christmas," "Jesus Was a Dreidel Spinner"). Each year Shearer writes a new satirical song (last year's: "Why No Bail-Out for Santa?") and often performs the Spinal Tap classic "Christmas with the Devil." As guests finish their songs, they remain on the stage (which Owen decorates as a cozy, Christmastime living room), steadily building the festive mood.
The second act is an audience sing-along of American classics, rounds and carols, with Owen providing specially designed songbooks. For the crowd favorite "The Twelve Days of Christmas," Owen divides the audience into 12 groups and awards kitschy holiday gifts to the best.
Proceeds from the tour benefit the New Orleans Musicians' Clinic.
A winter single, "White Christmas," featuring Julia Fordham and
Judith Owen, will be serviced to radio and released digitally on November 26.
In early 2014, Owen will release a new album, 'EBB & Flow,' that pays homage to the troubadour sound of the 1970s and features legendary musicians in drummer Russ Kunkel, bassist Lee Sklar and guitarist Waddy Wachtel.
Owen has been called "a charmer and a seducer, a rocker and a jazz chanteuse" (Variety) and "a drier, hipper
Norah Jones who is whip smart, soulfully cool and deeply introspective" (L.A. Times). In addition to her solo work -- most recently on her 2012 album 'Some Kind of Comfort' -- she's made a name as the female foil of Richard Thompson, the British folk-rock legend, anchoring his internationally celebrated "1,000 Years of Popular Music" project and last year's inspirational song cycle "Cabaret of Souls."
Judith Owen "Holiday Sing-Along" Tour 2013
December 7 - Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Academy of Music
December 8 - Philadelphia, PA - World Café Live
December 14 - Los Angeles, CA - Largo
December 19 - Chicago, IL - SPACE December 21 - New Orleans, LA - University of New Orleans
December 22 - New Orleans, LA - University of New Orleans
