HOLIDAY LYRICS & LAUGHS: A Lacy Little Xmas offers absurdist levity in absurd times

Shannon Rae Gentry
2 days ago
4 min read

What do you wish for this holiday season?

“I just hope to spread some cheer in our community,” local lyricist and multi-instrumentalist Justin Lacy says, and Tuesday’s “A Lacy Little Xmas” at North Front Theater is the attempt to lift folks up with music and comedy—and “a little absurdist levity in absurd times.”

“We all need more joy,” he continues. “I wish everyone a Christmas like a Christmas on TV, whatever that means to you."

A Lacy Little Xmas: Justin Lacy & his Orchestra w/ Ahna Ell & Fake Bros will feature an opening set from singer-songwriter Ahna Ell and mostly holiday-themed indie folk songs (originals and covers) from Lacy, along with a chamber folk ensemble. Countless strings, winds, and percussion (violin, cello, viola, clarinet, flute, guitars, bass, drums) will fill the air, as well as glockenspiel, classroom handbells, sleigh-bells and singers for cheerful chorus.

Plus, Fake Bros and Friends will provide the extra levity and laughs.

Read more from Lacy about this year's holiday event on Tuesday, Dec. 16 at North Front Theater:

encore (e): Tell us more about the combination of comedy and music sets—strictly separate sets or will there be any crossover of sorts? (Never know in improv, right?)

Justin Lacy (JL): There will be a bit of a crossover. Caylan McKay is organizing a combination of holiday-themed improv comedy, as well as a couple sketches featuring me and my take on holiday music to blend the night into a seamless holiday variety show of sorts. I think laughter and music are some of the most important ingredients in conjuring up the Christmas spirit. We already get a lot of laughs with our goofy holiday covers of Dr. Seuss and the Muppets, so incorporating a comedy portion felt like a natural progression for this indie little Christmas pageant.

e: Who makes up the chamber folk ensemble and their instruments?

JL: For me, this band is absolutely magical to hear (and there’s so many of us, I usually don’t get to hear it all at once until the audience does!). The combination of bright, quirky classroom handbells and glockenspiel with pastoral heart-sweeping strings juxtaposed with lyrics that are a little bit silly or a little bit sad just feels like a heated blanket when you need it.

We have:

Cello - Hillary Flowers

Viola - Brent Trubia

Violin - Jessica Landes

Glockenspiel/Rees organ - Paul Miller

Clarinet/bass clarinet - Laura York

Flute - Mellissa Friddle

Electric guitar - Cameron Perry

Upright bass - Nick Loeber

Drums - Jon Hill

Vocals/handbells/percussion - Julia Rothenberger, Gabi Stephens, Cori Tabor

Nylon/steel-string/vocals - Me (Justin Lacy)

e: Have you worked with Ahna Ell before?

JL: This is Ahna Ell and I’s first bill together outside of the Bourgie Nights holiday showcase back in 2022. Some of her songs just make you smile — they’re fun, warm and catchy — they’ll stick with you for several days after you hear them. Ahna couldn’t do the Bourgie showcase this year so I thought she might want to hop on another holiday bill, and we’re stoked she’ll be in on the merriment! She put on an amazing end-of-summer house concert earlier this year.

What are some holiday and non-holiday titles we can expect to hear throughout the night?

We’ll be doing a mix of new takes on traditional holiday music, my Christmas originals, our covers of nostalgic holiday soundtrack songs like “It Feels Like Christmas” from the Muppets Christmas Carol (top three Xmas movies of all time), and some non-holiday originals that fit the Yuletide orchestra sound.

e: Has the holiday spirit hit you already or is this a way to gear up?

JL: The spirit is a slow build—for me, it doesn’t really feel like Christmas until I put on some sort of unreasonable holiday music spectacle like this, so it is sort of a gift to myself in a lot of ways. A lot of these musicians (me too) have a pretty busy season playing holiday concerts and such (hence the necessity to hold it on a Tuesday night), but this set of Christmas music seems uniquely special for some of the people who’ve played it or experienced it over it the years, so it feels sorta necessary to work hard to squeeze it in!

I almost didn’t do it this year but almost every year someone comes up and asks if we’re doing it and tells me it doesn’t feel like the holidays until they see our show. Some of our songs deal with loneliness, isolation, or a disconnect with the idea of holiday spirit. In that way, I hope the music is moving for anyone, whether you feel Buddy-the-elf spirited or Scrooge-before-the-bell-tolls-one spirited, I think there’s something that resonates.