Melissa Carper decks the halls with twang and timeless charm on A Very Carper Christmas, a warm, witty, vintage-leaning holiday set that wraps her country-swing magic in fifteen new tunes.
Melissa Carper has always seemed like an artist pulled straight out of the golden era of American music, equal parts Western swing mystic, country storyteller, and jukebox romantic. Now, with three solo albums behind her and a duet LP with Theo Lawrence on the horizon, Carper is sliding a brand-new gift under the tree in the form of A Very Carper Christmas, a warmly inventive collection of original holiday tunes destined to become future classics.
The idea didn’t sprout from boardroom brainstorming or record-label strategy, but from a friend’s simple family tradition. Ben Kitterman, whose crew spins Daddy’s Country Gold every Christmas, suggested she make a holiday album. What first felt like a mountain quickly turned into a playful dare. Carper called longtime friend and former bandmate Gina Gallina to see if she wanted in. Within an hour, Gallina fired back an email loaded with five sharp, funny concept sketches. Challenge accepted.
By spring 2024, the two were holed up in an Arkansas Airbnb, turning lyrical sparks into fully formed songs. The result is fifteen tracks that stretch across the full Carper cosmos: Carper–Gallina originals, co-writes with Katie Shore and Brennen Leigh, a pair of Carper solo numbers, and two classic covers for good measure. Carper then headed to Nashville where producers Andrija Tokic and Dennis Couch helped create the album’s vintage glow. A dream-team lineup including Austin regulars Emily Gimble, Katie Shore, and Greg Harkins alongside Nashville stalwarts Dennis Crouch, Chris Scruggs, Jeff Taylor, Chris Gelb, Doug Corcoran, and more gathered around a borrowed Christmas tree to summon the season’s spirit in the dead of January 2025.
Musically, A Very Carper Christmas is exactly what fans have come to adore about Melissa Carper. A colorful blend of country, western swing, R&B, folk, Cajun textures, and even a wink of Latin flair. It’s festive without being kitschy, and without getting stuck in the past. It’s holiday music with a beating heart, a sly grin, and that unmistakable Carper charm.