Band of Merrymakers is a holiday music
supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to:
* Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields
* Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry
* Supergroup ...
created by hit songwriters
Sam Hollander
Sam Hollander is an American songwriter. He has collaborated with the likes of Panic! at the Disco, One Direction, Fitz and the Tantrums, Train, Weezer, Blink-182, Ringo Starr, Def Leppard, Katy Perry, Carole King, Jewel, Pentatonix, Daughtry, ...
and
Kevin Griffin
Kevin Michael Griffin (born October 1, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Better Than Ezra.
His songs have been performed and recorded by artists such as Taylor ...
in 2014. The group was established with the
philanthropic
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...
goal of raising awareness and donations for non-profit organizations and charities. The group's debut album, ''
Welcome to Our Christmas Party
''Welcome to Our Christmas Party'' is the debut full-length studio album of Christmas music by Band of Merrymakers, released on October 23, 2015, through Sony Masterworks. The album features seven original songs written by members of the group and ...
'', was released October 23, 2015, through
Sony Masterworks
Sony Music Masterworks (Sony Masterworks) is a record label, the result of a restructuring of Sony Music's classical music division. Before the acquisition of Bertelsmann's shares in the former Sony BMG, the label was known as Sony BMG Masterwor ...
.
Conception
Songwriters
Sam Hollander
Sam Hollander is an American songwriter. He has collaborated with the likes of Panic! at the Disco, One Direction, Fitz and the Tantrums, Train, Weezer, Blink-182, Ringo Starr, Def Leppard, Katy Perry, Carole King, Jewel, Pentatonix, Daughtry, ...
and
Kevin Griffin
Kevin Michael Griffin (born October 1, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Better Than Ezra.
His songs have been performed and recorded by artists such as Taylor ...
were deep in a summer songwriting session in 2014 when they wandered into the topic of holiday music. They both suddenly wondered: where had all the holiday musical philanthropy gone? Where were all the original songs? They immediately set out to replicate the family holiday splendor of records like Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas" & Lifebeat's A Very Special Christmas series.
Release and Promotion
Release
The group's debut album, ''
Welcome to Our Christmas Party
''Welcome to Our Christmas Party'' is the debut full-length studio album of Christmas music by Band of Merrymakers, released on October 23, 2015, through Sony Masterworks. The album features seven original songs written by members of the group and ...
'', was released October 23, 2015, through
Sony Masterworks
Sony Music Masterworks (Sony Masterworks) is a record label, the result of a restructuring of Sony Music's classical music division. Before the acquisition of Bertelsmann's shares in the former Sony BMG, the label was known as Sony BMG Masterwor ...
. The album features guest appearances from
Christina Perri
Christina Judith Perri (born August 19, 1986) is an American singer and songwriter. After her debut single "Jar of Hearts" was featured on the television series ''So You Think You Can Dance'' in 2010, Perri signed with Atlantic Records and releas ...
,
Mark McGrath
Mark Sayers McGrath (born March 15, 1968) is an American singer who is the lead vocalist of the rock band Sugar Ray. McGrath is also known for his work as a co-host of ''Extra'', and he was the host of ''Don't Forget the Lyrics!'' in 2010. McG ...
(
Sugar Ray
Sugar Ray is an American rock band formed in Newport Beach, California, in 1986. Originally playing heavier funk metal and nu metal style music, the band achieved mainstream popularity in 1997 with their more pop-influenced single " Fly". T ...
),
Alex & Sierra
Alex & Sierra were an American duo consisting of Alex Kinsey (born September 8, 1991) and Sierra Deaton (born February 11, 1991), who won the third and final season of '' The X Factor US''. They were mentored by Simon Cowell. Their debut album '' ...
,
Natasha Bedingfield
Natasha Anne Bedingfield (born 26 November 1981) is a British singer and songwriter. Bedingfield released her debut album, '' Unwritten'', in 2004, which contained primarily up-tempo pop songs and was influenced by R&B music. It enjoyed intern ...
,
Michael Fitzpatrick (
Fitz and the Tantrums
Fitz and the Tantrums are an American indie pop and neo soul band from Los Angeles, California, that formed in 2008. The band consists of Michael Fitzpatrick (lead vocals), Noelle Scaggs (co-lead vocals and percussion), James King (saxophone, ...
),
Tyler Glenn
Tyler Aaron Glenn (born November 28, 1983) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He is known as the lead vocalist and keyboardist of the American rock band Neon Trees and as a solo artist.
Biography
As a teenager, Glenn attended Chap ...
of
Neon Trees
Neon Trees is an American rock band from Provo, Utah. The band received nationwide exposure in late 2008 when they opened several North American tour dates for the band The Killers. Not long after, the band was signed by Mercury Records. Their fi ...
, Charity Daw,
Charles Kelley
Charles Burgess Kelley (born September 11, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter and lead singer and founding member of the country music trio Lady A, which was formed in 2006 and are signed to Big Machine Records.
Early life and career
Kelle ...
of
Lady Antebellum
Lady A (formerly known as Lady Antebellum) is an American country music group formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2006. The group is composed of Hillary Scott (lead and background vocals), Charles Kelley (lead and background vocals, guitar) ...
,
Owl City
Owl City is an American electronic music project created in 2007 in Owatonna, Minnesota. It is one of several projects by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Adam Young, who created the project while experimenting with music in his pa ...
,
Bebe Rexha
Bleta Rexha (; born August 30, 1989), known professionally as Bebe Rexha ( ), is an American pop singer and songwriter. After signing with Warner Records in 2013, Rexha received songwriting credits on Eminem's single " The Monster" (which later ...
,
Nick Hexum
Nicholas Lofton Hexum (born April 12, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter and rapper, currently the vocalist and guitarist for the multi-platinum alternative rock band 311 and The Nick Hexum Quintet.
Early life
Born in Madison, Wisconsin, to ...
of
311 311 may refer to:
* 311 (number), a natural number
* AD 311, a year of the Julian calendar, in the fourth century AD
* 311 BC, a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar
* 311 (band), an American band
** ''311'' (album), band 311's self-titled album
...
,
Andrew McMahon
Andrew Ross McMahon (born September 3, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter. He was the vocalist, pianist and primary lyricist for the bands Something Corporate and main songwriter for Jack's Mannequin and performs solo both under his own nam ...
,
Jason Wade
Jason Michael Wade (born July 5, 1980) is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the alternative rock band Lifehouse.
Career
Lifehouse
At the age of 15, Wade co-founded Lifehouse (originally called Blyss) wit ...
(
Lifehouse),
David Ryan Harris
David Ryan Harris (born April 19, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist based in Los Angeles, California, United States. Born in Evanston, Illinois, Harris moved to Atlanta at a young age. Harris has had a varied career as a musi ...
,
David Hodges
David Hall Hodges (born December 5, 1978) is an American songwriter and record producer from Little Rock, Arkansas. He was a studio contributor to the rock band Evanescence from 2000–2002. He has since had success co-writing and co–produci ...
(
Evanescence
Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer and musician Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording independent EPs as a duo in the late 90's, and a demo CD, Evanescence released their debut s ...
),
The Mowglis,
Street Corner Symphony,
3OH!3
3OH!3 (pronounced "three oh three") is an American electronic music duo from Boulder, Colorado, made up of Sean Foreman and Nathaniel Motte. They are best known for their single "DONTTRUSTME" from their album ''Want'', which reached number sev ...
,
Dan Wilson (
Semisonic
Semisonic is an American rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1995, consisting of Dan Wilson (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), John Munson (bass, keyboards, backing vocals, guitar), and Jacob Slichter (drums, percussion, keyboards, ba ...
),
Lisa Loeb
Lisa Loeb (; born March 11, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author and actress. She started her career with the number 1 hit song "Stay (I Missed You)" from the film '' Reality Bites,'' the first number 1 single for an artist ...
, an
Firekid along with writer/producers
Sam Hollander
Sam Hollander is an American songwriter. He has collaborated with the likes of Panic! at the Disco, One Direction, Fitz and the Tantrums, Train, Weezer, Blink-182, Ringo Starr, Def Leppard, Katy Perry, Carole King, Jewel, Pentatonix, Daughtry, ...
and
Kevin Griffin
Kevin Michael Griffin (born October 1, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Better Than Ezra.
His songs have been performed and recorded by artists such as Taylor ...
(
Better Than Ezra
Better Than Ezra is an American alternative rock band based in New Orleans, Louisiana, and signed with The End Records. The band formed in 1988 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and consists of Kevin Griffin (vocals and guitar), Tom Drummond (bass g ...
).
Promotion
The band has performed on ''
Jimmy Kimmel Live
''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, California, as part of ABC's lead ...
'' (ABC), Christmas in
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a large complex consisting of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The 14 original Art Deco ...
(NBC), ''
The TODAY Show
''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was ...
'' (NBC),
''
Hollywood Christmas Parade
The Hollywood Christmas Parade (formerly the Hollywood Santa Parade and Santa Claus Lane Parade) is an annual American parade held on the Sunday after Thanksgiving in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It follows a 3.5-mile (5.6 km) route al ...
'' (CW), ''
The Home and Family Show
''Home & Family'' (formerly ''The Home and Family Show'') is an American daytime talk show. The series originally premiered on April 1, 1996, on The Family Channel, and was dropped by the network immediately prior to its 1998 relaunch as the Fox ...
'' (Hallmark), ''Pop Up Santa'' (ABC Family) and ''
Extra
Extra or Xtra may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Film
* ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film
* ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film
Literature
* ''Extra'' (newspaper), a Brazilian newspaper
* ''Extra!'', an American me ...
'' (NBC).
Charts
''
Welcome to Our Christmas Party
''Welcome to Our Christmas Party'' is the debut full-length studio album of Christmas music by Band of Merrymakers, released on October 23, 2015, through Sony Masterworks. The album features seven original songs written by members of the group and ...
'' reached #9 on the iTunes Holiday Charts.
Reviews
- “Catchy? Undoubtedly. Anthemic? Yep. But even more important, despite coming from a handful of adults…it captures the childish delight of getting in the holiday spirit.” – Entertainment Weekly
- “The irresistibly catchy song is bound to be stuck in your head all day, but in the good way – the chorus is fun and upbeat and will definitely get you into the holiday spirit.” – PopSugar
- "Thankfully, we’re super into Holiday music and we’ve actually already started to find some new tunes to transition into Winter! One of our faves so far has to be Band of Merrymakers' debut album, Welcome to our Christmas Party — especially their lead single Snow Snow Snow!" - Perez Hilton
Charity
A portion of the proceeds went to the MusiCares Foundation.
References
{{Authority control
Musical groups established in 2014
2014 establishments in the United States