(Merge Records)
On first impression, indie rock and Christmas music seem like an unlikely combination, like oil and water. But for She & Him—the duo of singer/actress Zooey Deschanel and guitarist/producer M. Ward—those two genres have become a considerable part of their repertoire. In addition to their own original music, She & Him have released two successful holiday albums in their 11 years together—A Very She & Him Christmas (2011) and Christmas Party (2016), both of them featuring standards (“Winter Wonderland,” “Let It Snow,” “The Christmas Song”) and under-the-radar traditional tunes (Brian Wilson’s “Christmas Day,” “A Marshmallow World”): the sound of both albums features interpretations of holiday tunes rendered in the distinct She & Him sound of lo-fi, twangy folk rock augmented by Deschanel’s jazzy/country-esque vocals. On Friday, the two will bring their ‘Christmas Party’ to Brooklyn’s Kings Theatre; given the members’ busy individual careers and schedules, it’s not often She & Him together, which makes it a perfect occasion to attend and get an early start on the holiday music season.
There are more live holiday musical events worth checking out this month; here are a few to start with:
December 13
Lincoln Center
Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos
December 13-14
Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph
Brooklyn Youth Orchestra’s Holiday Harmonies
December 17-21
Lincoln Center
Handel’s Messiah
December 17
Dizzy’s Club
Etienne Charles: Creole Christmas
December 19
St. Patrick’s Cathedral
40th Annual A City Singing at Christmas
December 19
Carnegie Hall
All I Want for Christmas is Three Tenors!
December 19
Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir
Joy to the World holiday spectacular
December 22
Carnegie Hall
Christmas Ball: A Merry Evening of Opera, Operetta, Christmas Favorites, and Ballroom Dancing
December 24 and 25
Sony Hall
Harlem Gospel Choir
