Saturday, December 21
8:00 PM THE CHRISTMAS REVELS: IN CELEBRATION OF THE WINTER SOLSTICE 2024 a musical celebration of the winter holidays – Advent, Chanukah, the Solstice, Las Posadas, Christmas, New Year’s and Twelfth Night/Epiphany -- featuring traditional carols, wassails, pub songs, hymns, spirituals, children’s singing games, and folk dance-tunes excerpted from live Christmas and Midwinter Revels stage productions presented around the country. Celebrate the longest night of the year before the morning as we begin our return to the light.
10:00 PM Retro Underground - Join host Crizti Walsh for the an hour of classic alternative Cheer! Get festive because weirdos like to wassail too!
Sunday, December 22
6:00 PM A 757 Christmas - Local and regional artists captured live in the WHRO studio share both traditional and original holiday tunes. Hear emerging artists Forest Flynn, Heather Helton, and Dominick Hankle along with veteran performers like Narissa Bond, Tret Fure, and Skip Friel. Tune in for this earful seasonal delight
7:00 PM A Pickin Americana Holiday- Listen to the greats of Bluegrass, and celebrate the holidays with music from Del McCoury, Bill Monroe, Ralph Stanley, and Larry Sparks, along with newer stars like Open Road and Rhonda Vincent.
9:00 PM Acoustic Highway- Christmas classics are performed by some of the great singer-songwriters like James Taylor, Emmy Lou Harris, Art Garfunkel, Gordon Lightfoot, and Judy Collins. Renditions to calm the spirit and spread holiday cheer.
11:00 PM Lost in the Shuffle Holiday Edition with Jeff Sander. Join the Sandman as he revisits some the great Christmas albums with music from John Denver, Andy Williams, Ella Fitzgerald, and others. Lost songs of the season, but never forgotten.
12:00 AM Classic Country Tunes for the Holidays - Remembering some of the great artists from the golden era of country music with selections from Merle Haggard, Jim Reeves, Dolly Parton and so many others who helped launch and define the genre.
1:00 AM Instrumental Sounds of the Season-We conclude our evening with our traditional hour of holiday inspired instrumental tunes anchored by the New England Irish Harp Orchestra and also with selections from Stephen Bennett, Mark O’Connor, Eileen Ivers, and Robin Bullock.
Tuesday, December 24 Noon
Christmas in the Trenches - In 1914, as world war waged, French, British and German troops enacted at Christmas, an unofficial truce along the Western Front. Soldiers stopped fighting and instead, were seen exchanging food, swapping prisoners, and meeting along battle lines. There were reports of soldiers caroling and engaging in football matches. Hear the mesmerizing story of the day the guns fell silent at Christmas.
Wednesday, December 25
1:00-5:00 AM- Music for Christmas Morning - Jazz host Jae Sinnett, Lost in the Shuffle's Jeff Sander, and Folk Music Producer Barry Graham have assembled a holiday musical backdrop just perfect for those late night socking stuffing and toy assembling.
9:00 AM An Appalachian Christmas - Mark O’Connor, famous bluegrass fiddler and respected American composer, leads the O’Connor Band and special guest Nancy Ives, principal cellist of the Oregon Symphony, in an Appalachian Christmas.
10:00 AM Swinging Holiday Jazz Party - Wynton Marsalis hosts an hour of holiday jazz favorites by Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Gregory Porter, René Marie, and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.
11:00 AM Jeff Sanders Christmas Lost in the Shuffle- WHRV’s Sandman, brings you an hour of songs that helped define the Christmas Holidays. From 1960s pop stars like the Osmonds, to WW II icons The Andrews Sisters, these artists brought us tunes that we will well remember.
12:00 Noon Soul Christmas - Listen to an hour of great soul and R&B holiday winter classics. You will hear Christmas tunes from James Brown, Otis Reading, The Jackson Five, Stevie Wonder, and more.
1:00 PM A Celtic Chrismas - An hour-long holiday special featuring Irish storyteller Tomáseen Foley and his charming tale "Parcel from America." The program also features music from guitarist William Coulter, fiddler Deby Benton Grojean, and piper Todd Denman.
2:00 PM Santa's Greatest Hits - Steve Jencks hosts this trip down Memory Lane featuring Bing Crosby, Eartha Kitt, Perry Como, Elvis Presley, Tommy Dorsey, Louis Armstrong, Mel Torme, and the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Included is a brief history of Santa Claus.
3:00 PM A '40s Christmas - Christmas programs on the radio in the 1940s ranged from variety shows, to dramas, to comedies. All of them contained a generous portion of music from swing to sentimental to religious. Remembering a much simpler time during this trip back to the 40s.
7:00 - Midnight - Celebrate Christmas Night with Paul Shugrue and Jae Sinnett with holiday classics and original seasonal tunes in the alternative and jazz genres. Just perfect as we settle down and reflect on Christmas 2024
Thrusday, December 26
12:00 Noon - Kwanza Special - Host Garrett McQueen offers a background on the history of Kwanzaa and its guiding principles, alongside musical selections that highlight the spirit of the celebration. The show features the compositions of Florence Price, Duke Ellington, Sean O’Loughlin, and special performances by Imani Winds.