photo credit: Jim Herrington / click for hi-res version
photo credit: Joshua Black Wilkins / click for hi-res version
photo credit: Alysse Gafkjen / click for hi-res version
click here for Artist Notes (pdf)
click here for Artist Notes (text)
click here for QuoteSheet (pdf)
JD MCPHERSON CONFIRMS SECOND ANNUAL “SOCKS: A ROCK N’ ROLL CHRISTMAS TOUR”
BREAKTHROUGH ALL-ORIGINAL CHRISTMAS ALBUM SOCKS OUT NOW
Acclaimed singer, songwriter and musician JD McPherson will embark on his second-annual “SOCKS: A Rock n’ Roll Christmas Tour” this December with newly confirmed stops at Minneapolis’ First Avenue, Los Angeles’ Teragram Ballroom, San Francisco’s The Independent, Chicago’s Thalia Hall and Nashville’s Basement East among several others. Tickets are available now via www.jdmcpherson.com/tour. See below for complete itinerary.
These performances celebrate McPherson’s breakthrough debut Christmas album, SOCKS, which was released last year on New West Records (stream/purchase here). Featuring 11 all-original Christmas songs, the album was last year’s best-reviewed holiday record receiving overwhelming critical praise…
“If McPherson’s first wildly successful foray into swinging holiday cheer is any indication, his might be the start of something big.” —★★★★ American Songwriter
“…jubilant 10-song collection…” –Billboard
“Retro rockin’ around the Christmas tree.” –Entertainment Weekly

“A retro-rock holiday revival that, with no kitsch or cutesiness, beams with festive cheer.” –Esquire

✩✩✩✩ “Irresistible”
“It’s an utter joy, a vintage jump-blues/R&B/rockabilly workout devoid of treacly sentiment, but brimming over with child-like spirit— and just enough grown-up skepticism to keep things anchored in reality." –Los Angeles Times ★★★★

“JD McPherson is a vivid reinterpreter of the strutting rock ’n’ roll of the 1950s. His holiday album, SOCKS, is a collection of original songs with startlingly original conceits.” –The New York Times

“It’s perfect for folks looking to celebrate…with some rocking and rolling holiday cheer.” –Newsweek

“On SOCKS, McPherson maintains that deft verbal touch while throwing it back to his musical roots. The end result is an old-fashioned rock-and-roll album that’s fun to listen to when spreading Yuletide cheer and still maintains its charms when being absorbed on a fall day when it’s 64 degrees outside.” –No Depression

“After pledging to never make an album of Christmas songs, my guest, roots and rockabilly musician JD McPherson, has broken that promise. And I'm really glad he did.” –NPR "Fresh Air"

“You’d be hard pressed to find a better soundtrack to your holiday party than these swinging tunes…the album is stacked with brand-new classics.” –Paste

Best Country/Roots Albums of 2018
“A swinging blast from start to finish. And it stands up to the standard of excellence he established with his first three albums.” –The Philadelphia Inquirer, Best Country/Roots Albums of 2018

“SOCKS overflows with vintage rock & roll tidings of comfort and joy…You could easily fool someone into thinking you discovered a gem of an album from 60 years ago.” –Rolling Stone

“Retro rock ‘n’ roller JD McPherson pulls off a believable facsimile of a sound you might expect to hear on dusty old vinyl from the 1950s. Maybe you won’t mistake ‘Hey, Skinny Santa’ for an actual contemporary of ‘Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree’, but it seems like SOCKS…might scratch a similar itch once you wear out the actual oldies.” –Stereogum
“It’s not really much of a contest, in the end: McPherson’s album is so far ahead of the rest of the 2018 pack, everyone else is having to eat his Christmas dust.” —Variety
Hailing from Broken Arrow, OK, McPherson has recorded three studio albums and toured extensively at venues worldwide plus festival sets at Glastonbury, Bonnaroo and Newport Folk Festival among many others. Rolling Stone has described his music as “Timeless, forward-thinking rock & roll.” His most recent LP, Undivided Heart & Soul, was released in 2017 to widespread critical acclaim with NPR praising, “McPherson’s mastery of rock and soul fundamentals is beyond question, but his voice moves in wild ways on these songs, and the band exudes a new kind of risky energy.”
For more information, please contact Asha Goodman, 615.320.7753, Catherine Snead 615.320.7753 or Carla Sacks, 212.741.1000, at Sacks & Co.
SOCKS TRACK LIST
1. All The Gifts I Need
2. Bad Kid
3. Hey Skinny Santa!
4. Socks
5. Every Single Christmas
6. Ugly Sweater Blues
7. Holly, Carol, Candy & Joy
8. Santa’s Got A Mean Machine
9. What’s That Sound?
10. Claus Vs. Claus (feat. Lucie Silvas)
11. Twinkle (Little Christmas Lights) [PHYSICAL ONLY]
“SOCKS: A ROCK N’ ROLL CHRISTMAS TOUR”
*with special guest Joel Paterson
December 3 /// Seattle, WA /// The Crocodile*
December 4 /// Portland, OR /// Polaris Hall*
December 6 /// Salt Lake City, UT /// The State Room*
December 7 /// Fort Collins, CO /// Armory Event Center*
December 8 /// Boulder, CO /// Fox Theatre*
December 10 /// Phoenix, AZ /// Crescent Ballroom*
December 11 /// Solana Beach, CA /// Belly Up Tavern*
December 12 /// Los Angeles, CA /// Teragram Ballroom*
December 13 /// San Francisco, CA /// The Independent*
December 14 /// Lake Tahoe, NV /// Crystal Bay Club Casino*
December 17 /// Lawrence, KS /// The Bottleneck*
December 18 /// Des Moines, IA /// Wooly’s*
December 19 /// Chicago, IL /// Thalia Hall*
December 20 /// Minneapolis, MN /// First Avenue*
December 22 /// Nashville, TN /// The Basement East*