Dust off your jingle bells: Old Crow Medicine Show is back and ready to get you into the Christmas spirit. Today (Oct. 9), the beloved string band announced OCMS XMAS, a new holiday album set for release on Nov. 21 via Hartland Records.
The 13-track project is filled to the brim with original tracks crafted by the Grammy Award-winning group to soundtrack the season. “Corn Whiskey Christmas,” “All About a Baby,” and “December 26″—the band’s first recorded track penned by member Morgan Jahnig—showcase the band’s collective talent and infectious energy. Those good-time vibes and fresh songs will also be the centerpiece of the band’s accompanying Holiday Hootenanny Tour, which runs from Dec. 3-20 (see dates listed below).
“We’re in the joy business,” shares Old Crow Medicine Show frontman Ketch Secor. “From the very start, a lot of the virtues of Christmas — the revelry, the sing-alongs, the happiness — have been present in our show.”
Ahead of the tour and OCMS XMAS‘s release, the band has shared a first taste of what’s to come with their fresh take on John Lennon and Yoko Ono‘s holiday classic, “Happy Xmas (War is Over).” The track features soaring, sweet harmonies sung by the children of East Nashville’s Episcopal School of Nashville, which was founded by Secor.
“Of all the Christmas songs the radio stations drench us with as soon as the Thanksgiving feast turns to leftovers, there is only one I never tire of hearing,” Secor shares of the song. “John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s message of peace, unity, love, and understanding makes ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over)’ an anthem all the world over.
“Some fifty years after the kids from The Harlem Community Choir lent their voices to this amazing track, the Old Crows gathered the Purple Martin Choir around a microphone in the basement of Episcopal School of Nashville, the school I started, to join us on this revered song celebrating the holiday which honors the Prince of Peace’s birth,” he continues. “Altogether, with young and old singing as one, Old Crow Medicine Show stands up with the peacemakers around the globe, pushing those in power to put an end to war.”
Watch the official music video for “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” below:
Old Crow Medicine Show, OCMS XMAS
Track List:
- “Breakin’ Up Xmas”
- “Holly Jolly Christmas” feat. Brassville
- “Jolly Man”
- “North by Northeast”
- “Corn Whiskey Christmas”
- “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)”
- “All About a Baby”
- “Jinglin’ Jack Guy”
- “Store-Bought Christmas”
- “December 26”
- “Krampus Night”
- “Grandpa’s Gone”
- “Bethlehem, PA”
Old Crow Medicine Show’s 2025 Tour Dates:
Oct. 9 – Kalispell, Mont. @ Wachholz College Center
Oct. 10 – Bozeman, Mont. @ The ELM
Oct. 11 – Billings, Mont. @ The Pub Station
Oct. 12 – Rapid City, S.D. @ The Monument
Oct. 23 – Charlottesville, Va. @ Ting Pavilion
Oct. 24 – Virginia Beach, Va. @ Sandler Center for the Performing Arts
Oct. 25 – Spruce Pine, N.C. @ Hilloween’s Hurricane Helene Benefit Concert – Three Peaks Enrichment Center
Dec. 3 – Fayetteville, Ark. @ Walton Arts Center $
Dec. 4 – Nashville, Ind. @ Brown County Music Center $
Dec. 5 – Cincinnati, Ohio @ Taft Theatre $
Dec. 6 – Joliet, Ill. @ Rialto Square Theatre $
Dec. 7 – Huntington, W.V. @ Joan C Edwards Performing Arts Center $
Dec. 16 – Tysons, Va. @ Capitol One Center (Capital One Hall) $
Dec. 17 – Troy, N.Y. @ Troy Savings Bank Music Hall $
Dec. 18 – New London, Conn. @ Garde Arts Center $
Dec. 19 – Torrington, Conn. @ Warner Theatre $
Dec. 20 – Englewood, N.J. @ Bergen Performing Arts Center $
Dec. 30 – Nashville, Tenn. @ Ryman Auditorium %
Dec. 31 – Nashville, Tenn. @ Ryman Auditorium ^
$ Old Crow Medicine Show’s Holiday Hootenanny with Bronwyn Keith-Hynes
% with The 502s and AJ Lee & Blue Summit
^ with Shovels & Rope and The Creekers
