Christmas season really got rolling with last week’s Jars of Clay / Drew Holcomb show

Even if your name is Scrooge, there was an awful lot to love about this past weekend’s Jars of Clay / Drew Holcomb Christmas show at Lancaster Bible College.
For one, the spirit of the season was as evident as the honkin’-big Christmas tree that dominated the stage, giving all of us in the nearly-sold-out auditorium a warm feeling for Christmas, no matter what circumstances we now find ourselves in.
For another, the musicianship and singing was top-notch through both sets.
It was good that the “Almost Christmas Tour” brought Drew Holcomb and The Neighbors to our area, since he’s someone most of us have just heard of, and not seen in concert.
Introducing a new song, Holcomb joked, “I know what you’re thinking … ‘Drew, ALL your songs are new to us.’ But this is new to us, too!”
It was nice to hear the mix of originals as well as standards like a different-sounding Neighbors’ version of “White Christmas.”
We’ll have more through the week on the concert, as well as some video of both acts during a meet-and-greet before the show and in concert.
Also heard two exciting things during Friday’s show in the Good Shepherd Chapel auditorium:
1) Tickets for the March 30 Casting Crowns / Matthew West show at Giant Center in Hershey go on sale starting this Thursday.
2) And Jars of Clay said they’re planning to go on tour in early 2012 with none other than Ed Kowalczyk, the long-time frontman for the band Live and now a solo artist.