A Holly Jolly Post

On releasing my first Christmas album, and touring in a Canadian winter wonderland (in a gigantic red dress.)

I am writing from my home in Vancouver, following my first-ever Christmas tour, which started two and half weeks ago in Toronto, and finished the other night in Halifax. (For those asking, we plan to tour Western Canada and Quebec in 2026- already booking the dates!)

Backstage photograph by Tessla Stuckey Toronto, ON November 27th, 2025

It’s been an incredible ride, with only a few bumps along the way, and I am still glowing from the joyful, silly, fun, jingly jangly run.

The 12-date tour was in support of the launch of my first Christmas album, A Holly Jolly Jill Barber Christmas, produced and arranged by my longtime musical collaborator, and beloved pal, Drew Jurecka. And boy oh boy, did we ever make merry, playing it live each night, along with our incredible piano player, Ewen Farncombe.

Just wait’ll you see the gold foil on the album cover IRL. Photo by Rachel Pick and cover design by Naomi Macdougall for DSGN Dept.

In Toronto, Ottawa and Halifax, where budgets allowed, we picked up extra players on the way, pulling out all the stops with a 7-piece orchestra, bringing the album magically and fully to life on stage.

In Halifax, NS at The Lighthouse Arts Centre, December 10th, 2025

We had surprise musical guests in each city; my brother Matthew Barber in Toronto, CBC Kids’ fave Jeremy Fisher in Ottawa, Old Man Chris “Rudolph” (yes, that is his middle name) Luedecke in his hometown of Chester, NS, and the whimsical goddess that is Jenn Grant in Halifax. In towns where I didn’t have a local musical pal to invite, we improvised with a member of the audience brave enough to join me on stage to sing Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, completely “on the fly.”

Singing with Old Man Luedecke, or as we like to call him now, “Rudy Luedy” Chester, NS December 5th, 2025 Photograph by Manon Cormier

Each night, a child would join me on stage to open my jumbo Christmas cracker, except at the NAC in Ottawa, where we had the sweetest set of 7 year old twins in matching Christmas dresses perform a kind of tug-o-war with the cracker. These children were all hilarious and adorable, and I loved having them be part of the show (it’s a very family-friendly show FYI!) even though it made me miss my own kids back home oh-so-much.

But the real star of the show had to be this giant, ridiculous-but-fabulous(?), red tulle gown that was custom made for me, and which required someone (anyone?) to lace up the corset bodice (and unlace it for me in a mid-set costume change), necessitating an eleventh-hour phone call to my friend and former tour manager Allison, asking if she might like to join us on tour. In retrospect, I simply could not have pulled it off (the tour or the dress) without my “lady’s tour maid,” who also conveniently sold the merch each night.

Off for my mid-set costume change! Photo by Tessla Stuckey

Speaking of which, thank you to all those who picked up a pair of holly jolly Jilly tour socks, a festive ornament, or a hard copy of A Holly Jolly Jill Barber Christmas on either CD or LP. The gold foil on the album cover is so fun and festive, and I hope it will live happily on your record shelf for years to come, springing to life, like The Snowman, each time it meets your record player.

So many people, and so much effort was put into making this tour and album launch a success. Thank you first and foremost to the musicians that I had the pleasure to perform with in studio and on stage each night. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, my ultimate definition of success is getting to work and play with my very favourite musicians.

The local technical crews in each venue on this tour were also an absolute pleasure to work with. Even the ones that started out a bit Grinchy, eventually came ‘round to join the team in delivering a show that punched way above its budget constraints. Shout out to the super tough-looking crewman who surprised us all with a tin of his annual Christmas shortbread, it was the best I’ve ever tasted.

Unable to afford my own dedicated lighting designer, I decided to write out a humble wish list of lighting moods for each song, not with instructions per se, but with general vibe hopes, and every “house” lighting director, without exception, made my lighting dreams come true. In Georgetown, PEI, a true Christmas miracle occurred when it began snowing (on stage and in the first few rows) during our encore (thanks, Phil!)

There was a lot of real life snow as well, so much that our gig in Pictou was cancelled. This is the core crew; musical director Drew Jurecka, Tour Manager Allison Outhit and Piano player Ewen Farncombe

Thank you to my booking agents who worked with local artistic directors to map out the tour, my publicists in both French and English Canada, who found all the media angles to get spins and airtime for the record, and to my extended Outside Music label team, who have continually had my back for almost 20 years while remaining a family-run independent business throughout every iteration of an ever-evolving music industry (and who are frankly ROCKING the world of streaming, right around the Christmas tree ; )

I am so grateful for my husband Grant Lawrence, and my kids Josh and Grace, who managed without me, and cheered me on each day, despite missing cuddles and bearing the emotional brunt of an absent Mum for a few holiday performances of their own.

Each night, I dedicated my show to the late, great Stuart McLean, who taught me everything I know about putting on a great Christmas show, from my years touring alongside him as musical guest.

Stuart understood the alchemical power of combining music and stories and laughter to soften tricky emotions, and renew our sense of childlike Christmas wonder. Just as quickly as we would wipe away tears-from-laughter, he would hit us with some profound truth, something that speaks directly to our human frailty, and the goodness to be found in the muck of it all.

At the end of a Vinyl Cafe Christmas show, his audience would re-enter the world with a collective sense of hope, enough to get us through the holidays to the New Year.

To wrap this up, I would just like to thank you for coming to my shows, for purchasing an album, or for sharing it with a friend. The honour of being part of the soundtrack to your holiday traditions, whatever they may be, is all I could ask for, and more.

I can’t wait to do it all again next year, if the fates allow,

xo Jill

ps. There is one more Christmas show this year, and it is my husband Grant Lawrence’s Very Vancouver Christmas show, next week. The show is now SOLD OUT, but be sure to sign up for Grant’s newsletter so that you don’t miss the next one.