Bryan White concluded his brief stint of 2012 Christmas shows at the Woodstock Opera House on Dec. 29, 2012 presented by Erik Borman. The intimate show was filled with many Bryan White hits, Christmas song favorites and stories of community, family and tradition. Anna Johnson opened the show with a heartwarming performance that set a cheerful tone for the evening.

 

The night marked the fourth Bryan White performance at the Woodstock Opera House in as many years. A seemingly match-made-in-heaven given White's strong affinity for the Bill Murray classic film, "Groundhog Day," that was filmed in the town a couple hours north of Chicago.

Photo credit: © Daniel DeSlover / www.ConcertCapture.com

White's set opened with a handful of non-holiday originals before transitioning into songs that fit the Christmas-themed evening. He began with "Sittin' On Go," "Look at Me Now" and "Rebecca Lynn" on a stage that was adorned with snowflakes and a small Peanuts display that included stockings that referenced his sons, Justin and Jackson.

Woodstock has a love for White that is clearly reciprocated by the award-winning singer/songwriter. Shortly into the show White stated, "I have to say this is the show that I greatly anticipate every year. The excitement in just getting on the plane and coming here is awesome...I feel like I'm embraced here, I feel like I'm a transplant."

White dedicated "Love is the Right Place" to the victims of Newtown, Conn. He later added that "songs take on a whole new meaning" around the holidays while being away from one's family before he performed "I'll Be Home for Christmas."

A highlight of the evening occurred when he reminisced about family and said, "When we grow up and become adults sometimes it's really easy for Christmas to sort of lose its luster and we get caught up and buried underneath a lot of cynicism or bitterness here and there...I wrote this song because I wanted to capture the emotion [of family] and I wanted them to sing on it with me too," referring to his sons backing vocals on his holiday original, "Finding Christmas."

Joined by Jimmy Butler (keyboards), Monte Booker (drums), Erik Borman (guitar) and Dan Hogan (bass), the intimate nature of the show felt more like a living room with friends than a ticketed concert. White frequently joked with the audience and told his bandmates to "take five" while he went off on an impromptu instrumental jam session before playing "Christmastime is Here" and the Peanuts classic "Linus and Lucy."

As the evening was drawing to a close, White thanked his grandfather as a prelude to "Dustbowl Dreams" and continued with "So Much for Pretending." Family friend, Erin Borman, gave a reading of the biblical "Christmas Story" and White then finished the show with "Our Savior is Born."

As we count the blessings of 2012, we are happy to include you at the top of the list!  Thank you for your continued love and support for Bryan and his music. It's been a great year and we are looking forward to 2013!

From Bryan and his entire team, we wish you much happiness, good health, prosperity and very blessed new year!

Thank you Oklahoma - our third annual Christmas tour was a big success and we are already looking forward to next year!  We wish you and yours a very Merry and blessed Christmas and New Year!

Lawton Constitution
By:  Charlie Clark

The Second Annual "A Bryan White Christmas" was a gift enjoyed by a nearly full house Friday at Cameron University Theatre.
Grammy Award-winning country music singer, songwriter, guitarist Bryan White, now of Nashville, Tenn., is originally from Lawton; his drummer, Monte Booker still lives here; his dad lives in Hobart. Family, friends and plenty of fans added to the concert that felt like a holiday homecoming.

"My show is usually a lot more rock'n'roll," White said from the stage, "but we're doing a lot of Christmas songs tonight."
Still, his version of Chuck Berry's "Run Rudolph Run" and from the TV animation favorite ""A Charlie Brown Christmas" "Linus & Lucy" and "Christmastime," had the audience waving arms and clapping along.
White had said in an earlier interview that it was going to be a "laid back" show, and the relaxed atmosphere made it a comfortable evening.

Opening act was award-winning inspirational country artist Steve Richard. Richard's Southern drawl and strong selection of original works made him a crowd pleaser. It didn't hurt that he gave away copies of his CD "Up To Somthin'" to three lucky members of the audience. With two acoustic musicians backing him, the gifted vocalist delivered on his No. 1 hit "Eighty Acre Church" and a half-hour of songs, concluding with "Silent Night

It's a busy December for platinum-selling country music singer/songwriter Bryan White. Tonight, Bryan will enjoy the honor of singing our National Anthem at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. The event takes place starting at 6:45pm (Pacific) at the Thomas & Mack Center and, in addition to being simulcast to 46 hotels in Las Vegas, will also be broadcast (tape delay) on Great American Country (GAC).

Bryan will also make an appearance on Good Morning Texas Wednesday, December 7th, between 9-10am in support of his performance at the Dallas Opry on December 8th. He will also do a special acoustic performance Sunday, December 11th at North Pointe Baptist Church in Edmond, OK.

All of this comes as Bryan continues his second annual Christmas tour. This tour, which kicked off last Friday in Lawton, Oklahoma, is to promote his third holiday album and also includes special guest Inspirational Country Music Award-Winner Steve Richard, which is sure to spice up the season. Bryan and company will be making stops in Oklahoma City, Stillwater, Woodward, Enid, Edmond and more. It will feature a special blend of yuletide favorites-plus, a sprinkling of his greatest hits including Rebecca Lynn, So Much For Pretending, Someone Else's Star, Sittin' On Go, among others and songs from his current album, Dustbowl Dreams. You can also call 615-297-7002 for tickets and information.

This Oklahoma native began playing drums when he was 5 and after high school, he packed up his guitar, drum sticks, angst, dreams, five hundred dollars and headed to Nashville to pursue a career in country music. The move proved to be beneficial when he was signed to Asylum Records when he was only 20 years old. Since then, he charted six number one singles, eight Top 40 singles, two platinum records, one gold record, joined forces with Shania Twain and together they took From This Moment On all the way up to #4 on Billboard's Hot 100 Chart. He has also garnered several awards, including a Grammy, a CMA Horizon Award, and an ACM New Male Vocalist award. For more information or to purchase tickets to his shows, please visit www.ticketstorm.com.