Jerry Garcia Website Shares Acoustic Band Take On Holiday Classic

A special treat has been unearthed via JerryGarcia.com as the Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band’s December 6, 1987 performance of “Christmas Time’s A-Comin'” has been shared as a free download. Stream the track or download the tune using the widget below:

The Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band found Garcia accompanied by drummer David Kemper, bassist John Kahn, mandolin/dobro/banjo wiz Sandy Rothman, guitarist David Nelson and fiddler Kenny Kosek. Rothman shared the following about the JGAB’s show-opening take on “Christmas Time’s A-Comin'”:

For us in the JGAB, performing Bill Monroe’s seasonal classic “Christmas Time’s A-Comin’” (recorded originally in 1951) was an in-the-moment decision. We were playing the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles in December of 1987, having come back to the West Coast after our unforgettable Broadway run, and were starting to feel that old holiday feeling…inspired by Jerry’s well-known love of Christmas. We had Kenny Kosek with us, a fiddler who plays the melody beautifully. I suggested the song while we were warming up. We ran through the chorus and Jerry wrote the title on the set list. We were definitely in our usual seat-of-the-pants mode, so not every word in the verses may be in place—but it was great fun to sing. I’ve always wanted to send this out to our friends and fans as a little holiday gift. I think we can all use some holiday cheer along about now, so here it is. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!