Singer-songwriter Lennie Gallant is gearing up for his annual Christmas tour of the Maritimes. With a stop in Halifax on December 19, this year’s tour will feature new arrangements of traditional Christmas classics, music from his 2021 Christmas album and songs from his upcoming album.
We aim to share the spirit of the season. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll walk away with a new favourite holiday tune. – Lennie Gallant
“It’s a lot of fun because it’s not your typical Christmas show where people get up there and sing Christmas classics,” Gallant says. “We do a couple of Christmas classics that we have arranged with different countries, but the bulk of the songs are original songs written about that time of year from different points of view.”
Gallant’s annual tour initially took shape following the release of his 2021 Christmas album. For this season’s tour, Gallant decided to mix things up to reflect the changing nature of the show.
“For quite a few years, we called it The Innkeepers Christmas, but it was evolving and has always been a little different every year,” he says. “I had heard that some people expected it would be exactly the same show every year because of the title. We still do a lot of the songs from that album, but in addition, we’ve also put in a couple of songs from the older album that we hadn’t performed on stage before.”
One of the songs never performed on stage will be the debut of Love Reigns on Christmas Day, a track from Gallant’s 2021 Christmas album. “Strangely, we’ve never performed it live before,” says Gallant.
Gallant also plans to showcase several songs from his new, still-untitled 16th album. Set for release in March or April 2025, it marks Gallant’s return to the studio. “It’s a positive album for dark times,” he says. “It’s upbeat but not naive.”
While Gallant continues to tweak his annual Christmas show, one thing that has stayed the same is its multimedia nature. “It’s a multimedia event with fresh visuals every year,” he says, crediting his partner Patricia Richard with spearheading the visual elements.
Richard, a multi-instrumentalist and Gallant’s partner in life and music, will also join him on stage. Richard’s son, pianist Julien Robichaud and New Brunswick-based Acadian violinist/fiddler Marie Andrée Gaudet complete the quartet. “There’s a lot of energy between the four of us on stage,” says Gallant. “I think the audience really picks up on that.”
This year’s tour features 16 shows across the Maritimes in less than a month. Gallant approaches the busy schedule with mixed emotions. “Sometimes I think I’m tired of being on the road, but once I’m out there, I get excited,” he says.
Following the tour, Gallant plans to celebrate Christmas with his family. “My parents, who passed a few years ago, instilled a real love for Christmas in us,” he reflected. “There are always family dinners, music, and jamming—it’s a special time.”
In the new year, Gallant will begin ramping up for the release of his latest English language album and continue his work with Sirène et Matelot (Siren and Sailor), the French language duo he formed with his partner Patricia Richard. “We released our second album [Un monde de dissonances] almost a year ago now, and it is doing extremely well,” says Gallant, who noted the latest single from that album sat at number one on French radio for 17 weeks.
For now, though, it is all about the tour. When asked why fans should come to his Christmas show, Gallant says audiences will leave with a different perspective on Christmas. “We aim to share the spirit of the season,” he says. “And maybe, just maybe, you’ll walk away with a new favourite holiday tune.”
Lennie Gallant’s Christmas Show plays The Stage at St. Andrews (6036 Coburg Rd, Halifax) on December 19. Visit lenniegallant.com for tickets and information on this and other stops on the tour.