Music. It’s the music that sets Christmas apart.

Other holidays may also be about love, and family, and food and gifts, and peaceful wishes, but no other holiday is as inextricably linked to its music as Christmas is.

Which is why it’s my favourite.

The songs, oh the songs.

Songs that make you feel all warm and fuzzy, songs that make you feel like a kid again, songs of hope and positivity that celebrate the magic that exists in the little things, if only you look for it.

Mikey Reed, self-titled Mr. Christmas, agrees with me. His enthusiasm for Christmas is palpable: for the traditions, the food and – of course – the music.

Luckily for us, as performers and hardcore Christmas fans, festive gigs flow freely in December. And it’s not just for us: anywhere that Christmas is celebrated, gigging musicians are called on to provide a live festive soundtrack to those events.

Which is why Mikey is returning to chat with me about what makes holiday gigs different, which are his favourite Christmas songs to play, what he considers to be the “official” Christmas season, and what he does – despite the madness of the season - to preserve the magic of Christmas for himself and his family.

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