Christmas songs you probably didn't hear leading up to December 25th - but which would have made the season so much more rewarding and meaningful. Instead of the old standards, how about new standards, but lesser-known, extremely wonderful musicians? Peace, justice, & growth at a dark time, growing lighter.

Dean Magraw is some kind of awesome on the guitar, not just technically, but spiritually. Dean defies labels and limites - musically & spiritually - with one review saying, quite accurately that Dean is a Jazz cat, a folkie, a rock star, a front-porch bluegrass picker, a bluesman, ... and more. He's located in the Twin Cities of Minnesota, but the universe is his oyster.

Many may be sick of the interminable string of Christmas music, but they might feel quite differently if they had been hearing these songs - seasonal music by relatively popular, mostly folk, artists that speak for a better world, performers like John Lennon, Dar Williams, Cris Williamson, John McCutcheon, John Prine, Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, & Louden Wainwright III.

Annie Patterson & Peter Blood have been encouraging group singing for the people, a la Pete Seeger, for almost 40 years, first with Winds of the People, then with Rise Up Singing, and now with 1200 more songs in Rise Again. They and other musicians are touring to share the music with their world premiere in Madison, WI, on 8/27/15, followed by a sing-along workshop on 8/29/15, 11am at the Great River Folk Festival, then off to Northern CA.

One of the best companions you could have at a protest, around a campfire or in a song circle is Bruce O'Brien. With his banjo and guitar (and sometimes mandolin or even violin), Bruce is completely in his element holding his ground or under a shining owl moon.