Oak Ridge Boys announces Xmas tour, album

The 30-plus date tour kicks off Nov. 13 in Branson, Mo with shows in 28 cities.

In conjunction with the tour, the Oaks' latest Christmas album, "Down Home Christmas," produced by Dave Cobb, will be released by Lightning Rod Records/Thirty Tigers on Oct. 25. This marks the third time Cobb has worked with the Oak Ridge Boys.

The new dsic includes standards such as "Amazing Grace" and "Silent Night," but also new songs such as "Don't Go Pullin' On Santa Claus Beard" written by Americana hit-maker Anderson East and "South Alabama Christmas," written by Jamey Johnson.

"'Down Home Christmas' began much like the other seven Christmas albums we have recorded. But things changed. Most of the songs I had collected were put on the shelf, and we started looking for songs that addressed specific subjects related to Christmas," said The Oaks' Duane Allen.

"Dave Cobb was the producer/coach/motivator for this project. He encouraged us to dig a little deeper into our souls, to capture the magic of each song. With very simple instrumentation, the four Oak Ridge Boys' voices are out front and in your face with the awesome, huge sound of RCA Studio A wrapped around, but not over-powering it."

"'Down Home Christmas' is a project that we are happy to share with the world and, rest assured, you will hear these songs on our upcoming 30th annual Christmas tour," said Joe Bonsall. "The instrumentation is sparse, yet incredibly put together, and the vocals are rich and vibrant. Many of the songs were freshly written by a stable of Nashville's top songwriters."

The track listing is:
1. The Family Piano (Aaron Raitiere)
2. Angels (Aaron Raitiere)
3. Bring Daddy Home For Christmas (Channing Wilson, Aaron Raitiere)
4. Reindeer On The Roof (Jake Mitchell, Aaron Raitiere)
5. Silent Night (Franz Xaver Gruber, Joseph Mohr)
6. Hallelujah Emmanuel (Robert Jason, Paul Bradley Jr.)
7. Down Home Christmas (Mando Saenz, Aaron Raitiere)
8. South Alabama Christmas (Jamey Johnson)
9. Don't Go Pullin' On Santa Claus' Beard (Anderson East, Aaron Raitiere)
10. Amazing Grace (John Newton) The group - Bonsall, Allen, William Lee Golden and Richard Sterban - are best known for "Elvira," along with other chart-toppers like "Bobbie Sue," "Thank God For Kids," "Y'All Come Back Saloon" and "American Made." They have won five Grammys. The Oak Ridge Boys became members of the Grand Ole Opry in 2011 and were inducted into the Country Music Hall Of Fame in 2015.

Tour dates are:
Nov. 13-14 - The Mansion Theatre / Branson, Mo.
Nov. 15 - Orpheum Theatre / Sioux Falls, Iowa
Nov. 16 - Deadwood Mountain Grand Hotel / Deadwood, S.D.
Nov. 17 - Aberdeen Civic Arena / Aberdeen, S.D.
Nov. 18 - Wild Rose Casino & Resort / Jefferson, Iowa
Nov. 19 - Hartman Arena / Park City, Kan.
Nov. 20-21 - The Mansion Theatre / Branson, Mo.
Nov. 22 - Peoria Civic Center Theater / Peoria, Ill.
Nov. 23 - The Vern Riffe Center For The Arts / Portsmouth, Ohio
Nov. 24 - River City Casino / St. Louis, Mo.
Nov. 30 - Memorial Hall / Independence, Kan.
Dec. 01 - McCain Auditorium / Manhattan, Kan.
Dec. 04 - UMBC Events Center / Baltimore, Md.
Dec. 05 - Riviera Theatre / N. Tonawanda, N.Y.
Dec. 06 - Palace Theatre / Greensburg, Pa.
Dec. 07 - Roland E. Powell Convention Center / Ocean City, Md.
Dec. 11 - Paramount Theater / Anderson, Ind.
Dec. 14 - Honeywell Center / Wabash, Ind.
Dec. 15 - Renfro Valley Entertainment Center / Renfro Valley, Ky.
Dec. 18 - Mayo Civic Center Presentation / Rochester, Minn
Dec. 19 - Five Flags Center / Dubuque, Iowa
Dec. 20 - Shooting Star Casino Hotel / Mahnomen, Minn.
Dec. 21 - Crystal Grand Music Theatre / Wisconsin Dells, Wis.
Dec. 22 - Rialto Square Theatre / Joliet, Ill.