For Brett Eldredge, Christmas Is Not a Day Off

On Wednesday (Dec. 21), Brett Eldredge will play the final show on his annual Glow Tour, a string of Christmas shows that has become a tradition for the singer ever since he released his first holiday album, Glow, in 2016. But that doesn't mean that the holiday season will be all relaxation from here on out: On the contrary, the singer says Christmas is typically a working holiday. Once he's done performing for fans, he still has more holiday performances left for family and friends.

Back in 2017, the singer told Taste of Country that even when he tried to take the day off -- planning instead to enjoy a church service and a restful holiday -- his family wouldn't let him.

"They got so mad at me," Eldredge says, mostly exaggerating when talking about a conversation he tried to have about breaking a yearly tradition. Everyone would crowd into his family church and at some point, the singer would sneak into the choir loft to sing "O Holy Night." It's something he'd been doing since he was a child.

"I would look down from the choir loft and see my whole family, and they're all looking up there, smiling and crying and just loving that moment every year," Eldredge recalls.

"Now, some Christmas mornings I'll sit by the tree and sing with my guitar."

So, they reached a compromise. The truth is, Eldredge isn't mad about it. Getting him to sing Christmas music is a little like getting Cookie Monster to sample a plate of chocolate chip.

"Christmas is far and away my favorite holiday, and recording the music for [my Christmas album] Glow was a dream come true," he says. "I’ve been inspired for this record from a very young age, and I dreamt of the day I could record all these classic songs that I’ve loved since I was a little kid."

Eldredge did take the year off from his Glow tour in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but he still didn't take the year off from singing Christmas music: He joined Kelly Clarkson for a duet called "Underneath the Mistletoe," part of a two-pack of holiday songs that came from Clarkson that year.

In 2021, Eldredge redoubled his musical holiday efforts, cementing his status as Nashville's very own Christmas crooner with the release of a new seasonal album called Mr. Christmas. Songs from that project, plus songs from the original Glow track list, feature prominently on his annual Glow Tour.

Let Laine Hardy's "Please Come Home for Christmas" Be Your Holiday Soundtrack:

PICTURES: See Country Stars With Santa