Josh Turner is set to release his first Christmas album, King Size Manger, on October 8th.
Josh says, “Making a Christmas record can be a mighty daunting task for an artist, there are so many songs to choose from and there’ve been so many versions of those songs throughout history. It can be intimidating to know whether you’ll be able to measure up to what’s already been done and when I get to that point, I step back and remind myself that I have to do what I hear in my heart.”
King Size Manger Track Listing:
1. “Angels We Have Heard On High”
2. “What He’s Given Me” (Featuring Pat McLaughlin)*
3. “King Size Manger”*
4. “Joy To The World” (Featuring Rhonda Vincent)
5. “Soldier’s Gift”*
6. “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” (Featuring The Turner Family)
7. “Go Tell It On The Mountain”
8. “Mele Kalikimaka My ‘Ohana” (Featuring Jake Shimabukuro and Ho’okena)*
9. “The First Nowell”
10. “Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town”
11. “Silent Night, Holy Night”
Produced by Kenny Greenberg
*denotes original
When it comes to what fans can expect from King Size Manger, Josh Turner shares, “You may be surprised to hear my arrangement on some of these songs that you know so well. We had a lot of fun throwing out all the preconceived notions of what a Christmas record should sound like. In my opinion, it’s about the words and the heart and soul of how a song sounds. You don’t need jingle bells on a song to make it a Christmas song.”
The holiday project features fresh interpretations of the classics and introduces four originals, three of which were written or co-written by Josh.
The whole Turner family gets into the holiday spirit as Josh’s wife, Jennifer, and their four boys join him on singing a holiday classic, “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”.
Other guests on the album include Rhonda Vincent, Pat McLaughlin, world renowned ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro and Grammy-nominated Hawaiian trio Ho’okena.
Fans will be able to get the album, King Size Manger, October 8th, and then the following month they can see Josh perform the tracks live as he kicks off his Holiday & The Hits tour. The 16-stop tour includes shows in Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Tennessee and more.
Holiday & The Hits tour schedule
11/18 Holland, MI – Holland Civic Center
11/19 Springfield, IL – University of Illinois PAC
11/20 Joliet, IL – Rialto Square Theatre
11/21 Rockford, IL – Coronado PAC
11/26 Panama City Beach, FL – Aaron Bessant Park
11/27 Memphis, TN – Soundstage at Graceland
11/28 Meridian, MS – MSU Riley Center
12/2 Prescott, AZ – Yavapai College PAC
12/3 Maricopa, AZ – Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino
12/4 Las Vegas, NV – The Venetian Theatre
12/10 Riverside, IA – Riverside Casino
12/11 Prior Lake, MN – Mystic Lake Casino Hotel
12/16 Midland, MI – Midland Center For The Arts
12/17 Wisconsin Dells, WI – Crystal Grand Music Theatre
12/19 Royal Oak, MI – Royal Oak Music Theatre
12/20 Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
To pre-order King Size Manger click HERE
To pre-order an autographed CD and limited-edition King Size Manger merchandise click HERE
To purchase tickets to Holiday & The Hits Tour click HERE
One of the hits that fans will see on the Holiday & The Hits tour is Josh Turner’s “Your Man” – which is the title track to Josh’s album that just celebrated it’s 15th anniversary this year.
To mark the occasion Josh appears in a behind the scenes mini documentary about the project.
“Your Man” cowriter Chris Stapleton, along with Scotty McCreery and Josh’s wife Jennifer all appear in the featurette.
Photos Courtesy of UMG Nashville
