The Christmas Jug Band

The Christmas Jug Band emerged in the late '80s and early '90s with a singular mix of alternative country, longstanding American folk forms, and seasonal material. Its origins reached back further, fusing a pair of California-rooted jug band traditions. During a ten-week California residency in the mid-'70s, the Ohio-based Monday Night Wild Turkey Jug Band trio joined forces with area players for expansive jug band sessions. The gatherings banned cover material and favored an array of homemade instruments to steer clear of polished production. When Dan Hicks needed substitutes for a recurring December engagement while occupied with his own studio work, several regulars from those sessions filled in. They performed under the name Three Wise Men + 4 - 1 Jug Band, delivering an exclusively holiday program that secured a Christmas Eve slot. The musicians quickly added original numbers to their seasonal repertoire, and the enthusiastic response turned the event into a yearly custom. After years in the region, several participants prepared to relocate, prompting them to document their Christmas performances on tape. Intended solely for personal listening, the resulting studio recording circulated through bootlegs and generated enough interest that the group established Globe Records to issue Mistletoe Jam in 1987. Its strong reception encouraged the members to reconvene each holiday season even after moving apart. A live album, Tree-Side Hoot, followed in 1991, succeeded by Rhythm on the Roof in 1997. Largely inactive thereafter, the collective resurfaced in 2002 with the reunion release Uncorked and returned once more in 2009 for On the Holiday Highway.