This holiday season is gearing up to be a jazzy one with all the holiday releases. Beloved jazz-soul artist Kellylee Evans is the latest musician to get into the holiday spirit with her debut holiday album, Winter Song, out now via Enliven Media. The album is Evans’ second release this year following the June release of her latest EP, Show Love. This holiday album is Evans’ ninth studio effort to date.

Winter Song is Evans’ tribute to the sights and sounds of Canadian winters and the warmth and familial spirit associated with the holiday season. “I think as an only child, growing up watching holiday movies and consuming so much media of warm, cozy homes filled with happy families gathered around, I had a sense of longing for that and wanting to create that when I grew up,” Evans says in a statement. “But as an adult, I now know how complicated those manufactured images of an ideal family life can be. Family is what we make all around us. I’ve learned that it’s okay to be alone as well.”

You can expect to hear Evans’ soulful renditions of holiday favourites such as “All I Want for Christmas is You,” “Rocking Around the Christmas Tree,” as well as some unlikely songs such as Joni Mitchell’s “River” and John Lennon’s “Imagine.” Winter Song is produced by Evans alongside with frequent collaborator Steve Foley who has produced for the likes of Chad Kroeger, Carly Rae Jepsen and J.Cole. The album is preceded by the lead single, also titled “Winter Song, “the only original song on the album produced by Evans and Foley. Winter Song is an album that will keep you warm throughout the holidays and well into the winter season.

2024 has been a big year for the Scarborough-born, Ottawa-based vocalist who is enjoying the positive reception of Show Love and has maintained a touring schedule as a vocalist as well as a speaker and advocate for pain management and living with chronic pain after surviving a lightning strike in 2013.

Evans will be touring across Ontario and Quebec in November and December in support of the album, taking a holiday break before resuming in February. She’ll also be making an appearance as a special guest at the Celebrate Women in Jazz Live to Air at JAZZ.FM91 on December 5 in collaboration with Toronto Women in Jazz and Blakes. Here’s a list of upcoming tour dates for 2024 and 2025:

  • November 26, 2024 — Carleton Dominion Chalmers — Ottawa, ON (Ottawa Jazz Festival Holiday Fundraiser)
  • November 29, 2024 — Massey Hall — Toronto, ON (Women’s Blues Revue)
  • December 6, 2024 — Empire Theatre — Belleville, ON (Sean Jones Holiday Soul)
  • December 7, 2024 — National Arts Centre — Ottawa, ON
  • December 12, 2024 — Salle Bourgie — Montreal, QC
  • December 13, 2024 — Hugh’s Room Live — Toronto, ON
  • February 13, 2025 — Hermann’s Jazz Club — Victoria, BC
  • February 15, 2025 — Anvil Theatre — New Westminister, BC
  • February 22, 2025 — Aurora Cultural Centre — Aurora, ON
  • April 24, 2025 — Koerner Hall — Toronto, ON (Guest of The Breithaupt Brothers)

Winter Song is available now on all streaming platforms and available on CD and vinyl via Bandcamp.