LeAnn Rimes starts her 2017 Christmas tour in Sarasota
“Can you tell I hate the holidays?”
It’s pop star LeAnn Rimes saying that. She’s being sarcastic, not provocative. She’s released 13 studio albums, and two of them have been Christmas albums. That’s a pretty high percentage, almost one out of every six. Her most recent, 2015’s “Today Is Christmas,” reached No. 2 on the Billboard Holiday chart and spawned the hit duet with Gavin Degraw, “Celebrate Me Home.”
And she tours the country with holiday shows so regularly that she’s become a reliable feature of the Christmas season for her fans.
She’ll be back in Sarasota with her latest seasonal show. It’s the fifth annual “Today Is Christmas” tour, and it comes to the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall Dec. 3. The Van Wezel show is the first of her 12-city tour.
As a performer, Christmas concerts appeal to her because it’s such an emotional time of the year for so many people.
People seem to be in a better frame of mind during the holidays. Or a different frame of mind, whether it’s better or worse.
LeAnn Rimes
“I don’t know, people seem to be in a better frame of mind during the holidays,” she said. “Or a different frame of mind, whether it’s better or worse.”
People’s emotions are heightened, she says, and the range of Christmas music, from the solemn to the joyous, can strike a chord with audiences.
Rimes also has an affection for the Christmas season because it gave her a start in show biz. She had originally hoped to become a musical theater performer, and her very first experience on stage was in a production of “A Christmas Carol.” She played Tiny Tim.
People who have caught previous Rimes’ Christmas shows may notice a difference this year. For the first time, she’s interspersing some of her hits in with the holiday songs.
“I think there are five or six of my hits,” she said.
I start with a set list, but I like to be able to read the audience and change things up.
LeAnn Rimes
She’s also likely to toss in a surprise or two. She might even surprise her three-piece band.
“I start with a set list, but I like to be able to read the audience and change things up,” Rimes said. “I worked with a strict set list for so long because I started so young, so now I like the freedom of getting away from it. If you’re playing on stage with me, whether you’re part of a small band or an orchestra, you have to be OK with me calling an audience.”
Opening the show will be Barry Zito, a former Major League baseball player who released his first EP earlier this year.
Details: 7 p.m. Dec. 3, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. $51-$81. 941-953-3368, vanwezel.org.
Marty Clear: 941-708-7919, @martinclear
This story was originally published November 28, 2017 at 3:06 PM with the headline "LeAnn Rimes starts her 2017 Christmas tour in Sarasota."