About this podcast
The Twelve Songs of Christmas runs from Christmas in July (July 25) to Christmas with weekly conversations about Christmas music. Music journalist Alex Rawls talks with the musicians who make Christmas music and people connected to it, discussing how it fits into their personal, musical and professional lives. Guests come from across the musical spectrum and include such stars of Christmas music as George Winston, Mannheim Steamroller and Robert Earl Keen, as well as such indie artists as Amanda Shires, Mega Ran, Sara Noelle and Eli “Paperboy” Reed.
Visit The Twelve Songs of Christmas page
- The 2025 Christmas Party
by e_xander on December 23, 2025Season eight ends with what I hope will be a tradition–a Christmas party, with a few guests and a lot of music. This week’s guests include comic artist […]
- “Asalto Navideño” with Miguel Zenón, and the Ray Conniff Singersby e_xander on December 18, 2025
This week’s episode features two interviews—one with Grammy-winning jazz saxophone player Miguel Zenón helping us appreciate the salsa Christmas classic […]
- Roland Gift, Old Crow Medicine Show, and The Klezmaticsby e_xander on December 11, 2025
We’re in the last weeks before Christmas and I have more interviews than I can handle. This week starts with a version of “Wonderful Christmas Time” by […]
- William Shatner, Jane Monheit, and Kelly Finniganby e_xander on December 5, 2025
We’re in December now, and this week we have three conversations. William Shatner’s face is on the pop culture Mt. Rushmore, and when I had a chance to […]
- AI for Christmasby e_xander on November 26, 2025
Artificial Intelligence (AI) made itself part of this year’s music story with AI acts The Velvet Sundown, TaTa Taktumi and Breaking Rust making news one way […]
- Remembering Brian Wilson Pt. 2: “What I Really Want for Christmas”by e_xander on November 20, 2025
Multi-instrumentalist Probyn Gregory remembers playing and recording with Brian Wilson from 1999 until he retired from live performances in 2022. We talk about […]
- Remembering Brian Wilson Pt. 1: “The Beach Boys’ Christmas Album”by e_xander on November 13, 2025
I started thinking about how to address Brian Wilson’s death on the podcast since we learned of his passing. “Little Saint Nick” and The Beach Boys’ […]
- A Ping Pong Kung Fu Christmas with Shawn Leeby e_xander on November 6, 2025
Producer and multi-instrumentalist Shawn Lee has a history of making recordings that hover uncertainly in time. Sounds from different eras and genres come […]
- Kristian Noel Pedersenby e_xander on October 23, 2025
Toronto’s Kristian Noel Pedersen has released 27 EPs or albums of Christmas music, 26 of which are on his Bandcamp page. What started as a goof became a […]
- Steve Lukather’s “Santamental” (an encore presentation)by e_xander on October 16, 2025
I’ve been out of town this week, and when I thought of an episode from the archives to revisit, this one from 2021 with guitar hero Steve Lukather came […]