KEENE, N.H.-As the days grow shorter through December, the Americana roots trio Low Lily seeks to add some light to this season of darkness with the group’s annual Winter Solstice Celebration tour, which comes to The Showroom at The Colonial Theatre in Keene on Friday, Dec. 12, at 7 p.m.
The Brattleboro-based band is Liz Simmons, who plays guitar; her husband, Flynn Cohen, on guitar and mandolin; and Natalie Padilla on fiddle and banjo.
Low Lily’s music is best described as a folk/Americana mix, deeply rooted in Celtic and Appalachian sounds, enriched by the group’s beautiful three-part harmonies. Low Lily formed in 2014 and has released three albums and toured extensively throughout the U.S. and the U.K.
Their Winter Solstice celebrations, which they began performing in 2019, are among the most anticipated and popular shows on their schedule.
“We had been doing holiday shows for a long time, then we realized we wanted to try something different,” explained Liz Simmons about the origin of the show. “We wanted to center it around the Winter Solstice.”
The idea was to create a show centered around bringing light into what is the darkest and coldest time of the year. The show highlights the days leading up to the Winter Solstice and celebrates the return of the sun. These concerts also provide an alternative to the usual holiday fare.
The annual shows feature original and traditional songs and covers that capture the beauty, joy, and challenges we experience around this time in December. You can expect to hear everything from thought-provoking ballads to the kind of up-tempo, foot-stomping instrumentals that we’ve come to expect from a Low Lily concert.
“It’s a fun challenge to find material because we are very loose in our interpretation,” said Simmons in explaining the group’s choice of material for this show. “Anything that’s sort of speaking to light and dark or the turning of the seasons works. We also focus on hopeful or uplifting songs, or songs that speak to coming together as a community.”
And there’s a good chance you’ll hear the trio play some familiar songs.
“We have our song that everybody always requests called ‘Hope Lingers On,’ and that’s always a good one to include,” said Simmons. “It’s hopeful and it’s got a great message about peace and justice, and that’s just the kind of uplifting message people need this time of year.”
The band also tosses in some fun covers, including “Ring Out, Solstice Bells” by Jethro Tull, and Low Lily recently started performing the obscure ABBA holiday tune, “The Piper.”
And since all three band members are songwriters, they have written a few songs specifically for this project.
“When all is cold and the Earth is still/in the dark, we bring the light,” sings Simmons in her melodic, smooth voice on one such song, “We Bring the Light,” a number that beautifully captures the essence of these shows.
In 2021, the band released the song as a single to accompany the tour, as well as a cover of Richard and Linda Thompson’s dark song of hope “We Sing Hallelujah.” They have considered releasing a full-length album of Solstice songs, but given the cost and time commitment necessary to recording, they are currently focusing only on singles.
“My bandmate Natalie just wrote a new song, which she wrote with an eye for performing at this show,” Simmons said. “And we have a new release coming out on the Solstice — it’s called ‘Night Lament,’ written by a great singer-songwriter named Kate Rusby. I’m excited about this one. We gave it the Low Lily treatment with three-part harmonies, strings, and a lot of instruments. We are really proud of it.”
You can hear the new song performed at the shows before its official release.
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The Winter Solstice tour takes place every December throughout the Northeast and, depending on when the dates fall, usually ends on the Solstice, this year on Sunday, Dec. 21.
This year’s tour launched with a sold-out show in Northampton, Massachusetts, and will conclude in Westford, Massachusetts, on the night of the Solstice.
“Whatever venue gets that date is lucky, as it feels extra special,” said Simmons of the final tour stop.
December is a slow time of year for touring musicians like Low Lily and, even though each member teaches and has their own career, these shows have helped them keep performing. “The other piece of that is that our audiences need something too,” Simmons added.
And the audiences have demonstrated that they need the Winter Solstice Celebration. The shows usually sell out, and the band reports seeing the same faces return year after year, singing along and enjoying themselves.
“It brings us so much hope to know that we have something that resonates with people this time of year,” said Simmons. “When people come to us after a show and say ‘I almost didn’t leave the house tonight, but now I’m glad I did because this was wonderful, and I feel uplifted,’ that is the kind of comment that keeps us wanting to do this every year.”
Sheryl Hunter is a freelance writer from Easthampton, Massachusetts. Her work has appeared in various regional and national publications. As of press time, some tickets remain for the show at The Colonial’s Showroom, 20 Commercial St., in Keene, New Hampshire. Contact the box office at 603-352-2033 or boxoffice@thecolonial.org.
This Arts column by Sheryl Hunter was written for The Commons.