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Holiday Music NPR presents a mix of live concerts and other music to help get you in the spirit of the season.
The Beatles on a toboggan in Austria in 1965.
Special Series

Holiday Music

NPR presents a mix of live concerts and other music to help get you in the spirit of the season.
Couldn't Miss This One: Behind 'Christmas Wrapping'

The Waitresses' members were in the middle of a tour behind "I Know What Boys Like" when "Christmas Wrapping" took over the radio in 1981. David Corio/Redferns hide caption

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David Corio/Redferns

Couldn't Miss This One: Behind 'Christmas Wrapping'

It's a short story about a woman who just wants to spend the holiday alone, from a band that had no interest in writing what would become a holiday classic.

Couldn't Miss This One: Behind 'Christmas Wrapping'

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Have An Oddly Jolly Christmas: A Quirky Holiday Playlist

Crate-digger and director Mitchell Kezin shows off one of his Christmas finds in a still from his documentary, Jingle Bell Rocks! Elaine Littman/Courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories hide caption

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Elaine Littman/Courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories

All Songs Considered

Have An Oddly Jolly Christmas: A Quirky Holiday Playlist

Hear an interview with Mitchell Kezin, a Christmas music "crate-digger," searching far and wide for rare holiday music of years past, along with a playlist featuring lesser-known Christmas gems.

Have An Oddly Jolly Christmas: A Quirky Holiday Playlist

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An Alt.Latino Christmas, With Cantigas In Concert

Cantigas performs live in NPR's Studio 1. Colin Marshall/NPR hide caption

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Colin Marshall/NPR

Alt.Latino

An Alt.Latino Christmas, With Cantigas In Concert

Celebrate the season with songs from across the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking world.

An Alt.Latino Christmas, With Cantigas In Concert

Listen · 56:41
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Nick Lowe Brings His 'Quality Holiday Revue' To America

Nick Lowe's Christmas album is called Quality Street. He's currently touring the U.S. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

Music Interviews

Nick Lowe Brings His 'Quality Holiday Revue' To America

Fresh Air

"We think it's all a bit vulgar, you know, cashing in on Christmas," Lowe says of the British. He says he took it as a challenge: Quality Street tackles old classics and adds originals to the mix.

Nick Lowe Brings His 'Quality Holiday Revue' To America

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Bob And Robin's Holiday In Space
Detlev van Ravenswaay/Science Photo Library/Corbis

All Songs Considered

Bob And Robin's Holiday In Space

Every year, All Songs Considered hosts Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton go on a musical holiday adventure. This year, they take a rocket ride to outer space and are joined by a few special guests.

Listen To Bob And Robin's Holiday In Space

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George Shearing's Holiday Set On Piano Jazz

George Shearing. New York Daily News Archive/Getty Images hide caption

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New York Daily News Archive/Getty Images

Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz

George Shearing's Holiday Set On Piano Jazz

In a 2001 session, Shearing and host Marian McPartland reminisce about seasons gone by and play holiday songs, including "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" and "Away In A Manger."

George Shearing In The Studio

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Festivo Alt.Latino: Cantigas In Concert

Cantigas performs live in NPR's Studio 1. Colin Marshall/NPR hide caption

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Colin Marshall/NPR

Festivo Alt.Latino: Cantigas In Concert

The vocal group embraced a range of Latin American traditions in their holiday program. Hear them celebrate the season by singing in Spanish, Nahuatl and Quechua in NPR's Studio 1.

Festivo Alt.Latino: Cantigas In Concert

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A Paul Winter Solstice Concert 2014

The Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City. Courtesy of Rhonda R. Dorsett hide caption

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Courtesy of Rhonda R. Dorsett

NPR's Holiday Favorites

A Paul Winter Solstice Concert 2014

The saxophonist's annual celebration of the year's longest night is a tradition dating back to 1980. This year's program features Brazilian singers Ivan Lins and Renato Braz.

Hear Part One Of The Winter Solstice Celebration

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Surveying 2014's Would-Be Holiday Hitmakers

Idina Menzel, known for singing "Let It Go," has a new holiday album. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

Surveying 2014's Would-Be Holiday Hitmakers

NPR Music's Stephen Thompson highlights an eclectic cross-section of 2014's holiday-music offerings.

From Idina Menzel To The Duke Boys, Surveying 2014's Would-Be Holiday Hitmakers

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For The Season, Trio Mediaeval Spans Centuries

Trio Mediaeval is (from left) Berit Opheim, Anna Maria Friman and Linn Andrea Fulgseth. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Deceptive Cadence

For The Season, Trio Mediaeval Spans Centuries

The Norwegian group has a age-old salve for those who can't stand "Jingle Bell Rock" — 15th-century English carols.

For The Season, Trio Mediaeval Spans Centuries

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A Paul Winter Solstice Concert 2013

Paul Winter performing with the Forces of Nature ensemble. Clifford A. Sobel/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Clifford A. Sobel/Courtesy of the artist

A Paul Winter Solstice Concert 2013

The saxophonist and world-music ambassador presents his annual theater, dance and music special, held at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Upper Manhattan.

Hear Part One Of The Winter Solstice Celebration

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Let It Snow: The Piano Jazz Holiday Show

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Keene and Chesire County Historical Photos/via Flickr

Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz

Let It Snow: The Piano Jazz Holiday Show

Marian McPartland and her guests from seasons past, present and future share favorite memories and unique musical performances of Christmas classics and original holiday tunes.

Let It Snow: The Piano Jazz Holiday Show

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Have Yourself A Sullen Little Christmas
A Charlie Brown Christmas/United Feature Syndicate, Inc.

Have Yourself A Sullen Little Christmas

Less than a week before Christmas, holly-jolly holiday music abounds — and if you're not feeling holly or jolly, it can be a little hard to take. For NPR Music's Stephen Thompson and Morning Edition producer Travis Larchuk, the holidays often mean searching for alternatives.

Have Yourself A Sullen Little Christmas

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