We’re on the one-week countdown to Christmas, and yet, it can still be a struggle to get into the holiday spirit for some. Clearly, country superstar Trisha Yearwood sensed the need for a boost in all things merry and bright — with her “Christmastime with Trisha Yearwood: 12 Days of Christmas Symphony Tour.”
Yearwood touched down Thursday night at Heinz Hall in Downtown Pittsburgh and radiated the kind of joy and sparkle that could get the Grinch’s heart to grow three sizes.
She took the stage with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and her own band to play selections from her new Christmas album, “Christmastime,” as well as some of her classic tunes.
Yearwood shot to stardom in 1991 and has seen a string of country chart-topping songs, successful cookbooks and 20 years of marriage to fellow country music powerhouse Garth Brooks.
After making full use of the orchestra — especially its incredible horn section — in opening Louis Armstrong song “Cool Yule,” Yearwood introduced herself.
“If you’ve been following along the way with these shows, you know I usually give a recap of what’s gone wrong the day of the show. Today, there are no problems,” she said, throwing a sincere compliment to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and its associate conductor, Moon Doh. “Pittsburgh, you are so lucky to have this.”
The first set included an eclectic collection of covers from the new album, including a heartfelt version of Vince Guaraldi’s “Christmas Time is Here” and a unique arrangement of Elvis’s “Blue Christmas.” One of her strongest vocal performances of the night came during “My Favorite Things” from “The Sound of Music” — her version was so good that I’ll forgive it not being a Christmas song. On the other hand, the orchestra delighted during “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch” under bright green stage lights.
In between, she absolutely charmed with stories and introductions for each song. Before “It’s Just Another New Year’s Eve,” she talked about buying a Barry Manilow album when she was 8 years old. And as she prepared to sing “The Sweetest Gift,” she talked about her parents making her and her sister — who was in attendance on Thursday night — sing it for “comp’ny” when they were kids.
After “Candy Cane Lane,” an Andrews Sisters-style swinger of a song that once again got the orchestra playing in full force, she slowed things down for the end of the first set. Her original, “When October Settles In,” was a song about grief that cut to the bone with spare orchestrations and Yearwood’s voice dripping with emotion. Then she sent the crowd off to intermission with an unusual arrangement of the song “Pure Imagination” from “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”
If anyone might have drifted off before intermission, they would’ve woken up when Yearwood belted her way back in with “The Man with the Bag,” a brassy Christmas tune that made great use of her backup singers and the orchestra’s power. After changing outfits from Pittsburgh-appropriate gold sparkles to burgundy between sets, she talked about her clothing choices and Dolly Parton before easing into the melancholy “Hard Candy Christmas,” a song that fit her like a comfortable pair of shoes. “Dolly Parton must be protected at all costs,” she said to a cheer from the crowd.
She moved back into her country wheelhouse a lot in the second set, but not before shining light on two holiday highlights: “Take a Walk Through Bethlehem” was the most outright spiritual of the night’s songs, and the vocals and instrumentation swelled like a Gospel choir. The syrupy sweet “Merry Christmas, Valentine” may have been a bit on the precious side, but it certainly gave the audience a sugar high.
It was fascinating to watch her turn back to her country hits. Yearwood was a great singer when she covered the Christmas classics, but she went into overdrive singing her hits. The verve and grit that she lent to slower tune “Walkaway Joe” and up-tempo fiddle-fest “That’s What I Like About You” were in a whole other league. For that particular song, the PSO’s violinists were pulled into the spotlight and absolutely killed it, earning thundering applause from the audience.
Yearwood’s no doubt been singing her breakout hit “She’s In Love With the Boy” nonstop since it debuted in 1991, but all that practice sure makes perfect because she performed it with both professionalism and passion. But she didn’t end the night there.
“I love all the things that I do … but singing’s what feeds my soul so it’s not lost on me that you continue to show up and I really appreciate you coming out tonight,” she said. “It’s the holiday season but it’s also, I feel like we wake up every day and it’s just heavy. We’re carrying a lot. I hope that for the last couple of hours you’ve had a chance to take a deep breath, maybe smile … and let’s just carry this out the door.”
“We’re going to close out tonight with a song that’s about hope, it’s a song about the good that there is, even in the rain. Love one another. Merry Christmas. I love you,” she added.
I’m sure that the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra could play “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” in their collective sleep, but this arrangement was so lush and their playing so evocative, and Yearwood mixed all of her sincerity with the power of her voice to create something truly special and memorable with a rainbow of lights shining behind everyone onstage.
Standards, self-written songs, new recordings and old favorites were shown off during the two-hour, 20-song program. Yearwood’s charisma and the versatile, seamless Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra made it a present well worth unwrapping right in the midst of the holidays.
