Andrew Peterson

The Read

Peterson writes in the narrative folk tradition — long-form Christmas material presented as a full program rather than a set of songs, with a rotating cast of guest players and singers filling out the arrangements. It is closer to an oratorio staged by songwriters than to a concert, and the audience treats it accordingly. The Ryman does a lot of the work here. Whatever your relationship to the theology, the room was a tabernacle before it was a stage, and December programming in it lands differently than it would anywhere else in town. Expect families, multiple generations in the same pew, and a crowd that came to listen rather than to be seen.

The Room

Ryman Auditorium

116 5th Ave N

Built in 1892 as a tabernacle by river captain Thomas Ryman, who was converted at a Sam Jones revival — little did he know it would become the church of American roots music.