Caroline Jones is living in New Zealand for a few months and during this time, she has been searching for a bluegrass harmony band to collaborate with. Eventually, she was led to two brothers and their father, known as The Trenwiths. Together, they have put together a holiday collection that contains covers of the classics, “Silver Bells” and “Winter Wonderland.”
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“In addition to being a fantastic bluegrass band, The Trenwiths are some of the most genuine, funny and down to earth people I’ve ever met,” says Jones. “We have a blast making music together, and I hope that people will feel that joy in these Christmas recordings.”
Jones had so much fun rehearsing and recording these songs with the band members that they decided to turn the days in the studio, working on “Silver Bells,” into a video. Watch it here for the first time on American Songwriter.
“I love this style because it’s completely authentic — what the viewer sees is us actually conceiving the song arrangement, followed by the recording process. You see the creativity, dedication and happiness of the musicians. Hopefully, it’s contagious!”
They could have done a music video on a set full of fake snow and cheesy Christmas decorations, but instead they chose to take the audience behind the scenes. The decision to do the video this way allowed their raw talent to shine through. No extra props or scenery was needed because they could just let the song do all the talking.
“When my favorite artists have shared behind the scenes, I have learned invaluable lessons about musicianship, technique and craft. I share a ‘making of’ for almost every creative endeavor I undertake.”
The song gives off such a jolly vibe, making you want to dance around the fire in your Christmas pajamas with all your loved ones. There are so many other holiday classics that they could have chosen, but they definitely picked the best songs for them as a group.
“‘Winter Wonderland’ and ‘Silver Bells’ were the first two Christmas classics that The Trenwiths and I jammed to, and serendipitously both songs work well arranged in bluegrass style.”
They took on the challenge of turning these songs into their own and they did not disappoint. It’s not an easy task to do, considering they been covered so many times by other artists throughout the years.
“The biggest challenge was tweaking the phrasing of the Christmas songs to fit bluegrass style,” says Jones. “Especially ‘Silver Bells’ because the verse phrasing is so rapid in this arrangement. Making it feel natural took some practice. “
Between the sincere video and cheerful music, there is an immense amount of talent coming out of one studio space.
