The Suffolk presents Big Bad Voodoo Daddy’s “Wild & Swing’n Holiday Party” on Friday, December 8, at 8 p.m. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy’s remarkable arrival onto the music scene. Since its formation in the early 19902 in Ventura, California, the band has toured virtually nonstop, performing on average over 150 shows a year while producing a sizable catalog of recorded music with sales of over two million albums to date.
Early on, during the band’s legendary residency at the Derby nightclub in Los Angeles, they reminded the world, in the midst of the grunge era no less, that it was still cool to swing. The band, co-founded by singer Scotty Morris and drummer Kurt Sodergren, was at the forefront of the swing revival of that time, blending a vibrant fusion of the classic American sounds of jazz, swing, and Dixieland, with the energy and spirit of contemporary culture.
For 30 years, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy’s unique take on American swing and jazz music has thrilled audiences around the world along with their unique and spirited “Wild & Swingin’ Holiday Party” that has become an eagerly anticipated annual family event.
“If you’re going to go to a holiday show with your family, this is the one,” said Morris. “It really does offer something for everyone.”
Drawing on a rich catalogue of holiday classics and Christmas originals from the band’s two full length holiday albums, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy brings its world-renowned live show, and fun and quirky take on the holidays, to you. Fun arrangements of classic holiday songs in Big Bad Voodoo Daddy style include: “Jingle Bells,” “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” and “Winter Wonderland.” “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” is “Andrew’s Sisters” meets the blues, and the just as classic “Heat Miser” song transports listeners back to another beloved holiday special. The band rips through Chuck Berry’s “Run, Run Rudolph,” Lou Rawls’s “Merry Christmas Baby” and slows things down for Elvis Presley’s “Blue Christmas.” Detours to New Orleans for “Frosty the Snowman” and to the Caribbean for the “Calypso a Party for Santa,” keep things interesting. The band takes a moment to reflect on the beauty and spirituality of the holidays with their moving arrangement of “We Three Kings.”
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy has always made writing original music a priority, and the holidays are no exception. “Rockabilly Christmas,” “Last Night (I Went Out With Santa Claus),” “Christmas Time in Tinsel Town” and the beautiful and reflective “It Feels Like Christmas Time” are the band’s take on the many feelings of the holidays.
With three decades together, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy is still picking up steam and continues to tour, record, and entertain.
Tickets are $49 to $89 at thesuffolk.org. Suffolk Theater is at 118 East Main Street, Riverhead.
Staff Writer on Nov 13, 2023