[COWBOYS & INDIANS] Q&A: Aaron Watson on His New Christmas Album

Holidays are best spent with family, and no one knows that more than Texas troubadour Aaron Watson, whose latest holiday album recruits the talent of his wife and three kids.

His first Christmas endeavor, An Aaron Watson Family Christmas combines eight festive classics with two originals — the ideal musical holiday helper to turn up during the shopping, wrapping, unwrapping, and celebrating the meaning of the season.

Album highlights include the collaborative tracks “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” featuring Watson’s wife, Kimberly; “Christmas Time Is Here,” featuring his daughter Jolee Kate and son Jack; “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, featuring his son Jake; and Watson’s two originals, “Lonestar Lonely Christmas” and “She Stared at Him All Night.”

With cameos from the whole family blended with Watson’s original songwriting, An Aaron Watson Family Christmas makes a heartwarming addition to the soundtrack of the holidays this year and beyond.

Recently we caught up with Watson to talk about his latest album, his family, and his favorite holiday traditions.

Cowboys & Indians: Congratulations on An Aaron Watson Family Christmas.
Aaron Watson: It’s such a sweet, sweet album, and I got to sing two songs with my wife. She did amazing. I thought it would turn out good, but I just didn’t know that it was going to turn out to be really what I feel like is going to be a timeless Christmas album for families to enjoy.

C&I: What made you choose to do it now?
Watson: Basically people have been harassing me for the last 10 years, “When are you going to do a Christmas record? When are you going to do a Christmas record?” And I was like, “Ha ha.” The tough thing is that the time to record a Christmas record is usually in the summertime, and I’m usually so busy with touring and busy with the family that it’s really hard to stop to record a Christmas record. But we recorded this one kind of on the fly. We did all the vocals, basically, in my wife’s closet because it’s at the house. We set up the mic and all the recording equipment, Christmas lights. There we were, July in Texas, singing Christmas songs. I really enjoyed it. I really did not anticipate myself just enjoying this album. I may have enjoyed this album more than I’ve enjoyed any album I’ve done thus far.

C&I: What do you hope your fans will get out of it?
Watson: Oh, I think that they’re going to relate to it. I think that my family, we’re just really a very average, normal family. And for them, I think they’re going to get a kick out of hearing my wife sing because she’s usually so quiet and withdrawn, and she doesn’t want to walk the red carpet, doesn’t want the spotlight, but she sang wonderfully. And then my little girl, I think everybody’s going to see that when my career is done in a few years, I’ll be driving her bus.

Read the full interview at Cowboys and Indians.