Welcome home Kelly Willis.
Texas may claim Willis and her award-winning songwriter husband Bruce Robison as their own, but Kelly actually grew up in the D.C. area and attended high school in Annandale.
“We are bringing everybody with us,” said Kelly of the couple’s four kids, ages 9 to 4, who will be bunking with Kelly’s sister during the visit. “It’s just a lot of fun.”
Although Willis is an acclaimed singer/songwriter who’s worked with everyone from Vince Gill to Union Station’s Dan Tyminski to Nickel Creek’s Chris Thile, she stopped touring a few years ago to care of the couple’s young family. Still, Willis’ loyal fan base still clamber for her distinctive country/rock sound with her firecracker hot vocals.
Add to that Robison’s powerhouse playing and singing especially on the hits he’s written including “Angry All The Time,” performed by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill and “Desperately,” performed by George Strait.
The couple began to perform the holiday concerts in 1999 with did continue their holiday concerts, though, which for a time included brother in law Charlie Robison and his wife Emily of the Dixie Chicks, whose sister Martie Maguire also joined them on various dates.
Once the Dixie Chicks and later the Courtyard Hounds became household names, the sisters’ obligations kept them from the holiday tour but Willis and Robison carried on and are now reaching beyond Texas.
“You know, they are just fun,” Willis said of the holiday shows. “It’s something Bruce and I can do together and it’s become part of the holiday tradition [for our family] to do it.”
In fact, one year the couple didn’t play the shows, when Willis was 8 months pregnant, they felt something was missing from the season. Since then, they’ve played the show, which includes tunes that are holiday favorites plus songs from both of their catalogs.
Although Willis hasn’t consistently been on the road, she has been writing plenty of new songs. Although she doesn’t have them at a stage to debut, she said that she is considering recording again now that her children are a bit older.
For now, though, she and Bruce are concentrating on the holiday show and season.
“We have fun putting it together,” Willis said. “It’s fun to combine [set lists that have) songs that are fun with some people expect and still cover new ground.”
IF YOU GO
Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison Holiday Show
Where: The Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria
When: 7:30 p.m. Sunday
Info: $29.50; birchmere.com
