WELCOME FROM ANDREW

THE SHOW

TODD BRAGG
percussion
Todd Bragg is the drummer/percussionist for Crowder, which is why he has a long and magnificent beard. He’s also been the drummer for Caedmon’s Call since the beginning, which is how he and Andrew met in 1997. He’s a husband, father, woodworker, and dear friend of the tour. 

ERIK COVENEY
bass
There are many wonderful things about Erik Coveney. He’s played bass for a host of wonderful musicians, not the least of which are The Arcadian Wild and, most recently, the great Sierra Hull. He’s a filmmaker and composer, too. If that weren’t enough, he and his wife are also adventurers, and occasionally climb mountains in the far reaches of the globe. But Andrew believes the most wonderful thing about Erik is the fact that he’s Swedish (at least, he’s about as Swedish as Andrew is. Which is partly.)

ANDY GULLAHORN
vocals, acoustic guitar, mandolin, bouzouki
For years, Andy has been our official BTLOG P.E. teacher and activities director. But he’s also one of Nashville's best talents. As a songwriter and performer, Andy has been described as “a surgeon who uses laughing gas to deaden the pain before he cuts you open.” When he’s not writing amazing songs, Andy likes to bowl, play badminton and disc golf, write haikus, and hang out with his wife (Jill Phillips) and three kids. AndyGullahorn.com

BRANDON HAYS
drums
Louisiana-born, Brandon can make a mean jambalaya. When Brandon isn’t being funny, enjoying the glorious thing that is dessert, road managing, or playing drums for Andrew, he’s hanging at home with his wife, daughter, and twins whom Andrew insists on calling “Luke” and “Leia.”

CLAIRE NUNN
cello
Claire has been a part of the tour off and on for many years. She’s a wife, mother, and one of the finest cellists in Nashville, who has played with more artists than we have room to list. We’re so glad she’s back this year!

ANDREW OSENGA
guitar
Andrew Osenga has been a part of BTLOG for many years. He co-produced the original record with Ben Shive, and has been a dear friend since the early years of music-making when Andrew (Peterson) spent hours in Andrew (Osenga)’s basement studio in Nashville’s Crieve Hall neighborhood. AndrewOsenga.com

ANDREW PETERSON
vocals, guitar, mandolin
Andrew has been married to Jamie for twenty-eight years. His bestselling fantasy series The Wingfeather Saga has been adapted into an animated series, with season two releasing early next year on Angel.com. His latest book, A Ranger’s Guide to Glipwood Forest released this fall. He’s also the founder of the Rabbit Room (www.RabbitRoom.com), a non-profit ministry dedicated to cultivating and curating stories, art, and music to nourish Christ-centered communities for the life of the world. Andrew-Peterson.com

THE BAND

SKYE PETERSON
vocals
Skye Peterson has been writing, recording and touring hard for the last few years and is a part of the amazing hymn writing team at Getty Music, writing or co-writing songs like “I Am Not My Own,” “Take Shelter,” and “Rejoice.” Skye also released her first full-length independent album, “Where The Winter Was”, earlier this year. We’re honored to have her. (She’s also a little bit Swedish.) SkyePetersonMusic.com

JILL PHILLIPS
vocals
Jill Phillips has sung “Labor of Love” every year since 2001, and we couldn’t be more grateful. Beyond that, Jill is a loving wife and mother and somehow manages to release album after album of excellent, thoughtful songs. Her latest album, Deeper Into Love, is her best yet. JillPhillips.com

JESS RAY
vocals
Jess Ray is a singer/songwriter and producer from North Carolina, the land of ocean, woods, rolling hills, and mountains. Jess’s voice and writing are in their own category and we’re so thrilled to have her for the entire tour AND as a featured voice on the new BTLOG record. She’s part of a worship project with Taylor Leonhardt called Mission House, and you should check that out as well. JessRayMusic.com

GABE SCOTT
dobro, banjo, hammered dulcimer, guitar
Gabe has been a crucial member of this tour since its inception in the Year of Our Lord 2000. He’s a songwriter, record producer (including AP’s The Burning Edge of Dawn), and breakfast taco connoisseur of the highest order. On that subject, Gabe owns a breakfast taco restaurant of his very own in Nashville’s 12 South neighborhood and it’s awesome. It’s called Ladybird Taco, and you’re going to want to put it on your list of Nashville favorites. ladybirdtaco.com

BEN SHIVE
piano, organ, lap dulcimer, hammered dulcimer, guitar
Ben is a Dove Award-winning producer, songwriter, and session player whose first album, The Ill-Tempered Klavier, was listed as one of Christianity Today’s top ten albums of the year. His second album, The Cymbal Crashing Clouds, released in 2011 and is just as poetic, lush, and moving. In addition to producing seven of Andrew's Albums, including the newest BTLOG record, he’s produced artists like JJ Heller, Eric Peters, The Gray Havens, Melanie Penn, Colony House, Brandon Heath, and Ellie Holcomb. Somehow, Ben also finds time to teach Sunday School. BenShive.com

THE ARCADIAN WILD
Led by songwriters Isaac Horn (guitar) and Lincoln Mick (mandolin), and with the support of Bailey Warren (violin), The Arcadian Wild confidently inhabits and explores an intersection of genre, blending the traditional with the contemporary in order to create a unique acoustic sound that is simultaneously unified and diverse. With one foot planted firmly in choral and formal vocal music, and the other in progressive folk and bluegrass, the band offers up a song of invitation: calls to come and see, to find refuge and rest, or to journey and wonder. Currently, The Arcadian Wild is touring in support of their newest album, Welcome. TheArcadianWild.com

Ryman Show Only -

STRINGS:

Emily Nelson
Bethany Bordeaux
Cara Fox
Elenore Denig
Cassie Shudak

SPECIAL GUESTS:

Sally Lloyd-Jones
Ron Block
Buddy Greene
Stuart Duncan
Jeff Taylor

A LITURGY TO MARK THE START OF THE
CHRISTMAS SEASON

Liturgy from the book Every Moment Holy, Volume 1. Download PDF here.
Find books online at store.rabbitroom.com

LEADER:
As we prepare our house for the coming Christmas season, we would also prepare our hearts for the returning Christ.

PEOPLE:
You came once for your people, O Lord, and you will come for us again.

Though there was no room at the inn
to receive you upon your first arrival,

We would prepare you room
here in our hearts
and here in our home,
Lord Christ.

As we decorate and celebrate, we do so to mark the memory of your redemptive movement into our broken world, O God.
Our glittering ornaments and 
Christmas trees,
Our festive carols, our sumptuous feasts—
By these small tokens we affirm
that something amazing has happened
in time and space—
that God, on a particular night, 
in a particular place, so many years ago,
was born to us, an infant King, 
our Prince of Peace.

Our wreaths and ribbons and colored lights, our giving of gifts, our parties with friends—these have never been ends in themselves.
They are but small ways in which we repeat that sounding joy first proclaimed by angels in the skies near Bethlehem.
In view of such great tidings of love announced to us, and to all people, how can we not be moved to praise and celebration in this Christmas season?

As we decorate our tree, and as we 
feast and laugh and sing together, 
we are rehearsing our coming joy!
We are making ready to receive the one
who has already, with open arms, received us!
We would prepare you room
here in our hearts
and here in our home,
Lord Christ.

Now we celebrate your first coming,
Immanuel, even as we long for your return.
O Prince of Peace, our elder brother,
return soon. We miss you so!

Amen.

BAND TRADITIONS AND RECIPES

A PETERSON FAMILY RECIPE: SAUSAGE BREAD

I always make this on Christmas Eve, ostensibly so we can have it for breakfast on Christmas morning while the kids are tearing into the presents. But because it’s so very scrumptious hot out of the oven, certain sausage bread-loving members of the family linger in the kitchen after the movies and the Bible reading for a midnight sampling. Of course, the sampling turns into a snack which turns into a meal, with the result that there’s nothing to eat for breakfast. Which is why I learned to always make two loaves. (Many thanks to Leigh Angela Holbrook for the recipe, way back in 1998 when we crashed at your house in Texas during the Caedmon’s Call tour.) - AP

Ingredients

1 box Pillsbury Hot Roll mix
1 lb. country sausage (hot)
1 medium diced onion
½ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
2 eggs (beaten)
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon Tabasco
2 tablespoons parsley 

Prepare Hot Roll mix according to directions on box (if you can’t find the real thing, it’s easy to google a recipe to make your own mix). Let dough rise 45 minutes. Meanwhile, brown sausage with onion, then drain thoroughly. Combine remaining ingredients to sausage mixture. Roll out dough on baking sheet to ¼ inch thick rectangle (should cover most of the sheet). Spread sausage mixture on, then roll up, seam side down (you’ll probably have to curve it into a C). Close ends by pinching and folding under.  

Bake at 350° for 40 minutes.

Brush with butter while hot.

Best if eaten immediately, whilst wearing Santa hats. Warm up by toasting slices in toaster oven. Some grandparents swear it’s best with apple butter, but they’re wrong.

Click to download PDF 

GRANDMA’S SAUSAGE GRAVY (Recipe from Donna Osenga)

Ingredients

1 lb. bulk sausage
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper (or more, to taste)
½ - 1 cup water

Brown sausage in a medium-size nonstick or iron skillet on medium heat. Drain. Return to skillet and sprinkle in the four tablespoons of flour. Stir to blend in. Then slowly add the 2 cups milk, (med. heat) stirring constantly as it thickens.

Stir in seasonings Add ½ - 1 cup of water, stirring to desired consistency.

Serve piping hot over your favorite biscuits. (Homemade, Bisquick biscuits, or refrigerated biscuits.)

Serves 6-8.

MONKEY BREAD (Recipe from Carolyn Shipley, Andrew Osenga’s Mother-in-Law)

Ingredients

¼ cup butter
¾ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
Bread dough (May use sour dough recipe, frozen bread dough such as Bridgford Ready-Dough, or canned biscuit dough)

Divide prepared dough into golf-ball sized balls. If using biscuit dough, separate dough into biscuits and cut each into quarters. Dip in butter and roll in mixture of brown sugar and cinnamon. Drop into a buttered bundt or tube pan. Sprinkle remaining mixture on top.

If using sour dough recipe, let rise again - overnight or 6-12 hour.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 35 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes.

Remove from pan and brush with melted butter. Pull apart to serve. Enjoy!

CHICKEN AND SAUSAGE JAMBALAYA (Brandon Hays)

Cook time: 3-4 hours
Feeds: 6 hungry Cajuns

Ingredients

1 lb of boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 lb of Cajun sausage (Savoie’s, Richard’s, or Manda works best)
1 lb bag of frozen diced mirepoix mix (celery, onion, & green bell pepper; also known as the “trinity”)
1 lb of long grain, white rice
1 quart of water
2-3 tablespoons Kitchen Bouquet browning sauce for color and flavor
Salt to taste
Cajun seasoning (Tony Chachere’s) to taste

*PRO TIP* The type of sausage that you use is the biggest thing that determines your spice level. If you’re feeding kids or folks who can’t handle the heat, just use any mild andouille sausage (Johnsonville andouille is great for this).

Cut sausage into ½” thick slices and cook in your pot (black, cast iron preferably) over medium heat until cooked through, with a little bit of char. Remove sausage and place into a disposable foil pan. Cover with foil.

• *PRO TIP* Enjoy some of these sausage pieces while you’re cooking the rest of the meal. They’re delicious. This is my favorite part of cooking jambalaya.

Cook chicken in the sausage drippings in the pot. Use your spoon/jambalaya paddle to break up the chicken into bite-sized pieces while you’re cooking it.

• Don’t overcook the chicken. It’ll go back in the pot in a little bit to finish cooking.

Remove chicken once it’s cooked through, and place in the foil pan with the sausage. Pour veggies into pot, and sauté in the chicken & sausage drippings until wilted. Pour water onto vegetables and let simmer for 20-30 minutes. Add the cooked chicken and sausage.

Add some browning sauce until the liquid is a little darker and add some salt/seasoning. Don’t over-season. You can always add more later.

Uncovered, let the chicken, sausage, veggies, water, and spices simmer for 1-2 hours. Don’t bring it up to a boil yet. Stir occasionally.

• This is where the ingredients spend some time getting to know each other. They’ll be real good friends by the time this is all over. Grab a lawn chair, a good book, your favorite beverage, and get comfy. Patience is a virtue.

After an hour (or whenever you’re starting to get hungry), bring the water up to a rolling boil.

Once it’s rolling, add the rice and cook uncovered for 5 minutes. Then, reduce the heat and cover for 15-25 minutes, taking off the lid to stir every five minutes to make sure that the rice isn’t sticking to the sides/bottom of the pot.

The jambalaya is done once all the water has evaporated, and the rice looks like it’s just on the dry side of wet. Turn off the burner.

Serve straight out of the pot into a bowl and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

*PRO TIP* This recipe easily scales up, too. All the proportions and cook times stay the same, regardless of how big of a jambalaya you’re cooking.

Congrats! You are now an honorary Cajun. Feel free to exclaim, “Mais, dat’s some good jambalaya dat, cher!” (Don’t worry. We don’t know what that means either.)

HOLIDAY TRADITION: GRINCHING (Andy Gullahorn)

Objective: Collect as many discarded Christmas trees from your neighborhood as possible.

Why? To use for bonfires throughout the following year. And because it is fun.

When: Between January 1 and January 10

For best results:

• Get your neighbors to help you

• Wait until after midnight so you can feel like you’re doing something mischievous.

• Dress up in a Santa suit and a Grinch mask

• Use a U-Haul truck, a trailer, or if you want the OG Grinching machine - use a minivan.

• Play “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch” on repeat in the vehicle at a high volume.

• Wear gloves

• While searching for trees, if you see any roadkill, buy a “Get Well Soon” mylar balloon and tie it on the raccoon’s leg.

Fun Facts: The Grinching tradition started years ago with a couple of my neighbors. We used Bobby’s minivan and were able to shove 5 or 6 trees in the back of his minivan when the seats were folded down. It felt like you were shoving trees up a chimney - and that is why we named it “Grinching”. We never were able to get all of the pine needles out of that minivan. Never. The record for most trees collected during a Grinching Season is 176.

CREDITS

LIVE SHOW AND TOUR:
Executive Producer: Christie Bragg
Produced by Bragg Management
Tour Manager: Brandon Hays
Road Manager: Ken Leggett
Production Manager: Harold Rubens
Monitors: Quinn Redmond
Assistant Tech: Kyle Langdon
Lighting: Dayne DeHaven
Video: John Taylor
Merch Manager: Tom Anderson

LIVESTREAM PRODUCTION:
Jonathan Lindsay
Joel Cosand
Ben Martin
Andrew Adams
Mark Jarsen
Paul Mojonnier
Nic Dugger
Livestream Experience, Program Creative Coordinator and Web Design:  Mary Eveleen Brown

SPECIAL THANKS

Christie Bragg, Bragg Management, Kate Hays, Audrey Griffith, Sophie Byard, Mary Eveleen Brown, Ariana Deavers, International Justice Mission, Kyser Musical, Samaritan Ministries, ShowIt, Centricity Music, 25 Artist Agency, Pete Peterson, Stephen Crotts

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