The McCrary Sisters are continuing to pay it forward with A McCrary Kind of Christmas. The 14th annual holiday benefit show features a lineup of Emmylou Harris, Margo Price, Buddy Miller, Kyla Jade, Etta & Bob Britt, Tammy & Steve Crawford, and many more. The event benefits St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, as well as families in need in the Nashville area.
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The gospel group of sisters Ann, Deborah, Regina, and Alfreda McCrary was formed in 2010. Eldest sister Ann started her career as a session musician, while Regina was a background singer in Bob Dylan’s touring band in the 1980s. Deborah passed away in June 2022 at the age of 67.
“The program, the benefit, is a God-sent show that we’ve been doing for 14 years,” Regina said in a press statement. “Around the holidays, people get depressed and lonely. Sometimes they feel like they are by themselves. This is The McCrary Sisters’ way of reassuring people that they’re never alone. We are about helping people and making sure that people know we care and this is our ministry. This is what God has called us to do.”
“St. Jude, to me, is one of the most spectacular hospitals in the world. Because if you have children, and they become ill, it is bad enough to be concerned about them and praying that they’re gonna be alright. But at St. Jude, you don’t have to worry about the bills,” added Ann. “That’s what touches my heart, because the bills will kill you. Without worrying about the condition of your child, those bills will take you down. And not having to worry about a place to stay, or anything like that, that is just wonderful to me.”
“We never know a situation until it knocks at your home, knocks at your own door,” said Alfreda McCrary. “It’s an honor to be able to help who we can at this time or any time during the year. We do almost four benefits each year, but this is the greatest of them all.”
This isn’t the first time the group has worked with Price and Miller. The sisters provided background vocals on “Do Right By Me” on Price’s 2017 album All American Made, while Regina is a co-writer on “Don’t Make Her Cry” on Buddy and Julie Miller’s 2023 album, In the Throes. The McCrary Sisters also sang on Carrie Underwood‘s “Choctaw County Affair” on her 2015 album, Storyteller.
A McCrary Kind of Christmas takes place December 8 at Riverside Revival in Nashville and will be livestreamed on VEEPS. Donations can be made via The McCrary Sister’s GoFundMe page, with the goal of reaching $14,000.
Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for Americana Music Association
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