When I last saw SaraBeth, it was on the 4th of July weekend 2015 and she, Glen Mitchell and Christen Cole had just been onstage at one WFRE’s country music summer shows in Frederick, Maryland not too far from Washington, D.C. That was a month before she and Mitchell were getting ready to head to his native UK. The two both had great EPs to promote – the self-titled SaraBeth that he produced for her and his own Broken. Time and seasons have a funny way of sneaking up on us and now it’s Christmas and SaraBeth has released a new EP on iTunes called Cowboy For Christmas. The five songs include the playful title track, “Grinch Please” and three more traditional songs of the season: “Hark The Herald Angels Sing,” “Under The Mistletoe” and “Silent Night.” It seemed like a good time to catch up and talk about Christmas traditions past and present. Will life imitate art and give us snow in Texas like we see in the video? We may have to wait to see if it will fall in her native Dallas but in the meantime Cowboy For Christmas will certainly bring you holiday cheer.
Steve: What are your earliest Christmas memories?
SaraBeth: I remember loving Frosty the Snowman. One year when I was pretty young, someone stole our wooden frosty and candy canes out of the front yard. My dad drove us all around until we found him. I also remember hating how itchy the Christmas dresses were and having to get dressed up for Christmas card pictures. My mom would always tell me and my brother that we were doing a “fake smile”. I know that may sound negative, but looking back it’s funny to me. I look at all the pictures at my parents house and have to laugh at those “behind the scenes” stories of the yearly Christmas card photos. Now I just dress my dog up in scarves and he’s equally as excited as I was then!
Steve: What are your favorite Christmas traditions? Favorite holiday movies?
SaraBeth: On Thanksgiving we always kick off the Christmas holiday spirit by watching Christmas Vacation. I think my favorite tradition is wearing matching pajamas with my mom. We tried to get my brother and dad to join in the tradition… that didn’t go well! I think there may be pictures somewhere on Facebook of that one year! It’s hard to pick just one favorite holiday movie, they all bring out such different emotions! I love them all! White Christmas is a classic! Christmas Vacation makes me laugh! It’s a Wonderful Life makes me cry.
Steve: Tell me about the Christmas songs, who plays on them, what inspired you to do them for this year.
SaraBeth: I have released a Christmas single every Christmas. I decided this year to record two more and then put them all onto one EP! Glen and I were writing another song well over a year ago with Tim Morgan. Somehow we started talking about Christmas tunes, and decided we wanted to write a song called Cowboy for Christmas the next time we got together… so we did! It debuted at #12 on the UK’s Hot Disc chart which was really exciting and climbed to #9 the second week! Here’s hoping it hits #1!
Steve: When you look back on this year, what were your most memorable experiences?
SaraBeth: There are so many! Having my first Billboard charting single and first music video played on the Virgin Produced channel with “I’m Sick of It,” our 12 show UK tour, and adopting my puppy, Dallas!
Steve: I saw you sponsored a disadvantaged child through Food For The Hungry and put out an appeal to your fans to support. What has the experience been like?
SaraBeth: I recently partnered with Food for the Hungry to help get children in extreme poverty conditions around the world sponsored. I actually get to meet the child I sponsor in January. The heart of this organization is amazing, and almost all the money goes to the family and community. It’s important for me to believe in any organization I partner with. If there’s anyone out there who has questions about it, you can always ask me! I have the children’s packets at my shows and people can do a sponsorship online too at fh.org/SaraBeth.
Steve: What are your goals and hopes for 2016?
SaraBeth: I just want to be out on the road making and playing music for people!
