TROY — Zach Williams would be just fine if Christmas could last a little longer. One day just isn’t enough.
The Christian music artist plans on doing his best to get folks into the Christmas spirit — and stay in it — when he brings his “I Don’t Want Christmas to End” tour to Miami County for a Dec. 2 show at Hobart Arena.
Just four days after wrapping up his “Rescue Story Tour” in Nashville, Williams’ Troy appearance will be the first of 11 holiday shows in December.
“I’ve gone out on a couple of tours with other artists and done a couple of songs … but this will be my first headlining Christmas tour,” he said during a recent phone interview. “It’s going to be great … we’re looking forward to it.”
As the holidays draw near, Williams said Christmas takes on a deep personal meaning.
“Obviously, for me, we celebrate our Savior’s birth, so Christmastime, for me, is a time to remember everything he’s done for us,” he said. “And I love how everybody comes together for Christmas. It’s the only time of the year where I see a lot of family that I haven’t seen in a while.”
And since it usually ends up being a festive but fleeting time, Williams pondered the idea of making Christmas last a little longer.
“Christmas is a one-day-a-year thing … so what if we left the wrapping paper on the floor and just slowed everything down?”
The notion led to the creation of the tour, an album by the same name and provided inspiration for the title song — which Williams co-wrote with Jonathan Smith, Dallas Davidson, Natalia Davidson and Tony Wood.
Williams said the album — and eventual tour — materialized during the pandemic and wrapped up earlier this year.
“We were all cooped up in the house during COVID and looking for something to do … and I’ve been talking the last year about doing a Christmas album. It always seems to come down to having the time to do it,” he said. “So, in July 2020, we went down to Muscle Shoals, Alabama and recorded at the famed studio.
“We had these ideas of ‘How do we recreate some of our favorite Christmas songs, but also make it sound like the famous backing band (The Swampers) played on it?’” he continued. “We went down and did this record last July, and we kind of wrapped it up this July and got it all finished up and put the wrapping paper on it.”
The two-time Grammy winner said fans attending the Thursday-evening show in Troy will hear a combination of his earlier hits as well as the new album.
“We’re playing the (new) record from front to back. It’s going to be a fun night,” he said. “Anne Wilson is going to be with us, and we’ll play a bunch of our singles from the past and then play the Christmas record.”
Originally a member of the bands Zach Williams & The Reformation and the Brothers of Grace, the 40-year-old Arkansas native went solo in 2016 and has enjoyed steady success across multiple musical categories.
His 2016 breakthrough hit “Chain Breaker” topped the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart and reached No. 9 on Billboard’s Hot Rock and Alternative Songs chart, while 2017’s “Old Church Choir” was a No. 1 Hot Christian Song and hit No. 7 on Billboard’s Hot Rock list.
Williams again topped the Christian Airplay charts in 2019 when he was joined by Dolly Parton for “There Was Jesus,” while “Less Like Me” from his “Rescue Story” album reached No. 1 earlier this year.
He said adding Anne Wilson’s talents to his own musical offerings will help make the Dec. 2 show an evening of energetic, encouraging music.
“I first heard of Anne six or seven months ago, and I felt like she’s filling a niche in our Christian music market,” he said. “I love her music and love her sound and thought that she’s a good addition to what we’re doing.”
For ticket information visit hobartarena.com, and to learn more about Zach Williams, go to his official website at zachwilliamsmusic.com.
