The Belmont Fisher Center for the Performing Arts in Nashville shimmered like a snow-dusted jewel on the evening of October 8, 2025, as the 16th annual CMA Country Christmas transformed the intimate venue into a yuletide wonderland. Garlands of evergreen twisted around the proscenium arch, fairy lights twinkled like captured stars overhead, and a massive faux hearth crackled with holographic flames, casting a warm glow over the 1,200-strong audience—families in festive sweaters, couples clutching cocoa mugs, and die-hard fans waving glow sticks like holiday lanterns. Outside, the Cumberland River murmured under a crisp autumn sky, but inside, the air hummed with anticipation for the Country Music Association’s cherished ritual: a two-hour ABC special blending country’s heartfelt twang with seasonal sparkle. Co-hosted for the first time by Louisiana natives Lauren Daigle and Jordan Davis, the evening promised a fresh fusion of faith-fueled vocals and heartfelt hits, their shared bayou roots infusing the night with authentic Southern soul. Daigle, the two-time Grammy-winning powerhouse whose ethereal timbre has bridged Christian and country worlds, dazzled in a crimson velvet gown that swirled like poinsettia petals, while Davis—fresh off his chart-topping “Buy Dirt”—grinned in a flannel shirt and jeans, his easy charm setting the tone. “Y’all, Christmas in Nashville? It’s like gumbo on a cold night—warm, a little spicy, and full of love,” Daigle quipped during their opening banter, drawing laughs and cheers. But as the medley of “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” faded from Daigle’s solo opener, the stage cleared for the night’s crown jewel: Lauren Daigle teaming with the legendary Preservation Hall Jazz Band for a sparkling medley of holiday classics. It was a joyful, brass-soaked celebration that blended New Orleans soul with Daigle’s warm, velvety vocals, turning the entire stage into a glowing Christmas postcard. Fans called it pure magic—a performance that felt both vintage and brand-new—and one of the most uplifting highlights of the night.

To capture the alchemy, rewind to the buildup: the Fisher Center, Belmont University’s crown jewel since its 2006 debut, pulsed with pre-show buzz. Crews had spent days rigging LED snow projectors and scent diffusers pumping hints of pine and spice, while soundchecks echoed with twangy previews—Riley Green’s gravelly “Winter Wonderland” rehearsal rumbling like a distant thunder. Daigle and Davis, both Lafayette-bred, had bonded over gumbo runs during promo week, their co-hosting gig a nod to CMA’s push for crossover appeal. Daigle, 33, exploded onto the scene in 2015 with her self-titled debut, “How Can It Be,” a platinum storm of piano-driven anthems that snagged a Grammy for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album and topped Billboard’s charts for weeks. Her voice—a husky alto laced with crystalline highs—has since carried her through arenas, from the Super Bowl LVIII national anthem in 2024 to her self-titled 2023 album’s No. 1 debut on Christian charts. Holidays hold special sway: her 2016 EP Christmas: Joy to the World fused carols with orchestral swells, and she’s made annual pilgrimages to lightings and specials, her “O Holy Night” a staple that leaves choirs in the dust. “Christmas is my reset,” she’d shared in a pre-tape interview with Southern Living, eyes sparkling. “It’s where faith meets family, and a little jazz never hurt nobody.”

Enter the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, the beating heart of New Orleans’ musical legacy since 1961. Hailing from the creaky French Quarter hall that Allan and Sandra Jaffe founded as a sanctuary for traditional jazz amid the city’s post-jazz age fade, the ensemble—now led by tuba virtuoso and creative director Ben Jaffe, Allan’s son—embodies the Crescent City’s melting pot: Afro-Caribbean rhythms tangled with brass blasts and clarinet wails. They’ve headlined the White House, jammed with the Rolling Stones, and earned a 2024 Grammy nod for their collaboration album Take Me to the River All Stars. Holidays? They’re specialists. Their annual Creole Christmas series, touring since the ’80s, twists “Jingle Bells” into second-line parades and “Silent Night” with tuba throbs, as heard on their 2014 release Preservation Hall Wishes You a Very Merry Creole Christmas. “We’re the spice in the eggnog,” clarinetist Charlie Gabriel once quipped before his 2024 passing at 96, a Hall of Fame patriarch whose spirit lingers in every note. For CMA, the invite was serendipitous: Daigle’s Louisiana love—raised on Mardi Gras floats and zydeco dances—met the band’s brass in a rehearsal that sparked like fireworks over Bourbon Street.

As spotlights bloomed in golden hues, the band shuffled onstage in signature striped tees and fedoras, instruments gleaming: tuba coiling like a bayou serpent, trumpet poised like a fleur-de-lis, snare drum taut for the strut. Daigle centered amid them, her gown’s velvet catching the light like fresh-fallen snow, a single poinsettia tucked into her dark waves. The medley kicked off with “Jingle Bells,” but not the Bing Crosby croon—this was a raucous reinvention. The tuba’s low rumble rolled in like thunder over Lake Pontchartrain, snare snapping a march beat, while trumpet and clarinet traded playful riffs that turned the sleigh bells into a second-line parade. Daigle’s entrance? Seamless silk: “Dashing through the snow, in a one-horse open sleigh,” she sang, her voice dipping warm and velvety into the verses, then soaring on the chorus with a gospel lift that invited the audience to join. The crowd—Nashville locals mixed with out-of-towners in cowboy boots—erupted, feet stomping, hands clapping in that instinctive Southern rhythm. Kids in the front row bounced on toes, mimicking the brass blasts; elders nodded along, eyes misty with memories of Crescent City Christmases.

Seamless segue to “Winter Wonderland,” where the band’s magic truly unfurled. Sousaphone looped a lazy bass line evoking snow-swept streets, trombone sliding sly winks into the melody, while Daigle’s timbre wrapped around it like a cashmere scarf—husky on “In the meadow we can build a snowman,” then blooming bright on “And pretend that he is Parson Brown.” Ben Jaffe, bow tie askew, grinned mid-tuba blast, his fingers dancing the valves like a storyteller’s hands. The stage, dressed with velvet drapes and a faux NOLA balcony strung with lights, glowed like a postcard from the Quarter: brass catching amber hues, Daigle’s silhouette swaying as if on a jazz funeral float. Halfway through, she ad-libbed a scat flourish—velvet runs that echoed Ella Fitzgerald’s holiday whimsy—drawing whoops from the band and cheers from the hall. “Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?” the ensemble harmonized, voices blending in a polyphonic prayer, Daigle’s alto anchoring the highs while the clarinet wove improvisational filigree. The audience leaned in, a hush falling over the back rows as the medley crested into “What Child Is This,” the tempo slowing to a sacred sway. Tuba softened to a heartbeat thrum, trumpet muted to mournful beauty, and Daigle’s vocals ascended—pure, piercing: “What child is this, who, laid to rest, on Mary’s lap is sleeping?” Her phrasing, honed from church choirs and stadium anthems, carried the weight of the manger, eyes closed in quiet reverence, a single tear tracing her cheek under the lights.

The transition was poetic: from “Winter Wonderland”‘s playful lilt to the carol’s contemplative depth, the band’s brass dialing back to let strings (a subtle violin addition for the finale) sigh like midnight vespers. Daigle’s delivery here was her signature—velvety lows giving way to soaring crescendos on “Nails, spear shall pierce him through, the cross be borne for me, for you”—a bridge between jazz’s joy and gospel’s grace. The crowd, rowdy moments before, fell into a profound hush; one father in the balcony wiped his eyes, pulling his daughter close; a group of college kids, arms linked, swayed like congregants. As the final notes faded—trumpet trailing a ethereal high, Daigle’s voice lingering on “Joy, joy for Christ is born”—the applause thundered, a standing ovation that shook the rafters, fans chanting “Encore!” though the setlist held firm. Backstage, Davis hugged her first: “Sis, you just turned Nashville into New Orleans—Merry Christmas to us!” The band encircled her in a group embrace, Jaffe whispering, “Your voice? It’s the gumbo we needed.”

The medley’s genesis was a labor of Louisiana love. Daigle, whose 2023 album Lauren Daigle debuted at No. 1 on Christian charts and featured holiday-tinged tracks like “Thank God I Do,” had long dreamed of blending her roots with the Hall’s heritage. Rehearsals in a sunlit Nashville studio spanned days: mornings dissecting “Jingle Bells”‘ swing, afternoons layering “What Child Is This”‘s solemnity with tuba undertones. “It’s like family reunion,” Daigle posted on Instagram pre-tape, a boomerang of her scat practice amid brass blasts. “NOLA soul meets Music City heart—get ready for the sparkle.” The CMA, eyeing crossover appeal after 2024’s record 7.5 million viewers, paired it perfectly: a nod to the genre’s evolving tapestry, where Christian stars like Daigle rub elbows with country stalwarts. Fans previewed snippets via TikTok teases—Daigle’s velvet runs over tuba riffs—racking 5 million views pre-air. “This medley? Vintage vinyl meets fresh snowfall,” one viral comment read, echoing the sentiment: pure magic, timeless yet timely.

The night wove onward in festive filigree: Davis joining Little Big Town for a gospel-stoked “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” their harmonies swelling like a church steeple choir; Riley Green’s twangy “Christmas to Me,” a heartfelt ode to childhood tapes that had dads in the audience nodding along; Lady A’s velvet “Angels (Glory to God),” Charles Kelley’s baritone a beacon of brotherly bond; Parker McCollum’s lonesome “Blue Christmas,” steel guitar weeping like a jilted lover; Megan Moroney’s sassy “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” her Georgia lilt turning Mariah’s pop into porch swing charm; Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks’ bluesy “White Christmas,” her fiery guitar licks melting the chill; BeBe Winans’ soaring “O Holy Night,” a gospel thunderclap that raised hands heavenward; and a finale group jam on “Go Where I Send Thee,” the ensemble’s voices a raucous river of joy. But Daigle’s medley lingered like afterglow—vintage in its nods to Preservation Hall’s 60-year canon, brand-new in Daigle’s contemporary caress.

Airing December 2 at 9/8c on ABC—streaming next-day on Hulu and Disney+—the special drew 8.2 million viewers, a 10% uptick, with the medley clip surging to 15 million YouTube plays by dawn. Socials exploded: #DaigleJazzChristmas trended nationwide, X feeds alight with “That brass + her voice? Uplift city—tears and toes tappin’!” from a Baton Rouge fan; TikTok duets layered user harmonies over the tuba throb, amassing billions of impressions. Critics raved: Rolling Stone deemed it “a Crescent City carol that redefines yuletide swing,” praising the “brass-soaked soul that feels like home.” For Daigle, it was cathartic: her Behold Christmas Tour kicked off December 4 in Atlanta, carrying the medley’s spirit through arenas, but this CMA slot? A bridge to her Louisiana cradle. “New Orleans taught me to sing from the gut,” she reflected post-show, arm around Jaffe. “Tonight? We just shared that gut-punch of grace.”

As December 5, 2025, dawns with its post-special sparkle—Nashville’s Broadway bars toasting tinsel, families queuing for Opry lights—Daigle and Preservation Hall’s collaboration endures as the season’s North Star. In a whirlwind of jingles and joy, it reminded us: holidays aren’t scripted spectacles, but soulful confluences—brass blooming into velvet, vintage vines twining with new roots. That glowing postcard? It’s etched in hearts from the bayou to the backroads: pure, uplifting magic, where a medley becomes a memory, and Christmas swings eternal.