Texas Based Soul/Blues Singer and Guitarist Hamilton Loomis Releases Christmas Album
(Katy, Texas)
Just in time for the holiday season, Hamilton Loomis releases his first-ever Christmas album, This Season. With covers of five Yuletide classics, and five originals destined to become seasonal classics, the album offers something for everyone.
"When I was a kid," Loomis recalls, "my mom always had Christmas records playing in the house from November on. There's such a great tradition of Christmas albums across just about every genre of music. It's something I've always wanted to do, and when I started writing these new songs I realized this was the time to do it."
Loomis not only shows off his songwriting and musical chops with This Season, but his production skills are also on deft display as originals and classics seamlessly blend together to create an almost-perfect holiday vibe.
Originals like celebratory title track and the soulful "Everything I Wanted" are perfect examples of the vintage funky soul blues Loomis has been playing worldwide for over two decades. The tongue-in cheek holiday hilarity of "Another South Texas Christmas," and the timeless grooves of "Underneath The Tree," and "Christmas Tears" set a perfect pace interspersed with an array of covers.
From a sizzling take on "Run Rudolph Run" that arguably out-rocks every other version of the tune, to a soulful spin on "Lay Around And Love On You" with echoes of vintage Stevie Wonder, bluesy workouts of "Christmas Tears," "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," and a solemn, solo acoustic version of "O Holy Night" to close it out, This Season is a musical Whitman's Sampler not to be missed this holiday season.
"If blues, soul, and rock can be said to form a triangle, you'll find Hamilton Loomis right in the center of it." – Andy Ellis, Guitar Player Magazine
“This Season" On National Indie Radio (WNIR)
“This Season" is currently playing on National Indie Radio (WNIR) from December 1st through December 31st as part of BWH Music Group’s Holiday Radio Special. WNIR features the best independent artists in the world and is part of the highly selective and nationally renowned BWH Music Group platform. The Holiday Radio Special will feature original holiday songs as well as covers by exceptional independent artists. Station information can be found at National Indie Radio’s website.
About Hamilton Loomis
Born and raised in Galveston, Texas, Hamilton Loomis is the son of musician parents who listened to blues, rock and soul. Music ran in his veins and, with instruments readily available around the house, he picked up drums, piano, guitar, bass, and harmonica, thus honing his multi-instrumental talent.
A protégé of Bo Diddley, Loomis met the icon backstage at Houston’s famed venue, Rockefeller’s at the age of 16. Before the night was over, Loomis was onstage playing guitar with the legend. Diddley quickly became friend, mentor, collaborator and supporter, appearing on two of Loomis’ albums and presenting a cherished red guitar that he still plays.
Loomis’ album Give It Back showed his pay-it-forward attitude of passing on knowledge to young, and up-and-coming musicians, just as his mentors did for him. On his Basics album, Loomis continues the tradition by featuring several of his young protégées, and finishes the record with a jam session by some of his favorite Houston-area youngsters, whose ages range from 12 to 16.
Loomis is also on a mission to raise awareness about hyperinsulinism (HI), a rare disease that causes dangerously low blood sugar levels. His 5-year-old son Bo was diagnosed with the life-threatening condition in 2015, and Loomis dedicates Basics’ opening track, “Sugar Baby,” to Congenital Hyperinsulinism International (www.congenitalhi.org), an organization that heads research on the disease, educates doctors and hospitals, and supports families affected by the disease.
"They call HI kids 'sugar babies,' so I wanted to write a song in appreciation for all they do for families all over the world,” Loomis says.
His brand new Christmas CD's title track "This Season," also inspired by his son Bo, takes the personal subject of his family's struggle with hyperinsulinism and transforms it into a universal message of hope, faith, and healing.
Loomis and crew shine on stage proving his music is best experienced in person, where one can see and hear its intended splendor. Loomis’ energetic, get-in-with–the-crowd antics are infectious.
“Being comfortable on stage is something that comes completely natural to me. I feel joy when I play music and it literally moves me. It moves my body. I learned long ago that whenever music is coming from you, from deep inside your soul and from the right place, people will feel that on a deeper level and might not even know what’s going on inside of themselves. I enjoy engaging the crowd and feel a show should be an interactive.”
For more information on Hamilton Loomis, please visit his website.
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