Country music singer Pam Tillis is on the road this holiday season sharing her “Belles & Bows” tour and helping get her fans in the holiday spirit. Tillis performs as part of a trio Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at the Wayne Theatre in downtown Waynesboro.
The daughter of country artist Mel Tillis, Pam Tillis made her stage debut at age 8 with her dad at the Grand Ole Opry. At 65, she is still releasing new music and touring through the United States.
“It sounds hokey, but the fans do really tell you that your music means something to them,” Tillis said. “The satisfaction of playing live and looking out and going, ‘Oh, people look happy. People are having a good time.’ In real time to see it, it’s so incredible.”
The “Belles and Bows” tour, Tillis said, is a play on words, combining the female trio with the strings of the violin and fiddle.
’90s country is certainly still popular today with Tillis joining the ranks of other greats like Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks and Shania Twain, to name a few, whose songs are still requested on the radio and streaming platforms.
The show will feature some of her greatest hits combined with an assortment of Christmas songs.
“There’s a lot of different reasons that people come to Christmas shows. It’s a holiday event, so it’s special. It is a special time of year,” Tillis said. “It’s the festive aspect of it. And sometimes it’s families, or you’re coming with cousins that you haven’t seen in awhile, you know, you are making holiday memories.”
The “Maybe it Was Memphis” star said that both girls in her acoustic trio have noticed how much Christmas music seems to touch the audience.
“Both girls in my acoustic trio said they looked out, and they could see people getting teary eyes, and it’s because Christmas music is extra evocative, of you know, it’s nostalgia.”
She said that most of the people she works with now are much younger than her, and she feels a lot of satisfaction in being a mentor to them.
Tillis released a new single, “Christmas Time is Here,” recorded with Nashville pianist, composer and producer Kory Caudill at Thanksgiving. The song, one of her favorites, is better known as the “Charlie Brown Christmas Song.”
“It’s a beautiful arrangement,” she said. “You will hear a different side of me vocally. Like some of the things that I don’t get the opportunity to do with straight country music. It’s a little jazzy. So it’s a very different voice for me. And I love busting out of the box.”
The show includes some Celtic, R&B, gospel, and even bluegrass.
Tillis said she also talks about some of her Christmas memories growing up in Nashville at the show. So what was it like growing up at her house around the holidays?
“I’d say it was country Christmas chaos,” she said. “You know, there’s five of us. So it’s always noisy and messy and fun.”
As for coming to small towns on her tour, Tillis said she thrives on the performances that happen in venues like the Wayne Theatre.
“I’m a sucker for the intimate venues,” she said. “I feel like I can look out, and I can see faces, and I can feel the energy of the room. It’s just something I learned from my dad.”
Tickets for the “Belles and Bows” show at the Wayne Theatre range from $45-$75 and are still available. The tour concludes on Dec. 18 giving Tillis plenty of time to return home for the holidays.
For more information, visit waynetheatre.org
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Crystal Graham
