Trace Adkins Talks Christmas CD, Concert at Stanley Theater

As we prepare for Halloween, Trace Adkins is gearing up for Christmas with the release of his first holiday album 'The Kings Gift,' full of Celtic carols, out October 29th. He's also hitting the road for a Christmas tour, that stops at the Stanley Theater November 22nd.

It's hard to believe Trace hasn't released a holiday album until now. When we spoke with Trace, he agreed, but said it's something he's been thinking about for 15 years. 'This past year, my band leader asked me why I hadn't made a Christmas record. I told him I intended to but I just hadn't gotten around to it. He said 'well lets do it.''

Trace has been releasing music since 1995 but this album is one of his favorites, 'musically this is the most beautiful project I've ever been a part of. It has nothing to do with my vocals. It's all about these musician and background singers. It's just a great record.'

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Kevin Costner

Trace pulled a few strings to have a number of special guest on the album, including Kevin Costner and his daughter Lily, who lives in Nashville. 'She sang on several of the tracks and will be on tour with us. I sang on Kevin's record and through Lily, I said 'tell your old man I sang on his record, so he's got to sing on mine.' He sang on Silent Night and did a great job. He's a good singer and I told him 'I don't care if he is Kevin Costner, if he can't sing he's not going to be on the record.''

Production wise, Trace says this is the biggest troupe he's been out on the road with. 'To pull this off live, you have to have the string section, you have to have the pipes and the whistles. All the stuff that makes it Celtic.'

The tour has special VIP packages, which was news to Trace. 'Most stuff I do is news to me. People tell me the day I'm doing something and I'm like OK. I just take orders.'

You can purchase a meet & greet VIP package or a Christmas package that includes 'The Kings Gift' album with your concert ticket.

Despite the Christmas album and holiday tour, Trace isn't really in Christmas mode, as far as shopping goes. 'I'll do my Christmas shopping about 10 o'clock on December 24th.' Like every other man on the planet.

Tickets range from $25 to $65 and can be purchased at The Stanley Box Office (10 AM-4 PM), by calling (315) -724-4000 or at Ticketmaster.com. Tickets can also be purchased through TraceAdkins.com.