While attending art school in Baltimore, Dan Blakeslee, a native of Maine discovered that he had an equal and deeply rooted connection to music. Blakeslee would sneak into the galleries to play his guitar through the late hours of the evening surrounded by easels and oil paintings. Through prolific artistic output and hard work, Dan Blakeslee has forged himself as a staple of the music and art scene in the New England region. Leading him to tour the U.S. and abroad, he has performed with The Low Anthem, The Lumineers, Deer Tick, Brown Bird, Josh Ritter, Old 97’s, and Kimya Dawson just to name a few.
For over a decade Blakeslee had been dreaming of making a Christmas album inspired by his retro music collection. On a cold winter night in 2019, Blakeslee stepped into the studio for the first session of Christmasland Jubilee. This full-length album by Dan Blakeslee and the Calabash Club was just released on 12/1/20 and is their third release together.
Dan Blakeslee & The Calabash Club have shared a lighthearted new Christmas song titled “Blowin’, Glowin’ Christmas Tree,” one of the many highlights from the New England artist’s new vintage tinged record Christmasland Jubilee. With charm and a strong sense of poetic melody, Blakeslee sings to a festive backdrop built on tasteful accordion, sleigh bells, striding piano, a heartfelt and tight rhythm section – a reflection back on the days when holiday music had charm.
“I wrote this song after coming in from the cold one wintry night and sat in my living room warming up while dreamily looking at the ornaments on my Christmas tree. I was looking closely at the way the light shown on each and pictured the ornaments and the tree coming to life. I have always had great admiration for decorated Christmas trees full of wonder and delight. I set mine up last night and it’s a beauty,” says Blakeslee
