Tommy Byrne in the “Christmas Means More This Year” video.
Add to the list of 2020-inspired holiday songs by New Jersey artists “Christmas Means More This Year,” by Woodbridge Township’s Tommy Byrne. You can listen to it in the video, below.
“After all that we’ve gone through, let’s thank God we’re here/It just feels like Christmas means a little more this year,” sings Byrne on this uplifting ballad.
Byrne, whose autism anthem “Unstoppable” I wrote about nearly three years ago, is donating proceeds from “Christmas Means More This Year” to Holiday Express, the Shore-based organization that provides live music to hospitals, nursing homes, soup kitchens and other locations throughout the holiday season, every year. He is also dedicating the song to saxophonist Gary Trippiedi, who died of cancer in November.
“In what has been a tough year for everyone, we all know somebody that lost someone, I hope this song brightens your spirits,” wrote Byrne on Facebook. “It was a labor of love for so many involved in this project.”
Many well known Jersey musicians back Byrne on the song. The lineup features Joe Bellia (of The Weeklings) on drums and percussion; Bob Burger (of The Weeklings) and Herman Gibson on bass; Byrne, Marc Ribler, Jake Thistle and Mark Leimbach on guitars; Arne Wendt and Mark Masefield on keyboards; Taylor Hope on violin; Joey Arminio (the song’s co-producer) on saxophone; and Doreen Brusca Arminio, Lisa Sherman, Lori Davis, Layonne Holmes and Deedee Pie on backing vocals. Making guest appearances on background call-and-response vocals near the end of the song are Willie Nile and JoBonanno.
Downloads are available via bandcamp. Here is the video:
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