Station Inn was packed on Friday night for the launch of Becky Buller’s first full-length Christmas album The Perfect Gift. She admits it has been in the making for eight years, as she released two 45s released along the way. She was backed by the regular members of the Becky Buller Band—Daniel “Hulk” Hardin on bass, Wes Lee on Mandolin, and Ned Luberecki on banjo, with Jacob Groopman filling in on guitar. They were also joined on some songs by Todd Parks on bass, Chris Brown on drums, and Todd Livingston on dobro from Sam Bush Band.
In the first set, Becky and the band played through the album, opening with the Wham cover “Last Christmas,” the first single release from the project, with harmony by Jana Mougin and Stephen Mougin, who produced and engineered the album at Dark Shadow Recording. As a special treat, the Fairfield Four appeared and sang with Becky on “Mary Rocked Her Baby.” They followed with a performance of their song “Noah.”
The songs from the album range from old classics to Buller’s originals, several co-written with Lisa Aschmann, including the “The Box,” from which the title was taken. Buller’s nine-year-old daughter Romy made her Station Inn debut as she joined to sing “Merry Macaroni Art.” Becky also performed “A Marshmallow World,” crediting the Rat Pack.
Among the sacred Christmas songs, Buller included a bluegrass version of “Oh Come, O Come Emmanuel,” with Hardin singing the harmonies performed on the album by Tim O’Brien and Livingston accompanying on dobro. She also sang “Tell Me the Story of Jesus,” a traditional hymn by Fanny Crosby. Sharon White sang harmony with Becky on “Anna,” a song written by Buller and Delia Topping Boost, based on the brief account from the gospel of Luke.
After a break Becky and the band returned to perform songs from her other albums, including “More Heart, Less Attack,” “I Dream in Technicolor,” and “The Barber’s Fiddle” from Distance and Time. From her upcoming album of covers, she performed James Taylor’s “Millworker.”
Lee and Hardin also played an instrumental duet on mandolin and bass, and Luberecki played a preview from his “Sunday Banjo Lesson” for Sirius XM’s Bluegrass Junction. After a final Christmas offering of “Silver Bells,” the band closed the night with “Ride on By.”
With other Music City performances on their schedule, including a performance at the Grand Ole Opry this week, the Becky Buller Band provides a huge helping of Christmas spirit, bluegrass style.
