Heavy/Hallmark Hallmark star Wes Brown
Wes Brown is looking forward to a very merry Christmas. The Hallmark star will not only return with Lacey Chabert in a “Haul Out The Holly” sequel, but has also just announced he’ll release his first-ever full-length Christmas album this holiday season.
An accomplished jazz musician influenced by his upbringing near New Orleans, Brown has performed in several of his Hallmark movies, including with country singer Kellie Pickler in 2019’s “Wedding at Graceland,” and has released music periodically through the years.
But producing an entire album has Brown “so very excited,” he wrote in an Instagram post on August 27, 2023, with a photo of the recording studio where he’s spent lots of time lately.
“I’ve been wanting to do this for so long, and couldn’t be happier with how it turned out,” he wrote. Here’s what you need to know:
Wes Brown Says He’ll Release Christmas Album on Thanksgiving
In the August 27 Instagram post about his upcoming album, Brown revealed that his new music will be available on music streaming apps, but will also be released on vinyl.
“I hope you love listening to it as much as I loved making it,” he wrote, “and my wish is that is becomes part of your yearly traditions. And the best part, it will be available on vinyl!!”
In his Instagram Stories on the same day, he wrote, “The full studio Christmas jazz album is DONE 🎄🎹” and then added, “Releasing on all streaming services and iTunes this thanksgiving!”
Brown and his collaborators have hinted at an album-in-the-works on social media in recent weeks. On July 28, “Nancy Drew” star and musician Riley Smith shared a photo in his Instagram Stories of himself with Brown and fellow performer Rob Mayes in Nashville.
Smith wrote over the photo, “3 guys from 90210 in the 37212.”
The next day, Brown shared an Instagram Story photo of his wrist, sporting a beaded friendship bracelet, a staple of Taylor Swift fans during her current Eras tour, as he sat in front of a studio microphone. His bracelet spelled out the word “December.”
“Wearing my TS bracelet my daughter made me,” Brown wrote over the photo. “Feels right recording a Christmas record. 🎄”
Friends & Fans Celebrate Wes Brown’s Album News
HallmarkKellie Pickler and Wes Brown in “Wedding at Graceland”
Brown, who’s been appearing in Hallmark movies since 2011, isn’t the only one excited about his upcoming album. Shortly after he shared the news, fellow Hallmark actor Jonathan Bennett shared the post in his Instagram Stories and wrote, “Excited for this absolutely stellar human to release this magic”
Plenty of fans weighed in, too, including one who wrote, “Can’t wait to put your album on and drink some hot cocoa while waiting for the new Haul movie to come on this holiday season! 🎄🎶🎁”
Another commented, “Congratulations, Wes!! I know it will be amazing and sure to be a Christmas classic. I can’t wait to get my copy. 😁🎄💜”
Though this is his first full-length holiday album, it’s not the first time Brown has released Christmas tunes. In 2020, he released a special four-song EP that included three covers — “Holly, Jolly Christmas,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” and “The Christmas Song” — and an original song, “Snowed in With You,” inspired by winters in New York.
“We used to live in the northeast outside of New York,” Brown told Southern Living. “One night we were going somewhere, and we literally did, we got snowed in. And I just thought, oh you know what? This might be a good idea for a song one day.”
In 2021, Brown created a new arrangement for the song “Last Christmas” and released it as a single. He also wrote and performed the song “A Natchez Christmas Eve” for the Hallmark Christmas movie “Every Time a Bell Rings,” in which he appeared.