Band of Merrymakers’ “A Very Merry Medley” Is the Only Christmas Single You’ll Need This Year

December 8, 2016 Andrea Dresdale

C. Taylor CrothersWhy download multiple Christmas songs this season when you can just buy one — and raise money for a good cause, too?

The all-star Christmas collective Band of Merrymakers has a single out called “A Very Merry Medley,” a mashup of 10 holiday classics. Performers include Sugar Ray‘s Mark McGrath, Lisa Loeb, Neon Trees‘ Tyler Glenn, American Idol‘s Constantine Maroulis and the Merrymakers’ co-founders: Better than Ezra‘s Kevin Griffin and hit songwriter Sam Hollander.

“The idea was so good, I dare someone to think of a better idea this year,” McGrath says of the medley, now added to the group’s 2015 album Welcome to Our Christmas Party. “[Merrymakers] is an evolving collective, and I think even getting one new song a year is quite an accomplishment from how busy everybody is.”

Proceeds from the single benefit the Recording Academy’s charity, MusiCares. The Merrymakers raised money for MusiCares — and Musicians On Call — via a brief tour. Musicians On Call also benefits from sales of a Band of Merrymakers Christmas sweater, available online.

Musicians On Call brings music to hospital patients, and the Merrymakers did the same last week, visiting a children’s hospital in New York City.

“We went floor to floor…and we went room to room in each of them,” says Hollander. “And we played ‘Jingle Bells’ somewhere around 400 times in different variations…it was such a powerful, tough day and it just puts all of this in incredible perspective.”

Mark McGrath says he’s already signed up for next year’s Merrymakers project — partly to impress his six-year-old twin girls.

“My kids love the Band of Merrymakers, they love the songs,” he laughs. “They want me to sing those songs year round. ‘Not Daddy’s regular songs. Daddy’s Christmas songs!’ they call ‘em. So Daddy’s cool this time of year.”