Pop superstar serves up Christmas tunes with big side of gratitude in concert

Michael W. Smith is back in action this holiday season, delighting fans around the country with the 2024 Every Christmas Tour.

The multiplatinum-selling Christian music artist, known for such hits as “Great Is the Lord,” “Place in This World,” “The Throne,” “Surrounded (Fight My Battles)” and “Waymaker,” has two stops in Northern California.

First up, he performs Dec. 4 at SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center in Sacramento. Showtime is 7 p.m. and tickets start at $81. Then he checks into the San Jose Civic for a show on Dec. 5. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. and ducats start at $68. For information on both Michael W. Smith shows — which may well turn out to be the finest Christmas concerts of the season in Northern California — visit michaelwsmith.com.

Riley Clemmons, the terrific Nashville artist that gave voice to the hits “Broken Prayers” and “Better for It,” opens the shows.

I recently had the chance to catch up with Smith about his latest Christmas album, 2023’s “Every Christmas,” and the accompanying tour.

Q: The name of the tour is Every Christmas — and I guess you mean it literally. After all, it does kind of seem like you are out on the road pretty much every Christmas season.

A: You know what? It would be a different story if I didn’t like it. But I love it. It’s always my favorite time of the year. To be able to take this Christmas music all across the country, it’s a gift. We are going to bless a lot of people.

Q: Don’t you ever feel like spending November and December just sitting at home and watching college football?

A: Well, every once in a while, I do. I don’t like getting home like three or four days before Christmas. I wish I had more time to spend at home. But I have kind of just gotten used to it. And it’s OK. Maybe one of these seasons I will take Christmas off. We’ll see.

Q: You can always do an Easter tour — Easter album and Easter tour.

A: There you go! Why not?

Q: I know there are different camps of thought on this, but what is your opinion as to when is the earliest time of the year that Christmas music should be played. And I’ve seen your Christmas tour itinerary, so I know it’s not just a post-Thanksgiving thing for you.

A: Yeah, but it usually is. I think I’ve always had this train of thought that nobody is going to come (to the show) before Thanksgiving. And I’m not convinced that is true anymore.

I talk to people all the time, especially my fans, who say they listen to my Christmas music throughout the year. I don’t do that. But, as a kid, I would pull the Christmas albums out Sept. 1 — I was ready to celebrate.

Q: Now that’s early. Yet, it does seem like the Christmas season does start earlier and earlier with each passing year. So, why not kick off a Christmas tour in mid-November?

A: I think people are ready for it. It’s supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year — no pun attended — but there is a lot of heartache. There is a lot of people struggling — the economy, inflation. There’s just a lot of stuff happening. So, maybe we were meant to start this thing early.

Q: What is about the season that continues to fascinate — and inspire — you?

A: I love the music. I love these songs. I am really fond of some of the songs I’ve written — I love “Gloria” and “All Is Well.” But I love singing the standards — “O Come, All Ye Faithful” and “O Holy Night.”

There is just something about it that sort of drives the darkness away.

Q: You have recorded several Christmas albums, which have taken their place in the cannon with seemingly millions of other seasonal efforts from thousands of artists. So, does that factor into the equation when you go into the studio to record a new Christmas album? Are you thinking something like, “OK, how do I make this one different or standout?”

A: I thought I was done with making Christmas records after three. I mean, I just thought, “Man, that’s all the world needs from any artist when it comes to Christmas albums. How am I going to do more?”

Then (producer) Robert Deaton came to me and wanted me to do this Christmas record and include all these people who I know in Nashville — “Let’s get Amy (Grant) and Bono and Michael McDonald and these country artists like Lady A.”

And we did and it was really a lot of fun. Then I thought, “Well, that’s it. You get your four Christmas records. I’m not going to do another one.”

Then, all of sudden, I write this song with a guy named Tony Wood. And then I write something with one of my kids — Anna.

So, we did an EP — which that EP turned into a whole record last year. I guess I am up to five records — or five and a half — however you want to label it.

I guess you just can’t say I’ll never do that again. Because you just don’t know.

Q: That’s for sure

A: If history proves anything, I wouldn’t be surprised if I do another Christmas record one day. But I don’t envision me doing that soon.

The challenge is we’ve got all these Christmas songs and how do you pack all that into a 2-hour evening. Putting the setlist together is the hardest call.

Q: It’s cool that “Every Christmas” is such a family affair. How did you round up all 17 of the grandkids to be on it? That must have been like herding kittens, as they say.

A: It was a challenge. (Laughs) But they were so excited to be in the studio. It was fun. They all wanted to sing on it. They all wanted to be a part of it.

And they all love Christmas. We’ve sort of passed on this tradition, which my sister and I grew up with our mom and dad, to our kids. And our kids are doing the same with their kids. It really is everybody’s favorite time of the year.

Q: I really liked “Freeze the Frame” the first time I heard. But now that I lost my dad earlier this year — and I am getting ready to celebrate my first Christmas ever without him — that particular song, which is really all about wishing you could capture and preserve a moment in time with your loved ones, is really, really hitting me hard.

A: I’m sorry, Jim. My heart is with you. My dad went to Heaven in ’15. My mom went in ’21. You’re never, ever ready to say goodbye to your mom or dad — no matter how old they are. My prayers are with you this Christmas season.

Q: Thanks, Michael. I appreciate that. One of favorite lyrics in that song is “We don’t need the presents, it’s just the presence of the people gathered here.” I love that shift in perspective.

A: It’s just about family. I mean, the kids love the presents. But that’s not what it’s really about. It’s about being together.

Q: At Christmastime.

A: You look around the room (during Christmas) and you go, “Oh, my gosh, we are blessed beyond measure. Look at us.” We’ve got our problems like everybody does. We’re not pain free and problem free. But you look around the room and everybody is kind of dialed in. It’s just beautiful. So, you just count your blessings — and that’s what we do on a daily basis, my wife Debbie and I.

Q: That’s a great lead-in to my last question. Michael, I think one of your defining characteristics as an artist, especially on your Christmas releases, is a sense of gratitude. I hear it in your voice, I see it in your lyrics. Why do you think this trait has so defined you over the years?

A: I deserved death. And I got life. I realize that more every year that I live. Everything I have is a gift. The car I drive is a gift. The land I have is a gift — my house. I can’t take any of this stuff with me. It’s all a gift. And there’s only one (being) to thank for all that. That’s God Almighty.

I know that if I give into temptation and think that I’m something that I’m not — think I’m a rock star — that’s trouble. So, I’d rather humble myself then have God to it. I’ve had it both ways — and it’s not fun to be humbled by God Almighty. He opposes the proud and gives grace to the weak.

I’m thankful. I have no room to complain about anything. Any problems that I have, Jim, are first world problems.