The 2017 edition of Trinity Guitars’ and WRFA-LP 107.9 FM’s “Back Room Radio Hour” Christmas special will feature several regional musicians performing original Christmas music written by Bill Ward on Thursday, Dec. 14. In addition to Ward, the following musicians will perform on the special: Teal Weatherley; Steel Rails, which features Gary Cuckler and Dave Moller; Cindy Love; Steve Davis; Adam McKillip; Steve Johnson, of The Probables; John Cross; and Gavin Paterniti, of Cold Lazarus. Submitted photo

Trinity Guitars will offer a new take on its traditional “Back Room Radio Hour” Christmas special next week.

Every year, the guitar store’s monthly radio program, a WRFA-LP 107.9 FM-affiliate, features an amalgam of respected local musicians performing Christmas music during its December show. This year, however, rather than performing a collection of classic Christmas carols and holiday music, the guest musicians will be performing original songs penned by local artist and the host of “Back Room Radio Hour,” Bill Ward, on Thursday, Dec. 14, beginning at 7 p.m.

Ward, who has released CDs of his own original Christmas music in years past, said he will have each artist on the bill perform one of those songs before concluding the program with an ensemble performance.

“This show will be our annual Christmas extravaganza, and we always look forward to it, but it’s going to be special for me because I’ve pretty much wrangled everybody into doing some of my Christmas songs,” he said. “For about the last 20 years I’ve been writing about one Christmas song per year, and for a long time I’ve toyed with the idea of getting a bunch of regional music heroes together to do an interpretation of those songs. Thankfully, these folks have granted me the great honor of interpreting them for me.”

Scheduled to appear in the 2017 “Back Room Radio Hour” Christmas special are: Teal Weatherley; Steel Rails, which features Gary Cuckler and Dave Moller; Cindy Love; Steve Davis; Adam McKillip; Steve Johnson, of The Probables; and John Cross. Gavin Paterniti, of Cold Lazarus, will sit in on bass for a handful of songs.

Ward said the show will also serve as the premiere for a couple of brand new original songs that he wrote specifically for the program, including the song that Love will be performing.

“Back Room Radio Hour” draws from an expansive pool of local and regional talent to showcase independent artists in an hour-long program of performances and interviews taped in-house before a live studio audience. The show is recorded live for a 7 p.m. broadcast the following Monday evening on 107.9 WRFA Radio in Jamestown. It is also streamed on wrfalp.com.

There is no cost to attend a taping session of “Back Room Radio Hour,” but it is preferable that those interested in attending reserve their seats by contacting Trinity Guitars at 665-4490 or trinityguitarsbill@gmail.com. Reservations may also be made by visiting trinityguitars.com or via the event’s Facebook page, “Back Room Radio Hour 2017 Christmas Special.” It is recommended that attendees arrive at 6:30 p.m. to ensure the program begins on time.