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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Nichols kicks off holiday tour at Northern Quest

Joe Nichols performs during the 2015 Shaky Boots Music Festival at the Kennesaw State Sports and Entertainment Park on Saturday, May 16, 2015, in Atlanta. (Photo by Katie Darby/Invision/AP)

In 2004, country star Joe Nichols released a holiday album titled “A Traditional Christmas,” and it featured such perennial favorites as “O Holy Night,” “Winter Wonderland,” “Silver Bells” and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.”

“I wanted it to be heavily spiritual, rather than doing the light kids stuff,” Nichols said of the album. “I wanted it to be about the actual meaning of Christmas. … It’s more of a thoughtful kind of Christmas album. I was looking for some spiritual meaning in a lot of places and Christmas was an emotional time for me. The album we got is the one we aimed for.”

A decade later, Nichols is getting back into the Christmas spirit: The singer’s “Country Christmas” tour makes its way to Northern Quest Casino on Wednesday night, and the show will serve as the first gig on the holiday-themed leg of his tour.

“Whatever doesn’t work that night, we won’t do the next night,” Nichols said with a laugh.

“This year we wanted to do something different, add some flair to the year-end shows. Everybody’s been talking about the Christmas stuff for a long time, so it’s just been on our mind a lot and we thought, ‘Why not?’ ”

Nichols said his set lists will likely consist of equal parts seasonal tunes and originals, including his No. 1 country hits “Brokenheartsville,” “Gimmie That Girl” and “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off.” He also said he’s looking forward to celebrating Christmas with his fans.

“I love Christmastime,” he said. “It’s a time to reflect, and toward the end of the year we get to think about why we’re all here and the gift that was given to us in the beginning. It’s a very important time for me, it’s a very important time for my family and this year we get to spend a lot of the Christmas season with the fans.”

Nichols hasn’t released a studio album since 2013’s “Crickets,” but he said his upcoming album (tentatively titled “Freaks Like Me”) will likely hit shelves early next year.

“They always take longer than you want,” Nichols said. “I’d put out an album every six months if I could. Finding the right songs, doing it the right way, fixing what needs to be fixed – all that occupies a lot of time.”

Nichols’ music has always paid tribute to the country songs of yore, but he said his new album will be more progressive than his previous releases. The country genre has recently flirted with rock, pop and even hip-hop, and Nichols said he now pays more attention to musical trends than he did when his career began.

“We’re rounding the corner on the what the album’s going to look like,” Nichols said. “It’s more out there, a little edgier. … I’m more mindful now of what else is on the radio and where I fit into that.”

But that doesn’t mean Nichols is merely copying what’s currently trending on the radio: The key to a successful album, he said, is quality.

“If you aim for having hits, you’re probably not going to have any because you’re doing what everybody else is doing. In my opinion, go out and make a quality record with good songs and you’ll probably find success.”