Vi Wickam: "The Thanksgiving Album" (2025) CD Review

Every year, approximately sixty-three thousand new Christmas albums are released. But Thanksgiving albums? Nope, hardly any. Why is that? Why does Christmas, among all the holidays, lead to such a plethora of albums while other holidays remain relatively underrepresented in the music stores? You would think Thanksgiving, with its special theme of gratitude and its tradition of gathering families together, would inspire its own special music. But after you finish listening to "Alice's Restaurant" and a few other songs, you're basically out of material. Well, this year Vi Wickam delivers an album for Thanksgiving. Appropriately titled The Thanksgiving Album, it features mostly original numbers, with several artists contributing material. Surprise your family and friends this Thanksgiving by not only being prepared with a good feast, but with some delightful holiday-themed music. Vi Wickam is an award-winning fiddle player who is at home in a fairly wide variety of musical realms, from bluegrass to jazz, from country to rock. On this album, Vi plays both fiddle and electric violin, and provides lead and backing vocals. Different musicians join him on each of the tracks. And regarding that other holiday (you know, the one with all the music), interestingly, the dinner table on the cover, the way it extends to a point in the distance, sort of resembles a Christmas tree.

The album opens with "Another Fine Day For Thanksgiving," a song of welcoming, a song with some wonderful Celtic elements, with Nathan Townley on Irish flute and Max Francis on bodhran. Their presence certainly helps make this track stand out for me. There is also some humor, heard in a line like "Who brought the gluten-free biscuits from Schar?" And the song urges us not to take things so seriously. This track was written by Vi Wickam, Lani Nielsen and Christina Gressianu. Vi Wickam is on lead vocals in addition to fiddle. Dave Beegle is on guitar and bass. That's followed by "Each New Day." This one was written by Luke Bulla, who also sings lead on it. It has a more somber, introspective vibe at the start. "Oh, the miles/These days they seem to just roll on forever/I see their smiles/But a little screen is reminding me/That we're not quite together/I'm on the road alone/A thousand miles from home." The song picks up a more joyful and hopeful tone as Luke sings, "I'm thankful/I'm grateful/For each new day the sun shines down somewhere on planet Earth/I'm grateful for my own fiddle." Dennis Ludiker contributes some nice work on mandolin.

"Grateful" was written by Daniel Whittington, who provides lead vocals and plays guitar on this track. "I am missing you right now/And I'm on my way to you/I know that this is hard/I feel you reaching for me too." He delivers a passionate and tender vocal performance in this song of love, of yearning, of loss. "And I might cry, and you might cry as we fall asleep/But when I wake beside you all I feel is grateful." Oh yes! Those lines perfectly capture the way many of us feel these days. The days are full of anxiety and insanity, but when we wake next to that special person, there is hope for the new day. There is hope for the world, and gratitude for our own blessings. This is one of the album's highlights. Then "Sitting At The Table" has a somber tone at the beginning, created on piano and violin, leading us to expect a song of some melancholy. Interestingly, when the vocals come in, the song takes us back to childhood, back to a familiar scene, remembered with fondness and some playfulness. This song describes a Thanksgiving day from beginning to end. Joe O'Keefe, who wrote the song, and Vi Wickam share vocal duties on this track. "No better place on Earth than sitting at the table/A moment to be thankful for you." Joe O'Keefe is also on piano. Dave Beegle is on bass.

"My Kind Of November" has a contemplative beauty. Zee Crain wrote this song, and sings lead on it. There is an intimate quality to her vocal performance, especially at the beginning. "And father calls and asks if I'm coming home/But I'm a thousand miles away/And I don't know how to let them know/That I breathe deeper here on my own." I love how the music builds then, showing there is a special, different kind of joy felt. Not everyone despairs at not sharing the traditional holiday fare and setting. This is a song for the rest of us. "It ain't tradition, but it feels right." Christian Teele is on percussion. Then "I'm At Home" has a delicious jazzy vibe. It was written by Jessie Andra Smith, who sings lead and plays resonator guitar. Nathan Rivera also plays guitar, as well as bass, piano and accordion on this track. "So don't get out of bed just yet/The sunrise hasn't kissed the peak of our mountain yet." I love the leads in the second half, on fiddle and piano. This song is a total delight, a love song that should have you feeling good. It's one of my personal favoites.

"Welcome At The Table" was written by Matt Bell, who provides lead vocals. Both Matt Bell and Vi Wickam play electric violin on this track. "'Cause everything that I've got you've got anytime we're able/It was just a longshot, a jackpot, now you're coming home/Even though our differences are plain/Inside we're much the same/Even if there's nothing to exchange/You're welcome at the table." This song features a vibrant, energized vocal delivery, as if the performance itself can overcome our differences, our challenges. And I appreciate that. I also love the violin work toward the end, lifting us from our individual miseries. That's followed by "Billy Bob," this one written by Roy Williams, Joe O'Keefe and Vi Wickam. It has more of a rockin' vibe, and is a character song. "But he was a fool, anyone could see/He was looking for trouble, and he done found me." Interestingly, it turns into a love song. The album concludes with its sole cover, the traditional number "Turkey In The Straw." It's a fun bluegrass instrumental tune featuring a whole lot of great fiddle work. End your Thanksgiving festivities with a country dance, send your guests out into the cool autumn air with full stomachs and full smiles.

CD Track List

1. Another Fine Day For Thanksgiving
2. Each New Day
3. Grateful
4. Sitting At The Table
5. My Kind Of November
6. I'm At Home
7. Welcome At The Table
8. Billy Bob - Radio Edit
9. Turkey In The Straw

The Thanksgiving Album was released on November 1, 2025.