The Lansdowne Theater reopened in August after a nearly 40-year hiatus after a tremendous renovation project by the Historic Lansdowne Theater Corp.<\/a>, which purchased the building in 2007 and had been working to restore it to its full glory since then.<\/p>\nKoz, who received his first Grammy nomination in 2001 for Best Pop Instrumental Album for \u201cA Smooth Jazz Christmas,\u201d touched on what makes this time of year and its music so special.<\/p>\n
\u201cHoliday music is all about tradition and nostalgia and family and heart and warmth and unity,\u201d he said. \u201cThese are things, especially this year, that seem very much that we need it. We need a little Christmas right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Plus, there\u2019s all the variety.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe music, first of all, there\u2019s so much of it and it\u2019s so good that that gives us a fresh canvas to paint on every year,\u201d Koz said, noting that they\u2019re more than just songs, they\u2019re messages, melodies and lyrics wrapped up in tradition.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey provide musicians with so much meat on the bones that you can kind of twist and turn them and morph them into different<\/p>\n
![\"Jonathan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/JonathanButlerphotobyRajNaik.webp\")
<\/p>\n
RAJ NAIK<\/p>\n
Jonathan Butler will be performing with Dave Koz at the Lansdowne Theater Dec. 6. (COURTESY OF PIX BY RAJ NAIK)<\/p>\n
ways,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can use them every year, the same songs but do them in different arrangements and the songs just always hold up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Or, you can add different songs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s so much of it too, that you never run out,\u201d Koz said. \u201cYou can change it every year and never run out of songs.\u201d<\/p>\n
That mix is part of his show that crosses the divides of Christmas music, whether traditional repertoire or songs written in the Great American Songbook tradition and performed by some of the same artists on his tour, like Butler, or new ones like Reinhart, Abrams and Waters.<\/p>\n
And its appeal on his tour has become the fabric for holiday tradition.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has become an annual tradition for lots of families,\u201d Koz said. \u201cI remember in the early years seeing parents bring their kids and now, their kids are bringing their kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
And that repeat business is why the show changes each time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe change our lineup and the artists that are part of the tour every year,\u201d Koz said. \u201cThis year is very special and we try and mix it up every year because we know that people come back every year.\u201d<\/p>\n
The musician spoke of the lineup for the Christmas Tour.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always love to have Jonathan Butler at my side because he\u2019s such a powerhouse, that\u2019s what he is: South African singer and guitarist filled with music and filled with heart and love,\u201d Koz said of the man whose music inspired Nelson Mandela during his imprisonment.<\/p>\n
And, there is the new artists added to the stage.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver the last few years, we\u2019ve been showcasing amazing young talents on the show,\u201d Koz said.<\/p>\n
He highlighted Hailey Reinhart as a \u201cphenomenal vocalist who\u2019s very very famous\u201d with hundreds of millions of plays of her songs on Spotify.<\/p>\n
![\"Haley](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Haley-Reinhart-photo-by-Max-Thompson-e1764202230778.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
MAX THOMPSON<\/p>\n
Haley Reinhart comes to the Lansdowne Theater Dec. 6 with Dave Koz’s 28th Christmas Tour. (COURTESY OF PIX BY MAX THOMPSON)<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s like the most famous person on the stage for sure this year,\u201d Koz added.<\/p>\n
Then, he noted Kayla Waters, a \u201cwonderful pianist,\u201d who is also the daughter of saxophone player Kim Waters, whom Koz described as \u201cmusical royalty.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ensemble is rounded out by Casey Abrams, who finished sixth as a jazz musician during \u201cAmerican Idol\u2019s\u201d season 10. Known for playing the upright bass, he also sings and plays the guitar as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll five us know each other very, very well, even though this is the first Christmas tour we\u2019ve done,\u201d Koz explained, adding that they are veterans of the cruise he does every year.<\/p>\n
![\"Casey](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Casey-Abrams-photo-by-Monika-Mushka-Lightstone-e1764202299326.jpg\")
Casey Abrams (Courtesy of Monika \u201cMushka\u201d Lightstone)<\/p>\n
Serving as a Starlight Children\u2019s Foundation global ambassador for 30 years, Koz has raised more than $2 million for the nonprofit that supports families with children diagnosed with serious illness or injury through the Dave Koz & Friends At Sea silent auctions and donations from fans.<\/p>\n
And, Koz truly appreciates and cherishes his fans.<\/p>\n
\u201cI get inspired by seeing the faces in the crowd,\u201d he said. \u201cI know it\u2019s a clich\u00e9 thing to say but it really does inspire me. Every year, I never know that anybody\u2019s going to show up to these shows. The fact that an audience assembled. Think about all the different options, especially during the holidays that people have for entertainment \u2026 or they could just sit on their couch and watch Netflix.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo the fact that people would come out to share in the holiday season by coming to our show, that really is what keeps me going year after year especially this time of the year,\u201d Koz said.<\/p>\n
In fact, he hopes that the experience of his Christmas show fuels his fans with an optimistic spirit in the year to to come.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a tough year for a lot of people,\u201d the musician noted. \u201cThis is a year where we\u2019re looking into the next year of 2026 with a lot of question marks and what\u2019s going to happen. There\u2019s a lot of like existential threats coming: AI and climate and politics and all of this stuff, the economy and terror The list is on and on and on.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo how do you get people to open their hearts and look positively forward for the next year?\u201d he asked. \u201cAnd that is our charge for the month is to somehow take the feeling that everybody\u2019s feeling and in a sense, morph it into positivity.\u201d<\/p>\n
And, if anything can do that, music, Koz said, has the power to heal, inspire and motivate.<\/p>\n
\u201cI myself am constantly humbled by the power of music to affect change,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd it also is one of the most unifying things too.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/DTD-L-lansdowne.jpg\")
The interior of the Lansdowne Theater ready for opening night restored to its original glory. (KATHLEEN E. CAREY – DAILY TIMES)<\/p>\n
So, for those coming to the Lansdowne Theater on Dec. 6, know that Dave Koz & Friends has a long-lasting gift for you.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s really what we want to project is love and warmth and unity and try to inspire people to look forward to the future with a smile on their face,\u201d Koz said. \u201cThat\u2019s our goal.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you go<\/p>\n
Dave Koz & Friends\u2019 28th Annual Christmas Tour featuring Jonathan Butler with special guests Haley Reinhart, Casey Abrams & Kayla Waters will come to the Lansdowne Theater, 31 N. Lansdowne Ave. in Lansdowne 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6.<\/p>\n
Doors open at 7 p.m. For tickets and more information, visit thelansdownetheater.com<\/a> or call 856-429-6100.<\/p>\nUpcoming BRE Presents shows at the Lansdowne Theater include:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt on March 12<\/p>\n
\u2022 Graham Nash on April 4<\/p>\n
\u2022 Micky Dolenz: 60 Years of The Monkees on April 12<\/p>\n
\u2022 Jon Anderson (of YES) & The Band Geeks on April 30 and May 2<\/p>\n
\u2022 Joe Jackson on July 17<\/p>\n
\u2022 Stayin\u2019 Alive: One Night of The Bee Gees on Oct. 15.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ten-time Grammy nominated artist Dave Koz is bringing his friends and his 28th Christmas Tour to a heart-warming…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":46504,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[212,1681,27402,182,1213,28,69,71,70,289,210],"class_list":{"0":"post-46503","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-philadelphia","8":"tag-delaware-county","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-lansdowne","11":"tag-local-news","12":"tag-music-and-concerts","13":"tag-pennsylvania","14":"tag-philadelphia","15":"tag-philadelphia-headlines","16":"tag-philadelphia-news","17":"tag-things-to-do","18":"tag-top-stories-dtd"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46503"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46503\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46504"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_9753.jpg\")
The Lansdowne Theater reopened in August after being closed for 38 years. Dave Koz comes to the venue Dec. 6. (KATHLEEN E. CAREY -DAILY TIMES)<\/p>\n