Holiday spirit
By Dennis Hill
Published in News on December 16, 2014 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Drummer Bobby Tomlinson, right, addresses the audience at Goldsboro High School Monday evening during the Embers annual Christmas show. At left are lead singer Craig Woolard and guitarist Jeff Grimes.
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Craig Woolard plays the soprano saxophone during the Embers Christmas concert Monday evening at Goldsboro High School.
The Embers rolled into Goldsboro Monday evening, bringing their Christmas show to Goldsboro High School and delighting an enthusiastic crowd of nearly 400 people with their own brand of holiday music.
The band, featuring the return of lead singer Craig Woolard, rollicked through nearly two dozen numbers to put the audience in the Christmas spirit.
The event helped raise money for of the Empty Stocking Fund, which provided Christmas cheer to hundreds of needy children on Saturday.
The band, recently inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame, started off its show with "It's the Most Wonderful Time of Year."
Mixed in with the Christmas standards were a number of religious carols.
"We're not afraid to put the Christ in Christmas," Woolard said, inviting the audience to sing along with "O Come All Ye Faithful."
The evening's show featured an acoustic set and a new version of an old favorite, "Shagging in a Winter Wonderland."
Besides Woolard, keyboardist Andy Swindell took over much of the singing duties, leading the crowd with "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" and "Mary Did You Know?"
Woolard soloed on "Silent Night" and accompanied himself on clarinet.
The band, revamped since last year, featured guitarist Jeff Grimes, bass player Hugh Blanton, and horn players Bob Nance and Stephen Pachuta.
As usual, the band was led by its founder, Bobby Tomlinson, a Goldsboro native.
Other crowd favorites included "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Frosty the Snowman."
The band ventured into country territory by covering "Christmas in Dixie.
"I'm back home and it feels good," Woolard announced at one point.
"We are having the most fun doing the show this year than we have had in years," Tomlinson said.
The band wound up with "Happy Holidays," "Let It Snow" and a medley of Christmas hymns, including "O Holy Night."
At one point, Woolard invited two young girls from the audience up to help sing "Jingle Bells" and Tomlinson made an appearance as Santa Claus.