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If attending a Lower Lights concert feels like being in the room with a bunch of friends, who happen to be musicians, hanging out together onstage, you've caught the gist of the Utah band's vibe.
"We try our best to invite [music lovers] into that circle," says Paul Jacobsen, a guitarist who pitches in to promote the group. "To feel that joy, to be part of the community, and siphon some of the joy we're putting off. Hopefully, it goes both ways."
The group's backstory is almost as charming as the annual holiday shows: Back in 2009, Provo sound engineer Scott Wiley invited a bunch of musicians to his June Audio studio to record folky spins on favorite hymns.
In five days, the group kicked out 30 or 40 songs, 17 of which ended up on the first Lower Lights album. Jacobsen describes the band's sound as rooted in gospel, with folky, bluegrass and Hank Williams-style country influences. "It's been a very fertile piece of land to get these songs," he says. "They just seem to fall under our fingers and voices really well."
Wiley adds: "This thing has a life of its own that no one can really explain."
The Lower Lights has gone on to record five more albums, including two Christmas albums, with the band's newest, "Old Time Religion," released this month. Over the years, the band's holiday concert has evolved into a Utah tradition: This year the group is playing a six-night stand at the University of Utah's Kingsbury Hall.
The band is a collective, not a supergroup. Many band members have day jobs, others are working musicians, but few have enough of a following to sell out big venues on their own.
All of the musicians have Utah roots, even if several key members have moved out of town. For this year's concert, singer Sarah Sample is coming home to Utah from nursing school in Wyoming, while bassist Tyler Lambourne is flying in from Austin. The band is made up of equal numbers of Mormons and not, and that's a strength, "because it allows us to speak to a variety of people," Jacobsen says.
"We believe in the strength of the parts," Jacobsen says. "I love the joy of being onstage with my friends, who also happen to be great musicians. These particular friends are at the top of their heap."
A core group collaborates to handle logistical arrangements and promote the show. Everybody suggests songs, and a committee puts together the suggestions, but Brian Hardy, a singer and keyboardist, is the setlist decider. "Everybody wants to have a moment to do their thing," Jacobsen says. "We try very hard for both the band and the audience to have that."
Some of the group's most popular songs, such as "This Little Light of Mine" and a cover of Williams' "House of Gold," will most likely make this year's setlist. A handful of musicians whom Jacobsen labels "the varsity team" — including Lambourne on bass and Ryan Shupe on fiddle — will most likely revive a smoking version of "What Child Is This (Greensleeves.)"
"Every year, there are moments where you are bowled over by what these people, who are your friends, can do," Wiley says.
A trio of musicians' wives (who work designing events as Hem Creative) design the stage backdrop. "They give us a real sense of visual heart," Jacobsen says. And then there's Ryan Tanner, who fronts the band in concert, telling improvised stories that function, perhaps, like gospel sermons.
Sometimes fans bring the weight of life tragedies to the show, and afterward tell the musicians that their music helped ease the pain. Some Lower Lights musicians have played at funerals of fans they've only met through annual concerts.
For some, part of the pleasure of a Lower Lights concert is scoring a post-show selfie with Sample, the group's "internal connector," as Jacobsen tells it. "I can't help myself," Sample says of her love of talking with concertgoers. "It's the best week of the year."
The best part about the Lower Lights is that the band's success "has been such a surprise to all of us," Sample says. "My favorite part of our concerts is the human element of it all, the imperfections of it. It's really not a glossy show. We trust each other to make it a beautiful night."
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The big lights of the Lower Lights
The Utah musical collective plays reverent, rollicking interpretations of gospel music, with a bluegrassy, country bent. Expect songs that are sung, strummed, plucked, thumped and belted.
When • Dec. 5-6, 8-10; Monday, Tuesday and Thursday through Saturday, 7 p.m., with a 2 p.m. matinee Saturday, Dec. 10
Where • Kingsbury Hall, 1395 E. Presidents Circle, Salt Lake City
Tickets • $15, $22, $27, at tickets.utah.edu/events/the-7th-annual-lower-lights-christmas (multishow packages available)
Musicians scheduled in this year's Lower Lights lineup
Debra Fotheringham (vocals, guitar)
Sarah Sample (vocals, guitar)
Scott Wiley (electric guitar)
Colin Botts (banjo, acoustic guitar, octave mandolin)
Dominic Moore (vocals, guitar)
Ryan Tanner (vocals, guitar)
Brian Hardy (vocals, piano, organ, other keyboards)
Ryan Tilby (banjo, mandolin)
Ryan Shupe (violin, vocals)
Dylan Schorer (electric guitar, lap steel, pedal steel, dobro)
Mark Horton Smith (vocals, mandolin, acoustic guitar)
Paul Jacobsen (vocals, guitar, keyboards)
Pat Campbell (drums, percussion)
Darin Lesueur (drums, percussion)
Dustin Christensen (vocals, guitar)
Cherie Call (vocals)
Tyler Lambourne (bass)
Dan Buehner (vocals, guitar, percussion)
Kiki Jane Sieger (vocals)
Corinne Gentry (vocals)
Marie Bradshaw (vocals)
Jay William Henderson (vocals)