Scores of people accepted John Yarde’s invitation to join him last Saturday for “an incredible night of holiday magic and music” at his inaugural Christmas In My Yarde show.
He said the feedback from patrons attending the sold-out event, held at HunterSpring, indicated it was a great evening, one “filled with music, joy, and the true spirit of the season”.
The gospel and contemporary singer and pastor told Weekend Buzz that he’d had the idea for a while.
“Christmas In My Yarde is my brand. I envisioned this back in 2021 and when the country opened back up after COVID in Christmas 2022. I didn’t get the support I was looking for in 2023, but this year, support or not from sponsors, I decided I was going to do it,” he said.
Yarde told Buzz his vision for the show was to host it at different venues around the country each year. He wants “nice, picturesque, outdoor landscapes” that offer cosy and intimate vibes that will be accentuated by a stellar cast of entertainers and gospel singers that people like. He’s optimistic it will grow annually and he’s already making plans for the 2025 edition.
“I have a smoke pit outside my house, and I will build it on location for the next show, have some smoked hams and give them away. That’s where we’re going. For this one, I wanted to get it out of my head. I paid for it all so there were a lot of things I could not do but I will get to the public earlier next year as I only started working on it in November because I said I will not allow another year to come and go and this event just sit down in my dreams.
“I wanted to do the show when the Christmas album came out in 2022. I’ve done more music since then like Christmas Is Here with Mikey and this year with Nikita I did Greatest Time Of Year.”
Yarde said that many of the patrons, some of whom live in the south and south-east parishes of the country, appreciated that it was held at the St Philip venue.
Gospel legend James Leacock, artistes Mr Blood, Mikey and Neesha Woodz, all of whom really love Christmas as much as John, along with Nikita and Sherry-Ann Maughan, were a treat.
Maughan featured emerging singer Harmoni Haynes and Llettesha Charles, who were the backing vocalists for the show, during her performance.
Haynes sang Born This Day and Silent Night and Charles did O Come All Ye Faithful.
Yarde said what was extra special about the cast’s Christmas songs was that there were mainly Barbadian.
“One of my favourite things about that night, the event, was that we were able to have 90 per cent local music, Bajan music, our music.
“We were able to see a lot of original music and I was so impressed that people knew the songs. People listened to my album, they did and were able to sing along and have fun with me. There was one song in particular – No, Not I – that was a mess, in a good way,” he said, chuckling, adding that everyone had fun.
The other ten per cent of the songs performed included White Christmas (Leacock), It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas, performed by Yarde, and Greatest Gift Of All, which he sang with Maughan. He said the artistes put their own spin on the traditional and familiar melodies, equally delighting the audience.
Yarde is glad he was able to give patrons a magical night and he’s optimistic that Christmas In My Yarde will be added to the Christmas calender of events and people will come to his yard wherever it may be and have an incredible time. (GBM)
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