The Bergamot returns to The Acorn for 'South Shore Christmas' show on Dec. 10
Jillian Speece and Nathaniel Hoff spent the Thanksgiving holiday with family in Las Vegas.
After that, they planned to return to their native Midwest for some concerts as co-leaders of their band, The Bergamot.
From Vegas, they would be headed to O'Hare airport in Chicago and then to South Bend via the South Shore Line, a particularly fitting form of transportation for them at this time of year — The Bergamot's holiday album is titled "A South Shore Christmas," recorded in 2019 at The Acorn and named for the band's annual December show at the venue in Three Oaks.
The project was finished just in time for a Bandcamp-only release a year ago, but now The Bergamot is launching the album across the rest of the internet platforms, and celebrating locally with a concert also called "A South Shore Christmas" on Dec. 10 at The Acorn.
The lyrics to the original Bergamot song "Young Again" are about what Hoff describes as a "mystical ride" on the South Shore that so many people have experienced over the years. Someone might leave South Bend on the train and come back a slightly changed person by the time of the return trip.
"'Young Again' is a coming-of-age tune. It's a song about coming of age at a time when so many things are changing in the world," Hoff says by phone from Las Vegas. "Things were changing in our lives. We were living in New York City when that song was written. It all came in one fell swoop, one four-hour writing session. It's about a change in perspective, the pendulum shift from youth to wisdom. You start to see things differently. Sometimes you have a great revelation and sometimes a more sobering one."
Speece and Hoff have been a couple ever since their days at Marian High School. They relocated to Brooklyn in 2013 when The Bergamot began to take off.
"In high school, we would take the South Shore into Chicago, and Chicago seemed a universe away from South Bend," Speece says. "Everything was new. You felt like such an adult, taking the train into the city. Then you come back with all these new memories that you've collected in Chicago."
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Alongside holiday classics such as "Carol of the Bells" and "White Christmas," several other Bergamot originals appear on the program of "A South Shore Christmas." The band also filmed the 2019 Christmas performance at The Acorn and, unable in 2020 to maintain the holiday tradition they started in 2017 at The Acorn because of the pandemic, released that in December of last year as "The Bergamot — Christmas Special" on its website and other video platforms.
Some of the lyrical messages are especially well-suited for the COVID-19 era. "Empires," inspired by Hoff's beloved old dog Eli, is about the assurance that we are not alone.
"'Empires' is one of our favorite songs to play live," Hoff says. "It's about the primal desire to be together with someone, to share love. It's one of our most exciting musical moments, and it all fits what we're exploring lyrically."
The Bergamot was supposed to be undertaking a long tour in support of the album "Mayflies" when the pandemic lockdown hit.
Speece and Hoff had let go of their apartment in Brooklyn because they intended to spend a year on the road, with a high-profile opening act slot on a tour with platinum-sellers OneRepublic slated to begin in April 2020, including a show at the University of Notre Dame's Joyce Center as part of the 2020 Idea Week.
Instead, they were stranded in Austin, Texas, where they had gone to play at the South By Southwest festival.
'Mayflies' release show: The Bergamot to launch new album with concert at St. Joe Farm in Granger
"We had just had all our vinyl shipped to us," Speece says.
"It was tragic. We received our vinyl the same day that South By Southwest was canceled," Hoff says.
It looked like a grim situation at first, but some helpful friends gave them the use of a house in Sedona, Ariz., and the couple set up a portable studio there.
"We named it the Happy House, and we determined that we would go live (online) every day for 100 days straight," Speece says. "We wanted to spread positivity in a time of anxiety."
The Bergamot functions perfectly well in a duo setting, which made the daily video endeavor possible. The sound blossoms considerably when Speece and Hoff add a full band. For the Acorn performance, they'll be joined by bassist Jordan Swartzendruber, drummer Cameron Nagle and saxophonist Kris Brownlee.
"Mayflies" and "A South Shore Christmas" are still the top current concerns of the band, and there is also a new music video to premiere a recent composition called "Burns."
However, the prolific Speece and Hoff found time for more than just live transmissions during their Sedona stint. They also dug in on an entire new project. "Burns" is only a sneak preview of a bunch more to come.
"We were able to make a whole new record during quarantine," Hoff says. "That one will be coming out next year."
In concert
• Who: The Bergamot's "A South Shore Christmas"
• Where: The Acorn Theater, 107 Generations Drive, Three Oaks
• When: 8 p.m. Dec. 10
• Cost: $65-$40
• For more information: Call 269-756-3879 or visit acornlive.org
• COVID protocols: The Acorn requires all patrons to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or a negative COVID-19 test from within 72 hours of the event. All patrons are required to wear masks.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: The Bergamot upholds holiday tradition with show at The Acorn Theater
