We usher in the holiday season with an exciting co-bill featuring Christopher Williams and local favorite Maeve. Williams, a fixture on the Boston scene for many years, recently relocated to Nashville. Maeve, a trio of women, recently released a new CD, And the World Became Kind.

Christopher Williams, a New York born, Bucknell University Religious Studies graduate and former Seattle pre-school teacher, has built a faithful following of listeners around the country and independently sold more than 21,000 records, primarily at his live shows. Williams writes songs that are honest and confessional, yet never overbearing, and performs with an appealing mix of intense passion and humor. He is a songwriter and an entertainer, engaging audiences with what the Boston Phoenix calls “lush guitar work, sweet soaring vocals,” and sometimes the added percussive vulnerability of a single djembe hand drum. In a newly discovered, Dylan-esque manner, Williams has begun telling stories from the stage in between songs. “It just started happening, this musical story spilling,” Williams explains. “They have always been a part of my show, but never sung spontaneously without direction. Of course, it doesn’t always work, but that is the joy of performing. Receiving the grace of an audience there to experience the spontaneity of a real live show. I love those moments.”

Earlier this year, Williams released a new record, Sweet Redemption. A bit of a departure from his previous releases, yet still showcasing his heartfelt songwriting, Sweet Redemption brings to life the bluesy, more gospel side of Williams. Songs inspired by his hope infused trips to Africa and the frailty of life with the loss of his father, this is a more real Christopher Williams. This consistent passion continues to propel Williams forward and make other musicians take notice.

During the last several years, Williams has opened for, and in some cases accompanied on djembe and vocals, such renowned performers as David Wilcox, the Waifs, Peter Himmelman, Patty Larkin, the Subdudes, and Arlo Guthrie, in a wide array of venues ranging from Boston’s Sanders Theatre to Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe to San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall. He’s also brought his music to the main stage at many of the nation’s finest folk festivals, including New York’s Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, Colorado’s Rocky Mountain Folk Fest, Texas’ Kerrville Folk Festival, and Oklahoma’s Woody Guthrie Festival.

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Maeve is a collaboration of three women artists — Courtney Reid, Rachel Taylor, and Rollyn Zoubek — blending together their own distinct voices and styles to create a cohesive sound rich with harmony reminiscent of the Indigo Girls and Crosby, Stills and Nash. Maeve was birthed in 2001 when a promoter friend suggested that the girls, who were all performing in different musical configurations at the time, collaborate for an evening at a venue just for fun. This performance led to additional collaboration both as performers and songwriters. The Boston-based trio then decided to take their music underground to try out their new songs and develop their unique sound alongside Boston commuters while busking in Harvard Square and at the Back Bay Train Station. One day while playing in the subway, the then-nameless band met a little girl named “Maeve” who danced to their music and dropped a dollar in the open guitar case. Thanks to this little angel, the band discovered its name.

Above ground, Maeve continues to share their music in East Coast clubs, coffeehouses, colleges, festivals, churches and women’s conferences. Maeve has shared the stage with Jars of Clay, Ollabelle, Brooks Williams, Nicole Nordeman, Sara Groves and Sam Phillips. Their singles “Sweet Abandon” and “Found a Love” have been highly requested for regular airplay on WERS. Maeve received an email from someone who was given a Maeve CD by a friend and this was what she had to say: “My first reaction was that it sounded like a mix of HEM and Indigo Girls, but with a holy undertone.” That describes their sound perfectly.

What this man could do was nothing short of impressive. With a southern-flavored voice that perfectly matched his equally southern acoustic stylings, Williams bested each song he performed with the next. From an a capella song to a rousing performance of a single bongo, Christopher Williams proved to be one of the best opening surprises I’ve seen in years. John DiBiase, www.jesusfreakhideout.com

Williams’ impeccable acoustic guitar technique and soulful voice provide an emotional center to his songs about faith and redemption. Not content to strum light ditties for latte-sippers, his songs also touch occasionally on bluesy rock. Paste Magazine

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Maeve has uniquely strong melodies and harmonies. They could sing forever and God wouldn’t mind. Lyrically, they are not cliché, not saying what they think we want to hear, rather telling their stories honestly, candidly, and in so doing reminding us of our own. As people, they are humble, funny, accessible, smart, refreshing, encouraging and needed. When they smile, they can light up a room. When they sing they can light up a lot more. Dan Russel, (Director of Newsound Concerts and Inside Out Soul Festival)