Country star Phil Vassar has been churning out records and No. 1 hits for a while now, but it’s his annual Christmas tour that gets him really fired up.

“I’m just kind of a Christmas junkie,” Vassar said in a phone interview with Whatzup. “I love that it’s fun. We did (the tour) with Deana Carter last year, Lonestar (a couple years), and Kellie Pickler and I did a tour. It’s just a lot of fun.”

Carter and Vassar’s Coming Home for Christmas Tour stopped by The Clyde Theatre in 2022, and this year’s Holidays and Hits Tour makes its way to Wabash for a show at Honeywell Center on Thursday, Dec. 14.

Bringing Tillis onboard

Vassar began doing holiday tours in 2009. Pickler joined him 2017, with Lonestar jumping on the tour in 2018 and 2019.

Now, he’s turning to Tillis, who won a Grammy in 1999 for Best Country Collaboration Vocal Performance for “Same Old Train.”

“Pam and I have the same agent, so it was just like, ‘Hey, why don’t we do something?’ We’re only doing six shows, but I’m excited about it,” Vassar said.

Along with her Grammy, Tillis was also named CMA Female Vocalist of the Year in 1994, the same year she won a CMA for Vocal Event of the Year for “Maybe It Was Memphis.”

Making most of his chance

As for Vassar, the pianist got his start writing for others in Nashville, Tennessee.

“Being a piano player, (the music industry) isn’t the easiest thing to break into when you’re in Nashville,” he said.

He showed that he was more than a piano player by penning such hits as Collin Raye’s “Little Red Rodeo,” Alan Jackson’s “Right on the Money,” and Tim McGraw’s “My Next Thirty Years” and “For a Little While.” Those songs offered him the chance to record his own, and he took off with his self-titled 2000 debut album going gold.

“Everyone just kind of said, ‘He knows what he’s doing. We’ll give him chance,’ ” Vassar said.

In all, Vassar has had 10 songs reach No. 1, including “Just Another Day in Paradise” and “In a Real Love.” He’s also had 27 songs find their way into the Top 40. 

High-energy performances

In 2011, Vassar released the Christmas album Noel, featuring standards like “Oh Come All Ye Faithful/Angels We Have Heard on High,” “Away in a Manger,” and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.” Those might be just a few of the numbers you’ll hear at the Honeywell.

“We do a lot of holiday favorites,” Vassar said. “I do the Eagles’ version of ‘Please Come Home for Christmas’ — I love that song. It’s just always been one of my favorites. We do ‘Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,’ the Springsteen version.”

And some of the songs might even veer out of the Christmas lane.

“Of course, Pam’s had a lot of hits, I’ve had a lot of hits, so we do a lot of that,” he said. “It’s just a good time. We’ve had fun just doing rehearsals and getting together. We’re pumped.”

Although he might be a piano player performing a holiday show, rest assured you’ll be up and dancing.

“It’s always a high-energy show for us,” Vassar said. “We have always kind of rocked out. With Pam, we’re going to do some songs together, and some of them I have never done. It’s interesting with the dynamics when you put these together.

“There’s going to be a lot us on stage with my band, her guys,” he added. “It’s a great bunch. I love doing these songs. They remind me of being a kid.”

Unlike earlier Holidays and Hits tours that Vassar has done, this one will be trimmed to just six shows. So, Wabash is one of the lucky ones to book this act this time around.

“We’re just going to try to knock everyone’s socks off for the holidays,” Vassar said. “That’s what we’re doing.”