Meet the Austin Carolers!

Meet the Carolers | Schedule | Our Repertoire | Sound Clips | Read About Us

The Austin Carolers are four seasoned professionals who joined forces in 1995, because we love to sing – especially the songs of Christmas. We have also been playing music together in other contexts for many years, so we bring our long-time friendships to our group.  Our newest member makes us a quintet, and we’re very happy to welcome Craig Lowery.  The Austin Carolers’  repertoire includes both traditional carols and popular Christmas tunes, sung with great flair with either guitar accompaniment or in the more traditional unaccompanied style. Many of our arrangements have been created for us by Grammy-nominated arranger and composer Bill Ginn. We also write our own arrangements and lyrics, the latter reflecting life in Austin at Christmas time.

The Austin Carolers often stroll, singing as we go, children following behind. When we find a spot we like, we draw a crowd!  We have been sighted from the aisles of Central Market to the pathways of the Arboretum,  the Georgetown Tree Lighting Celebration in Georgetown Square, the Triangle Tree Lighting, the Domain Shops and Round Rock Premium Outlet Malls, the Village at Westlake…  we do get around! Of course, we perform shows standing still, and we adapt our show to all occasions: private parties, corporate receptions, office Christmas parties or concerts. We can add instruments – such as piano – or turn the show into a singalong. The Carolers dress in the style of Charles Dickens.

 

The Austin Carolers’ bandleader and soprano is Mady Kaye, known in Austin for her many years of fine jazz vocals. She has a wealth of choral experience, and has been creating arrangements for The Austin Carolers since the group’s inception.  She also writes additional lyrics for many of the Carolers’  pop Christmas songs, with an emphasis on the Austin, TX Christmas experience… we are the Austin Carolers, after all!

 

Libby Hart Barnes, alto, is a veteran of several show bands and pop vocal groups. Her warm and versatile voice is the cohesive force that binds the quartet. The Carolers do not exaggerate when we tell you that Libby is bursting with personality! She brings her incredible enthusiasm to all her endeavors, whether as a “Foodie” at Central Market or as a singer in the Riverbend Chorale or with Sotto Voce, a select choir at Riverbend Church.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Craig Lowery, tenor, is our most recent member, having joined The Austin Carolers full-time in 2011.  He has a big and sumptuous voice, and is a gifted musician and arranger. Craig has been arranging vocal parts at Riverbend Church for many years, as well as soloing and singing with several Riverbend choirs. In non-musical realms, Craig is a computer scientist and technology strategist at Dell Inc.  And he designed and sewed his own Austin Carolers costume! Amazing!

 

Paul Spikes now sings bass with The Austin Carolers, having sung the tenor part for the first sixteen years!  When Paul is not singing, he is most often found swimming at Deep Eddy Pool or behind his upright bass.  He has played with various jazz bands around Austin, as well as with The Beat Divas and Mady Kaye’s ensembles. Paul is also a wonderful harmonica player.  Though he rarely plays harp in public, he can be found on a variety of recordings.

 

The Carolers’ original bass, Art Kidd, is the only living Yale graduate to decline an invitation to join the esteemed vocal group  “The Whiffenpoofs.” Art has many years of singing experience, but he is best known in the Austin area as a fine drummer. Another expression of Art’s musicianship is that he is an accomplished ukulele and guitar player. Art plays a 1929 Martin four-string  tenor guitar with the Carolers on a number of our swingin’  Christmas pop tunes.

The Austin Carolers: Straight Out of a Charles Dickens Novel

Rare Magazine, December 2008, article by Darcie Duttweiler

“The Austin Carolers, which consist of Mady Kaye, Libby Hart Barnes, Paul Spikes and Art Kidd, invited me to their first practice of the season (during one incredibly warm night, making Christmas feel even further away), and welcomed me… fussed over me, asking me questions about myself and demanding sweetly that I eat some chocolate cookies… they then sang me carols while dressed in Charles Dickens-esque caroling costumes…”

Read the full article in a PDF document.

Our Repertoire

This is just a partial repertoire! If you have a favorite song of Christmas just ask us if we know it.

• Angels We Have Heard on High
• Caroling Caroling
• Deck the Halls
• The First Noel
• Frosty the Snowman
• Fum, Fum, Fum
• God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
• Good King Wenceslas
• Hark the Herald Angels Sing
• Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
  

  Libby and Mady visit Bert and Ernie, Round Rock Premium Outlet Mall, Christmas 2009. (Photo by Art Kidd)

• The Holly and the Ivy
• I Saw Three Ships
• It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
• It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
• Jingle Bell Rock
• Jingle Bells
• Joy to the World
• Let It Snow
• Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming
• O Christmas Tree
• O Come All Ye Faithful
• O Come, O Come Emmanuel
• O Holy Night
• O Little Town of Bethlehem
• Over the River and Through the Woods
• Rocking
• Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
• Santa Claus is Coming to Town
• Silent Night
• Sing Noel
• Sleigh Ride
• The Wassail Song
• We’ll Dress the House
• We Three Kings of Orient Are
• We Wish You a Merry Christmas
• What Child is This
• White Christmas
• Winter Wonderland

Listen to the Austin Carolers

We have recorded a five song demo CD. Listen to the MP3 sound clips below.

Check our performance schedule.

Jingle Bells

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Deck the Halls

Winter Wonderland

We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Libby and Mady with Santa, Central Market 2003

2010 Caroling at Wolf Ranch Shopping Center, Georgetown TX

12/12/10 The Village at Westlake