The EP is now available on all streaming platforms.
The iconic, world-renowned performance collective Blue Man Group releases their new EP, Overjoy to the World, the first-ever holiday-themed project from the group. Across nine dazzling tracks, the collective revamp holiday classics like they’ve never been heard before, giving fresh spins with the use of PVC-constructed instruments on familiar holiday classics. The result is wide-eyed artistic exploration, humor, and the eccentric heart that’s defined Blue Man Group.
These themes are best seen on the EP’s focus track, “PVC Dreidel Mashup.” Throughout the track, the Blue Men explore a call and response with the listener; performing sections from popular holiday songs including “Dreidel, Dreidel,” “Winter Wonderland,” “Frosty the Snowman,” and “Let It Snow,” and pulling off the impressive feat of combining multiple holiday songs into one arrangement. The sleigh bell-laden track perfectly incorporates BMG’s quintessential “drumbone” instrument and retains the humor and wit the group is known for alongside instantly recognizable jolly holiday melodies.
Longtime Blue Man Group contributing director and music composer Jeff Turlik says, “One of the things that makes holiday music so memorable is that a lot of the songs have common traits, in theme of course, but also in musical structure. The Blue Men, being musical beings, pick up on these similarities to collaborate on a mashup of the popular classics and see what kind of response they get from the audience.”
The accompanying video features a holiday-decked out Astor Place Theatre in New York City that builds in celebration, as the call and response with the Blue Men flows throughout the video. Bhurin Sead, the NYC captain of Blue Man Group, adds, “The complimenting, and sometimes competing, melodies in the ‘Dreidel Mashup’ lend itself well to find ways for the Blue Men to explore the music and witness the space unfold, whether in complete harmony or in fun, surprising or even disjointed ways. We let the Blue Men's naturally playful impulses lead the way to experiment and discover what conjuring the holiday spirit means - mistletoe included.”
For an impressive 32 years, Blue Man Group have wowed audiences all over the world with their distinctive live approach and utterly unique methods of performing music. They’ve won awards and have appeared in countless TV shows and films, yet they’ve somehow never released any holiday music…until now. Overjoy to the World is the first official recorded release from Blue Man Group since 2016’s Three. Composed and arranged by Jeff Turlik, the project not only satisfies longtime fans with the time-honored classics, but also pushes the boundaries of the collective’s creativity. “We’ve always gotten a big response from fans when Blue Man Group has done holiday-themed things,” Turlik explains. “It was exciting to figure out how this music would fit into our artistic structure, as well as what unique ways we can make it sound recognizable, fun, and original—the Blue Man Group take on things, if you will.”
The mission of the project extends beyond delivering the group’s wow factor, with an overall goal of connecting people this holiday season remaining at the forefront. Bhurin Sead, who contributed extensively to the staging and performance-based elements that accompany Overjoy to the World, says, “Our purpose is seeing how we’re all connected—through music, and as people and performers. These songs are a huge part of culture, and they bring people together. We want to celebrate that.”
Blue Man Group is a global entertainment phenomenon, known for its award-winning theatrical productions, iconic characters and multiple creative explorations. Blue Man Group performances are euphoric celebrations of human connection through art, music, comedy and non-verbal communication. Since debuting at New York’s Astor Place Theatre in 1991, the live show has expanded to additional domestic residencies in Boston, Chicago, and Las Vegas, an international residency in Berlin, and multiple North American and World tours, reaching more than 50 million people worldwide. Blue Man Group is universally appealing to a broad range of age groups and cultural backgrounds, and continually injected with new music, fresh stories, custom instruments and sensory stimulating graphics. Blue Man Group is owned and operated by Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group.
1. Above the Halls
2. Carol of the Pipes
3. Nutcracker Medley
4. Attention in the Halls Please
5. PVC Dreidel Mashup
6. Feliz Navidad
7. Jingle Bones
8. Hall Chant
9. Overjoy to the World
Listen below!
Videos