FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Dec. 8, 2011

CONTACT: Jeff Mammenga, Media Coordinator, (605) 773-6000; Jeff.Mammenga@state.sd.us

 Hegg Brothers, Mickelson returning for Holiday Jam

 PIERRE, S.D. -- Here come the Hegg brothers, right down memory lane.

 The Hegg brothers are Sioux Falls musicians Jeremy and Jonathon Hegg. The brothers will bring seven other musicians with them, including Pierre native Allison Mickelson, as the musical showcase “Holiday Jam with the Hegg Brothers” returns to the Riggs High School Theater in Pierre for the third consecutive year.

 Mickelson is one of the musicians who are part of Holiday Jam’s 11-city, two-week tour this year. The show features male and female vocalists, two keyboardists, guitars, percussion, drums, upright bass and horns.

 “Come to the show and start a holiday tradition with your family,” Mickelson said. “Every year the group gets tighter. Every year we come up with new, exciting and different arrangements of holiday tunes while sticking to some of the old standards. Come to the show because we love what we do and want to share that with the people of our hometowns.”

 The two-hour show begins at 7:30 p.m. CST on Monday, Dec. 12. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets cost $20 each at the door and $15 each in advance. Tickets are available at the Heritage Stores at the Cultural Heritage Center and the Capitol, Lynn’s Dakotamart, Prairie Pages Bookseller and Oahe Federal Credit Union. Sponsors for the Pierre production include the Nagel Agency, the South Dakota Heritage Fund, Short Grass Arts Council and the South Dakota Arts Council.

 “Our hope is that people will want to come to this show as a family,” said Patricia Miller, president of the South Dakota Heritage Fund, the South Dakota State Historical Society’s nonprofit fundraising partner. “It will be great family entertainment.”

 Those who buy a ticket to the show will have their names entered into a drawing for commemorative prints by South Dakota artists Jon Crane, Kathy Sigle and Angela Marie Poches, provided by the Heritage Fund. The drawing will take place during intermission, and people do not need to be present to win a print.

 Holiday Jam has its origins in what was tradition for many: attending the “A South Dakota Acoustic Christmas” concert. Jeremy, a musician, arranger and composer; and Jonathon, a musician and recording and mixing engineer; performed with “A South Dakota Acoustic Christmas” for several seasons. After the musicians in Acoustic Christmas decided to no longer perform the show, the Heggs joined with John Beranek of Sioux Falls to keep the tradition of a holiday concert alive by forming a new holiday concert called Holiday Jam with the Hegg Brothers.

 “This year, there will be a little bit of a different twist,” said Beranek, one of the producers of the show. “There’s a nostalgia factor as we take songs from movies and television and see what the audience can remember.”

 The audience may not be familiar with a song titled Linus and Lucy if they see it on the program, but they will instantly recognize the tune as being the theme from A Charlie Brown Christmas, he said.

 Beranek’s own family traditions began while growing up near Stephan.

 “Music was an important part of the season,” said Beranek, who lived in Pierre before moving to Sioux Falls. “My mother always had music playing while preparing the food. When we originated the concept of Holiday Jam, it was our dream that people would want to come to this show as a family tradition.”

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 The South Dakota Heritage Fund is a private charitable nonprofit that seeks funding to assist the South Dakota State Historical Society in programming and projects to preserve South Dakota’s history and heritage for future generations.

The South Dakota State Historical Society is a division of the Department of Tourism. The Department of Tourism is comprised of Tourism, the South Dakota Arts Council, and the State Historical Society. The Department is led by Secretary James D. Hagen. The State Historical Society is headquartered at the South Dakota Cultural Heritage Center in Pierre. The center houses the society’s world-class museum, the archives, and the historic preservation, publishing and administrative/development offices. Call (605) 773-3458 or visit www.history.sd.gov for more information. The society also has an archaeology office in Rapid City; call (605) 394-1936 for more information.