'Christmas Songs and Stories' with John Berry airs on Christmas Eve

John Berry has presented a Christmas show for 21 years, but Friday night's show will be his first time to perform it in Chattanooga.
John Berry has presented a Christmas show for 21 years, but Friday night's show will be his first time to perform it in Chattanooga.

The John Berry concert that was filmed in the Walker Theatre inside Memorial Auditorium on Dec. 15 will be shown at 7 p.m. today on The Heartland Network.

It is the first original Christmas special for locally owned Luken Communications LLC and The Heartland Network, and caps the network's annual "Twelve Days of Christmas" lineup of classic and contemporary holiday specials and Christmas episodes.

Berry is in the 21st year of his popular Christmas tour and this was his first performance in Chattanooga. He makes regular appearances on The Heartland Network via his "Songs and Stories with John Berry."

Tonight's special show was recorded in front of an audience in the newly renovated Robert Kirk Walker Theatre. "Christmas Songs and Stories" also features other popular locations, including the Chattanooga Choo Choo and Rock City's Enchanted Garden of Lights.

The series and Christmas special were produced by Jeff Moseley and CJM Productions.

WHERE TO WATCH

› Chattanooga area:WOOT Channel 6.1 [HD]EPB 165EPB 465 [HD]Spring City Cable 275Trenton Telephone 31 [HD]Chickamauga Telephone 1020 [HD]Chickamauga Telephone 20› Dalton area:WDGA 43.1 [HD]Optilink 216 [HD]Charter 13› Cleveland area:WTNB Channel 27.1Charter 5Comcast 210

"I'm so excited to be partnering with Heartland to present our Christmas concert as a network television special," Berry said in a news release.

"What a wonderful way to bring my music of Christmas to a broader audience. I hope you and your family will tune in to enjoy 'Christmas Songs and Stories.'"

Heartland reaches more than 26 million TV homes and features programming comprising syndicated and first-run shows along with digitally restored content from the vaults of Music Row.

Matt Winn, executive vice president of Luken Communications, said, "Celebrating a country Christmas is a favorite annual tradition at Heartland. As we mark five successful years of Heartland, we felt it would be the perfect time to add our own Christmas special to the incredible lineup of holiday programs in our library. We couldn't think of a better gift for our viewers than John Berry sharing his stories and performing some of the most cherished and heartwarming Christmas songs."

While this is Heartland's first original Christmas special, it's not its first leap into original production. Its new series, "More Than the Music," will premiere Jan. 9.

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