A very 2020 Grammy nomination and a timeless Christmas song

Appleton native Hillary Reynolds found out about a Grammy nomination involving her work in the 2020-est way, with some jammie dancing, cat snuggles and consideration for a working-from-home-spouse.

“Well, it was in the morning,” she said during a recent Messenger chat. “I was in my pjs, snuggling with the cat in bed, drinking coffee. My co-writer, Mike, sent a text with the news & I was in complete shock! My brain didn’t connect the dots at first & then I jumped out of bed & immediately started dancing. But I had to do this quietly because Ted was on an important zoom meeting in the next room.”

The Country Album of the Year nomination for Little Big Town’s album “Nightfall” affirmed the power of its lead song, “Next to You,” written by Hillary, her longtime writer partner and fellow member of Peridot, Trevor Jarvis, and Michael Jade.

Everyone involved in “Next to You” knew they had something special right away, and Trevor, Hillary and Michael were thrilled to hear that Little Big Town, the three-time Grammy winning Country Music Group, picked it up. Next came the exciting news that the band made “Next to You” the lead song on its album and now the Grammy Nomination.

Although COVID travel restrictions curtailed all of the associated celebrations — the LA-based songwriters’ trip to Nashville, the band’s tour to support the album, Hillary and Trevor’s first trip to the Grammy’s — they are maintaining a healthy perspective.

“It’s so strange to have such wonderful news and at the same time, not be able to do a whole lot to be able to celebrate it,” Hillary said. “But I would expect nothing less from 2020.”

Meanwhile, thankfully, they continue to create. Hillary and Trevor just released an original Christmas song called “Christmas for Me is You” and the musicality of their work continues to impress, as does the richness of Hillary’s voice. This song feels timeless and I highly recommend you add it to your Spotify Christmas playlist.

Even better, you can see the duo perform that song and other Christmas tunes during a virtual concert on December 10 at 5:30 p.m. Central Time, sponsored by Rebel Hard Coffee.To view the concert, just go to Rebel Hard Coffee’s Facebook Page on Thursday. I’ll see you there.