Country star Brett Eldredge brings holiday tour to St. Louis for the first time

After getting into holiday mode at his home in Nashville, Tennessee, playing Christmas music and putting up decorations, country star Brett Eldredge is taking that spirit on the road.

His “Glow Live” tour visits Stifel Theatre on Dec. 3.

“This is my first time taking the show to St. Louis,” he says. “I’ve done New York, Chicago, Nashville through the years. It’s growing. We’re taking it to more cities, adding several more places.”

In planning the tour, Eldredge wanted to perform songs that reminded him of artists he heard his grandparents play — Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Ray Charles and Dean Martin.

“I loved those big voices — people who moved you and grabbed hold of you with their voice,” he says. “When I was putting the set list together, those were the songs I grew up listening to. Holiday music is nostalgic. You listen to it and you feel those Christmas memories and that escape. The show is taking you back to those memories you loved before and creating some new memories.”

He says the show includes his favorite holiday songs, including “The Christmas Song,” “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” “O Holy Night,” “Silent Night” and “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.”

“‘Silent Night’ is always a special moment,” Eldredge says. “The show’s got the whole mix. It’s overwhelming. I wanna do my favorites.”

He also wanted to include his own holiday originals — songs he says fit in among the classics.

Eldredge released his first Christmas album, “Glow,” in 2016 and followed it with “Mr. Christmas” in 2021. The collections are mostly his takes on favorites, with a few of his original songs.

“I’ll be making more,” he says. “There’s more songs I haven’t done yet. I just began this Christmas experience the last several years.”

Eldredge wrote “Feels Like Christmas” in 2020 during the pandemic.

“I was sitting on the couch like all of us,” he says. “I was writing on guitar, which I don’t always do. I had this really soulful Christmas song in my head. I would write to it, take a break and go do a Zoom, go back to it and keep chipping away at it.”

Another original is “Mr. Christmas”, which he started writing a few years ago. He had a hard time landing the chorus, but it came together after collaborating with a friend.

In concert, Eldredge will be dressed to the nines in an array of tuxedos. (He favors velvet — “when you put one on and it fits right, it puts a pep in your step.”) Fans typically show up in gowns and other festive attire.

“I go full out,” he says. “People get dressed and really show up. The kids are decked out, too. It’s a chance to allow yourself to be free.”

Eldredge grew up in Paris, Illinois, about 2½ hours from St. Louis. Growing up, he visited family in St. Louis at Easter.

“I’ve been going there my whole life,” he says. “It’s good to see family. It gives me a sense of home when I’m on the road, and that’s a beautiful thing. And I get a lot of my soul from St. Louis.”

He’s looking forward to returning for a meal at Pappy’s Smokehouse.

“I love to experience different things in different cities — not just sitting around in a hotel,” he says. “I want to feel the energy and spirit when going into the show.”

Eldredge’s seventh album, “Songs About You,” was released in June. He says it represents a big turn as a songwriter; he doubles down on themes from “Mr. Christmas.”

“It’s just a feel-good record — and a deep record,” he says.

At this point in his career, Eldredge makes music that means something to him.

“I’m not writing from the perspective of ‘this has to be a hit,’” he says. “If it hits, it’s a beautiful thing. I wanted it to mean something in my heart and connect to someone else.

“I wanted it to be vulnerable and upfront, to be able to trust myself and say, ‘This is who I am, and I’m going for it.’ And musically, it brings in the full picture of who I am.”