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WBGO Holiday Content Guide 2022

Happy Holidays from 88.3 FM WBGO dot org in the center of a green plant wreath
Jamara Wakefield
Happy Holidays from 88.3 FM WBGO dot org

Here's a look at special Holiday programming and more available on WBGO! Enjoy the sounds of the season as WBGO turns up the volume on holiday jazz beginning at 6 pm on Friday, December 23rd, through Saturday Christmas day, with additional holiday specials throughout WBGO’s “Rhythm and Song Weekends”:

Friday, December 23

6 pm Non-stop Holiday music from now through Christmas Day!


Saturday, December 24 - Christmas Eve

6 am Portraits in Blue Holiday Special

10 am Rhythm Revue Holiday Soul Classics

4 pm Latin Jazz Cruise Holiday Special with Bobby Sanabria

Courtesy of Entercom

6-8 pm Favorite Things Holiday Special with Pat Prescott

Featuring favorite holiday tunes from WBGO listeners.


Sunday, December 25 - Christmas Day

6 am Favorite Things Holiday Special with Pat Prescott - encore presentation

8 am Come Sunday Holiday Show

Holiday tunes and selections from "Handel's Messiah: A Soulful Celebration" a revision of the 18th-century oratorio featuring a roster that includes Patti Austin, Stevie Wonder, Al Jarreau, the Yellowjackets, Take 6, Sounds of Blackness and the Boys Choir of Harlem, with an all-star take on the "Hallelujah" chorus, by more than 80 artists conducted by Quincy Jones.

Felix Hernandez behind the decks at WBGO's gala dance party on March 16, 2016.
Rob Davidson
Felix Hernandez behind the decks at WBGO's gala dance party on March 16, 2016.

12 pm Rhythm Revue Sunday featuring Holiday Soul Classics

5 pm Jazz Piano Christmas 2022

Check out your favorite holiday classics as you’ve never heard them! This year, our annual sell-out event spotlights ferociously talented Japanese musical phenom Hiromi, Mountain Stage’s Bob Thompson, and Bolivian prodigy José André Montaño, chosen as one of the Kennedy Center’s “Next 50” leaders.

6 pm Snap Judgment "The Christmas Tree Mafia"

The king of Christmas trees in Manhattan is nicknamed the “Pontiff of Soho.” But when his business runs afoul of the mob he gets an offer he can’t refuse. The crazy true story of the New York Christmas tree industry, full of turf wars, karate fights, and the mafia. Plus, a story from a covert operative who is assigned to extract a high-level target from Russia. But his mission… goes horribly wrong.

7 pm Jazz Night in America 2022 "Holiday" Special

Featuring drummer Matt Wilsons' Matt Wilson's Christmas Tree-O; a ruckus band recorded at Jazz at Lincoln Center that flip holiday songs on their head while inserting humor and joyful swing.

8 pm The Dave Koz Radio Show

10 pm Snap Judgment - encore presentation


Saturday, December 31-New Year’s Eve

8 pm-12 am

Toast of the Nation 2022/2023

Happy New Year from Toast of the Nation, your NPR New Year's Eve tradition since the 1970s. Enjoy sets from pianist Chucho Valdés, trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf, vocalist José James, and Ranky Tanky with special guest Lisa Fischer.


Saturday, January 1-New Year’s Day

4 am - 8 am

Toast of the Nation 2022/2023- encore presentation


WBGO on Social Media

Follow WBGO on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for holiday related activities and surprises!

Fresh Air jazz critic Kevin Whitehead picks CDs, books and a DVD for the jazz lover on your list this holiday season. His selections include a book of Sonny Rollins photographs and music from the first season of the HBO series Treme.

Brooklyn born Stevan Smith graduated from the exceptional Boys and Girls High School and attended the Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management at Morgan State University (Baltimore, MD), where he decided to switch to a path that would allow him to follow his passion for music. Introduced to Jazz music via Hip-Hop, Stevan started a radio programming internship at the MSU owned WEAA 88.9 FM, where he rose to Assistant Program Director. He then spent 12 years at WBGO as Traffic and Continuity Manager, where he contributed to the station's digital efforts, produced features for broadcast, and filled in as a guest announcer. For three years, Smith then served as Assistant Program Director at WNYC, during which time he continued to produce podcasts for himself and others. He returned to WBGO in 2021 as Chief Content Officer.