Kevin Jonas Sr.'s 'Ready Set Glow' honors love of family and timeless Christmas music

Kevin Jonas Sr. attends the 2023 SESAC Nashville Music Awards show at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville.

Twenty years after putting his dreams of solo Nashville Christian and country music stardom on the shelf, recording industry executive Kevin Jonas Sr. has returned to the microphone.

Before you get too excited, this isn't an announcement that Joe, Kevin and Nick Jonas' father is touring with his sons and adding to their Grammy-nominated and chart-topping catalog of over 10 million albums sold.

Instead, he has announced the release of "Ready Set Glow," a seven-song EP of original and traditional Christmas music.

Country and gospel roots

Although "Papa Jonas," as he is known, has worked for the past five years as the founder and chairman of Nashville-based artist management and music publishing organization Jonas Group Entertainment, he's not discussing the Jonas Brothers' "Sucker" during a late November call with The Tennessean.

Instead, he's deep diving into the strength of Steven Curtis Chapman and Sandi Patty's 50 No. 1 singles each and 1984 and 1985 victories respectively as the GMA Dove Awards' Artist of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year — and his gold and platinum-selling songwriting success with Michael W. Smith.

Jonas, a native of Charlotte's suburbs, is a former pastor who spent his high school years in and around musical theater while also performing covers of Alabama and Kenny Rogers in talent competitions featuring artists who included Randy Travis.

"Feeling like you were being pushed along by a flood of talented people singing songs with big, bold and powerful messages that changed lives was inspirational for a small kid with a big voice like I was," says Jonas, reminiscing.

While attending bible college in Arizona, Jonas recalls selling his possessions to afford traveling to Nashville and pitching songs up and down Music Row in pursuit of '80s-era singer-songwriter stardom.

By the turn of the 21st century, Jonas was two decades removed from Nashville. Noting his trio of children's musical aptitude, he paused his personal aspirations to push his children toward Disney Channel renown.

'Ready Set Glow'

However, his wife, Denise, wouldn't release her grip on hopes that one day her husband would release a cover version of one song in particular: Sandi Patty's 1995 take on the religious classic "O Holy Night."

What began as his wife hoping her husband would gift her a CD-single version of the song has now yielded a seven-track EP.

"Ready Set Glow" was compiled piecemeal. Before Jonas Group Entertainment's 2020 birth, he was frequently not available to sit in Nashville to compile songs for the release.

"I'm not releasing this music (to become) a full-time artist again," he says. "It's more me celebrating my family and a promise I made to my wife many years ago — but because I'm in Nashville, I was going to ensure that I had the right musicians, producers and songwriters involved."

To wit, "O Holy Night" arranger David Clydesdale is a Grammy winner based in Franklin. The album's producer, David Kalmusky, has contributed to over a dozen No. 1 singles in multiple genres and is signed to Jonas Group Entertainment as a song publishing client.

Notable as well, EP co-writer Bob DiPiero has written No. 1 songs in three consecutive decades, beginning with the Oak Ridge Boys' "American Made" in 1984.

'A fun combination of songs that spans genres and influences'

Jonas notes that, whether as an executive or dabbling as an artist, working in Nashville is perpetually "amazing."

Retaining friendships with artists like Amy Grant, Steven Curtis Chapman and Michael W. Smith, whose work has guided his artistry and life, is a "genuine joy," he says.

Rooting his new EP in a "genuinely amazing" era of his life yielded work that, on songs like the title track, reflect a jazzy, pop-aimed sensibility, while pairing with Clydesdale for "O Holy Night" offers something that feels comfortable in contemporary Christian balladry.

Rekindling a love of Nashville's desire to engage in "organic collaborations" pushed Jonas past recording just a few songs into creating a full EP. Exploring his songwriting gifts as a "blessing" with which he could still connect after many years of separation yielded a caliber of work on which Jonas feels comfortable resting his laurels.

"I'm proud that the collage of people involved created a fun combination of songs that spans genres and influences. I'm also glad that I don't sound really old," joked Jonas, 59.

A 'relaxed and unpressured' success

"'An Evening in December' by First Call is a classic that set the standard we could've attempted to reach for on this album," Jonas says about the soulful, harmony-driven and 4-decade-old Christian hit.

However, because of the "relaxed and unpressured" music that evolved from what Jonas refers to as the "organic and natural" process of putting together the record, he's most excited about two different audiences he feels are best served by "Ready Set Glow."

"Though the best music remains timeless, I'm just glad that my wife is happy with the final product," says the executive-artist when asked about what he feels is broader and personal value of "Ready Set Glow" as a project.

Ask him what he has yet to achieve in his music career that any success his new EP could lead to and he laughs again with a response as heartening as knowing his wife loves his take on "O Holy Night."

"I haven't met Sandi Patty yet," he says. "When that happens, she deserves a thank you."

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville’s Kevin Jonas Sr. releases new Christmas album