Writing original Christmas music is hard, admits Ant the Symbol.

“I never want to make some kind of trite traditional Christmas song,” the hip-hop DJ and producer says. “I want to do something with my flair on it. And, let’s be honest, with the right lyrics and some jingle bells, any song can be a Christmas song.”

Ant, whose real name is Anthony Gillison, has collaborated with vocalist Mo on the pleasingly distorted soul ballad, “Season of Peace,” one of the highlight tracks on the new “A Shockoe Sessions Live Christmas” CD. It’s a tinsel-y, 11-track compilation of Richmond-area artists performing new and (mostly) original songs of yuletide, a sequel, of sorts to the Shockoe Records label’s inaugural Christmas collection released last year. Ant was featured on that one too, collaborating with vocalist Erin Lunsford. “Fun fact,” he says. “Mo sings background vocals for Erin in Erin & the Wildfire. She’s my favorite voice in the city.”

This sampler assortment of fresh yule isn’t just a holiday stocking stuffer, says Reese Williams. It’s a potent overview of Richmond’s diverse music scene. “We’ve got pop, neo-soul, Latin rock, techno, swing, opera, an amazing roster of genres,” says the chief technology officer for the Richmond-based Shockoe Records. “It says a lot about the diversity of the area’s music scene.”

“A Shockoe Sessions Live Christmas” is designed to show off artists signed to the label, like Ant, Høly River, Jaylin Brown, Los Hermanos Alacranes, Weldon Hill and REIN, as well as other regional performers who have appeared on the label’s weekly “Shockoe Sessions Live!” concert and webcast series at In Your Ear Studios, such as Deau Eyes, Rine and the Wayward Leaves. The various artists will gather together to perform these Christmas songs — and more — at a special, egg nog-soaked concert at the Hippodrome on Dec. 3, with proceeds benefiting the Richmond Animal League. “Each performer will do their song, plus another song of their choosing,” says Williams. “We’ll also have an additional artist, Jonathan Page Brown, who will perform an original Christmas song.”

Despite the CD title, the Christmas compilation is not recorded live. Most of the tracks were captured in home studios by the artists themselves. “This year we only had three or four come into In Your Ear studio to record,” Williams says. “We knew what worked last year and we wanted to stick with that and make the second year just as solid. We also knew exactly who we wanted.”

Shockoe Records was started in 2022 by In Your Ear’s Carlos Chafin, Craig Martin, host of the PBS series “The Good Road,” and Queon “Q” Martin of Soulidifly Productions, with the stated goal of signing and promoting local talent. For the past two years, Shockoe has also produced the local music showcase, 804 Day, in August at the 17th Street Farmers Market.

Last year’s Shockoe Christmas disc was thrown together in a matter of weeks. But even with a little more lead time, the 2024 edition was challenging. “When you record a Christmas song, it’s usually warm outside,” says Ant the Symbol. “And that’s because you have to get the song ready in time for release. Writing and recording in July or August, you have to put yourself in the mindset of Christmas … just close your eyes and pretend you are there.”

“Season of Peace” concerns itself with the true meaning of the holidays, but other themes and moods, from funny character songs to bittersweet memories, abound on the new disc, says Williams. “One of the songs, by Vexine, is called ‘Pre-Lit tree,’ and it’s about the frustration of going up into the attic and pulling everything down so next year they’re just going to get a pre-lit tree. There’s a blues song by the Wayward Leaves called ‘Santa’s Got His Red Suit On’ and there are two gorgeous ballads, one called ‘Christmas Eve’ from Jaylin Brown, and one called ‘Santa I Won’t Say a Thing’ from Rine, and those are really sweet songs about romantic love at Christmas.”

It isn’t all about carols and candy canes, she adds with a laugh. “We have a killer one by Sweet Tooth, a techno song called ‘Blue Crushed Velvet’ and it’s got some racy lyrics about what she wants to do with someone under the tree.”

The disc also includes the drone folk of Høly River (performing a meditative rendition of “Silent Night”) and pianist Weldon Hill accompanying Commonwealth Concert Opera on the traditional “Have You Seen a Child.” Elsewhere, you’ll find the singer-songwriter Deau Eyes contributing “When We Were Kids,” which Williams describes as “a song deeply nostalgic for what Christmas was like as a child.” Of the 11 tracks, five were produced exclusively for the disc. The others were things, Williams says, “the artists had in their back pocket.”

For REIN — a.k.a. Jordan Reinecke — it’s an opportunity to try again and get it right. A home demo of his nostalgic “Miss Christmas” was featured on last year’s compilation, while a fully produced version recorded at In Your Ear is one of the key tracks this year. “This is the real song,” he says. “It ended up being so important to me because my Santa, the Legendary Santa, who retired last year, was a collaborator on it. That’s his ‘ho-ho-ho’ at the end and those are his own sleigh bells he’s playing.” Santa, real name George, even donned his suit again to appear in REIN’s video for “Miss Christmas.”

“This is the guy who held me and my brother in the palm of his hand when we weren’t even 1 year old,” REIN says with awe. “He would ring those bells like you hear on the record, and the kids would freak out … he was a rock star.”

REIN hopes to get the Legendary Santa (a.k.a. George Turman) to join him on stage at the Hippodrome and perform “Miss Christmas.” The guitarist is also thinking about covering his own personal favorite seasonal song — Lindsey Buckingham’s “Holiday Road” [from National Lampoon’s “Vacation” movie franchise]. “To me, that embodies the joy of the holiday season, even though it’s not supposed to be a Christmas song. It’s still my favorite, and I’m going to claim it.”

He laughs. “‘Holiday Road’ is the ‘Die Hard’ of Christmas songs.”

“A Shockoe Sessions Live! Christmas” is available at Plan 9, Vinyl Conflict, Pedal Power, Glass Boat and Reveler, and at shockoerecords.com, where ticket/CD bundles are also available. 

“A Shockoe Records Christmas! Live” concert will be performed at the Hippodrome on Tuesday, Dec. 3. $25 advance, $30 day of show. For tickets, go to shockoerecords.com. Ticket/CD bundles available. To see the concert online, go to youtube.com/@shockoesessionslive