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Randall Kromm - Sentimental Season
Randall Kromm
Sentimental Season

A collection of moving acoustic songs
reflecting on the time from Halloween to New Year’s Eve,
and the family gatherings and memories of holidays past
that make this truly a sentimental season.


In Sentimental Season, Randall explores the emotions and memories stirred by the fall/winter holidays—Halloween, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve. The CD’s twelve songs encompass a variety of musical styles and feature Randall on guitar, vocals, and bass; his daughters Emma and Grace on vocals; and supporting musicians Eric Kilburn (mandolin and dobro), Joe Barbato (piano and accordion), and Peter Tillotson (upright bass).

1. It’s Halloween (and It’s Beautiful Out) (3:35) – A reminiscence on the fleeting time “when you were young and could become anything” at Halloween--and on being a parent watching your children grow out of that time.

2. Train of Zombies (3:37) – Another Halloween-themed tune, Train of Zombies is a rollicking bluegrass number that also offers a wry critique on our personal media-obsessed culture.

3. The Most Important Thing (4:44) – A moving song for Veterans Day that contrasts the “gentle worries” that affect most of us with the greater sacrifices made by those who serve our country in uniform. Eric Kilburn plays harmonica and mandolin.

4. Coming From Everywhere, Home (3:49) – A tuneful folk-pop song on the joys and challenges of gathering at Thanksgiving, with a soaring violin solo by Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki and lovely harmonies by Emma and Grace.

5. Thankful (2:36) – A lighter number, Thankful calls attention to the “little things” the singer is grateful for at Thanksgiving, from khaki pants and electric shavers to q-tips and toaster tongs.

6. Building Together (4:06) – An elegant anthem inspired by the Oglala Lakota Re-member project at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation offered in recognition of Native American History month. Joe Barbato’s piano and Emma and Grace’s harmonies are featured.

7. Sentimental Season (2.39) – A gorgeous, gently swinging old-style Christmas song of the kind that Perry Como could have sung, featuring Joe Barbato on piano and Peter Tillotson on upright bass.

8. Wouldn’t I Have Known (4:25) – Emma and Randall trade lead vocals in this contemplative Christmas folk song that asks whether we live the values of care for the weak and displaced that lie at the heart of the nativity story.

9. At Least Now Thre’s Snow (3:55) – A sweet duet between Randall and Grace about the way a little snow in winter can bring joy even when one isn’t feeling in the holiday spirit.

10. When I See the Lights Again (4:24) – A country ballad with beautiful harmonies about a parent’s joy each year at Christmas that his family will be together again.

11. Cleveland (4:43) – A song with an acoustic Springsteen vibe, this song tells the story of a couple’s trip halfway across the country to fulfill a promise for a family Christmas.

12. Happy New Year, Beautiful (3:49) – A romantic piano-based song about seeing one’s love anew on New Year’s Eve.


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