Griffin House
House will be home for the holidays – Griffin House, the Springfield born and raised singer/songwriter will be back for one night only and is bringing a special gift guest performer.
The Griffin House Holiday Hometown Concert will play everything from the traditional to fun and more modern classics and will have his daughter, Emma, as special guest. Tickets cost $15 advance and $20 at the door if not sold out.
House is an annual fixture at the Summer Arts Festival in Veterans Park, which he enjoys and looks forward to and counts the holiday season as the same, especially on the State Theater stage, of which he has fond memories.
“I remember going to the movies at the State Theater as a kid, I think I saw ‘Rocky IV’ and ‘Back to the Future.’ So, it’s exciting to come back to a place where I went to the theater as a kid and do our own show and a special feeling to travel from New York on a plane to come home with my daughter and get to sing together for my hometown of Springfield,” he said.
Emma, who just turned 14, has been singing her whole life and has always had a natural ability to sing, according to House. She’s been writing her own songs and performed them in front of audiences at school, church and talent shows the past few years, even joining him on the road to open a few concerts with a set of her own music and a few cover songs.
“We sang on stage for the first time together a couple summers ago at an outdoor amphitheater in Connecticut,” House said. “She came out and sang a Bob Dylan song and got a standing ovation after singing one line. I leaned down and said, ‘That’s never happened to me!’ She always blows me off stage with her voice, and I love every minute of that.”
For the last five years or so, the Houses have done a live stream from their Connecticut home during the holidays as they don’t always make it back here and thought it would be fun to bring it back to Springfield.
The songs will vary from “Silent Night” to old school throwbacks like Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” and “Mr. Grinch” to “Last Christmas” and “Baby, Please Come Home.” House will also include a few of his originals.
The New Year will bring some new songs, 50-60 live shows lined up, including Emma on some dates. He’s also considering a Christmas album and returning here in warmer months.
“I hope to make it back again to the Arts Festival for 2026, and I know Emma would love to come along, too,” said House.
The Moonbats
The Moonbats will make their first visit to Springfield to give the holiday songs a break in exchange for classic rock to the State stage, playing everything from the familiar like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Doors to some of the other acts you don’t see a lot of live tributes to such as The Zombies, Paul Revere and the Raiders, The Yardbirds and The Hollies.
General admission is $20.
“When people think of ‘60s music, they think of golden oldies, but we play more with fire. We create an environment that puts you in 1967 driving in your car and what you’d hear on your radio,” said musician Jesse McNamara.
McNamara previously played the State earlier this year as part of Lightning Express, an Everly Brothers tribute show, which will return in March 2026, and enjoyed the experience and wanted to come back with the Moonbats.
“We were all born in the 1970s, and this is what we listened to as kids. For us, it’s cool to play what our dads played in the ‘60s and we want to share it,” he said.
The show will also be a homecoming for keyboardist Rob Cave, a Catholic Central graduate who moved to Columbus where he plays and teaches. Cave recalls the State when it was a movie theater and looks forward to being back.
Todd Stoll’s Red Hot Holiday Stomp
The late 2010s saw the rise of the Red Hot Holiday Stomp led by Springfield native Todd Stoll, leader of the Springfield Symphony Jazz Orchestra.
Get a New Orleans-style take on Christmas classics unlike anything you’ve heard with a seven-piece band and several guests. Tickets cost $10 general admission and half of all ticket sales will go to Second Harvest Food Bank thanks to Skyline Chili.
“This show will put you in the seasonal spirit, familiar tunes done in a jazz style and no matter what you like, we will do something in that style with a melody that you recognize that will lift your spirits,” said Stoll.
The State Theater is located at 19 S. Fountain Ave. For presale tickets for any of the shows or for more information, go to springfieldstatetheater.com.
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