The Hunter brothers grew up with their family’s Christmas traditions and are now passing them on to their own families
Four years ago, the Hunter Brothers, a Canadian country band of five brothers from Shaunavon, Sask. — Ty, J.J., Luke, Brock, and Dusty — released their first Christmas single, Joy to the World.
Now, that single has sparked a whole album with the same name.
“Last year, given the landscape and not being able to do a whole lot of shows, we added two more songs to the roster, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, and Oh, Holy Night,” said Ty Hunter. “And then this last year, once again, not being able to do a whole lot of shows, we decided to complete the project and put it out.”
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Joy to the World was a fitting title for them, not just because it was the first Christmas single they released, but also because of what Christmas means to the Hunter family.
“The year seems to be very busy as it is, I’m sure for many people, between farming and hockey and music,” J.J. Hunter said.
“And so it was always a really intentional time for us as family, as brothers, and then as wives and kids started entering the picture, it has just kind of continued. It’s a time that we just spend together, refocusing on what’s important; the family, the message of Christmas. It just is something that is filled with tradition and relaxation.”
Like many other families, the Hunters read the Christmas story as children, but they had a few traditions unique to their own family, such as opening presents from the youngest to the oldest.
“It was one thing that we always did that was normal to us because that’s how we grew up. But we found out that some other people didn’t necessarily do that,” Brock Hunter said.
“And so it turned out to be kind of an all-day endeavor between the waking up and having breakfast and reading the Christmas story. And then individually opening presents because there were so many of us.”
Hockey was a big part of the Hunters’ lives, meaning it was also a big part of the Christmas season, even though the brothers couldn’t agree on who won the most.
“What would usually happen is we would get a big hockey game going on the rink next door,” Dusty Hunter said. “Dad built this little artificial rink 10 feet from our house. And then as we came back from our junior hockey teams and pro teams, we usually got a chance to test our skills out against each other.”
Now as adults, the Hunter Brothers have passed on these traditions to their families.
“We would sleep under the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve,” Dusty said.
“And now we started doing it with our children. Just seeing the excitement in their eyes brings back the childhood memories that we had as well.”
And as musicians, they’ve created new traditions, as well, one being their singing in the silo sessions. As farmers, it always comes back to agriculture for them.
“One thing that we seem to make a tradition out of is, if anybody’s seen the singing in the silos, we always pick the coldest day of the year to record those videos,” said J.J.
“We are really thankful for the support that we receive from the agriculture industry. That’s a huge part of our life and always has been and continues to be. And so when we see our music, whether it’s a Christmas album, or just singles or releasing the radio or content pieces, and we see the feedback and the interaction with the agricultural community, that’s meant a lot to us, because that’s really who we are.”
