Jake Shimabukuro Gets into the Holiday Spirit with New Album, Tis The Season

On an exquisite collection of Yuletide classics, the renowned ‘ukulele star is joined by superstars Yo-Yo Ma, Michael McDonald, Kimié Miner, Paula Fuga, Ana Vee, Justin Kawika Young, and the late Jimmy Buffett 

Fall Tour & Holidays In Hawai’i Tour Dates On Sale Now

Pre-Save HERE

LOS ANGELES, CA (October 1, 2025) – On October 17, 2025, renowned ‘ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro will release his much-anticipated holiday album, Tis The Season, an exquisitely crafted and impeccably played collection of beloved seasonal classics and Hawaiian yuletide staples on which the master musician celebrates the joys and wonders of Christmas time on solo arrangements and collaborations with world-class artists including Yo-Yo Ma, Michael McDonald and the late Jimmy Buffett.

“I’m really happy that I can offer this album to our supporters,” Shimabukuro says. “Back in 2021, I did a holiday tour and played a lot of my favorite seasonal songs. I brought out a friend of mine, Justin Kawika Young (Seven Suns), who’s an amazing singer/songwriter. The response was incredible, and we’ve done the tour each year since. Our supporters have been asking me, ‘When are you going to do a holiday record?’ Now I can finally say, ‘It’s here!’”

On his “Holidays in Hawai’i” tours, Shimabukuro and Young began performing an intimate and deeply soulful version of “This Christmas,” first made famous by the legendary singer Donny Hathaway. The recording on Tis The Season is divine – Shimabukuro’s expressive, richly resonant playing weaves in and around Young’s captivating vocals to create a rewarding emotional experience.

“It was a song that Justin suggested we try together,” Shimabukuro says. “The second we played it, I thought, ‘Wow, what a great song,’ but I was really struck by Justin’s singing. I told him right out, ‘Dude, you’re amazing on this!’ It was obvious that we needed to record it for the album.”

The two also team up on a jubilant and positively irresistible take on Mariah Carey’s modern holiday classic, “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” “I love, love, love that song!” Shimabukuro emphatically states. “Every year I look forward to hearing it. One of my favorite movies is Love Actually – all I need is to hear the song and I picture myself watching the film. It was so much fun doing the song with Justin. He’s such a versatile singer.”

As is the case with all of the songs on Tis The Season, Shimabukuro doesn’t stray from the songs’ original arrangements – “I like keeping the arrangements simple, it’s how I want to hear them” – but he slips in his own unique touches, like on “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” the way he caps his breezy solo with a flourish of tasty jazz chords. “I always like to give things a bit of color,” he says. “It’s fun to put your own spin on things where you can.”

Recording John Lennon’s iconic “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” with famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma was, in Shimabukuro’s words, “an absolute honor and a dream come true.” Their pairing is musical bliss – a heartfelt conversation between two masters expressing their mutual appreciation and their love of the late Beatles’ songwriting genius.

“We recorded it live in the studio years ago, and I remember it being a magical session,” Shimabukuro says. “The song is one of my favorites, of course, and it was so special that I could record it with Yo-Yo Ma. Such an honor. I can still recall his facial expressions when he played. He was very gracious - I brought him a box of Hawaiian chocolates, and he loved them. He went around the studio and offered them to everybody. Such a down-to-earth guy.”

Tis The Season also includes Shimabukuro’s sumptuous recording of the beloved Hawaiian Christmas song “Mele Kalikimaka,” radiant with the inimitable vocals of the late Jimmy Buffett. “I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for him,” Shimabukuro says. “He and Mac McAnally were like my big brothers. They took me under their wings and did so much for me.” There’s also a super-cool and snappy take on “Winter Wonderland” that features the dual ‘ukuleles of Shimabukuro and Doobie Brothers star Michael McDonald. “Everyone should know what a great ‘ukulele player Michael is,” Shimabukuro says. “His chord knowledge and tone is incredible! And, what’s even more unbelievable is, his ‘ukulele playing sounds like Michael McDonald! So epic!!”

One of the true treasures on Tis The Season is “At Christmas Time,” a song Shimabukuro wrote 30 years ago and recorded with his high school band, Pure Heart (Jon Yamasato on vocals, Lopaka Colon Jr. on percussion). “We released it at the time, but it’s been out of print for years, so I’m happy to include it on this album. Brings back such great memories.”

A good time will be had by all with the heavenly Island-flavored version of “Jingle Bells,” brimming with the luxurious vocals of Kimié Miner, Paula Fuga and Anna Vee. “It’s such a privilege to have their soulful voices on this project,” said Shimabukuro, a long-time friend and collaborator. And it’s impossible not to be moved by Shimabukuro’s spellbinding solo performance of “Ave Maria,” which he calls “one of my favorite classical pieces. It’s such a remarkable melody, just beautiful beyond words.”

The 13 tracks that comprise Tis The Season span the many moods of the holiday season, from sweetly nostalgic to contemplative to all-out festive. “A lot of these songs are timeless,” Shimabukuro says. “They bring me back to Christmas Eve, late at night sleeping next to the tree lights. That was my childhood, and that’s what I wanted to recapture.”

Shimabukuro is currently on tour across the U.S. and Japan this fall. He kicks off his annual “Holidays in Hawai‘i” tour on November 12 in Franklin, TN, where he will perform many of the songs from Tis The Season, along with “some surprises.” For the tour, which wraps on December 19 in Honolulu, HI, he will be joined by his longtime bassist, Jackson Waldhoff, and Justin Kawika Young, singer of the band Seven Suns, on vocals and guitar. “I always have such a great time playing these shows, and I’m so grateful that our audiences enjoy what we love doing,” Shimabukuro says. “We’re going to change a few things up from the last tour, and I can’t wait to get out there. It’s going to be a party.”

Tis The Season tracklist:

1. All I Want For Christmas is You

2. O Holy Night

3. We Three Kings

4. At Christmas Time

5. Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

6. Mele Kalikimaka

7. What Child Is This

8. This Christmas

9. White Christmas

10. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer

11. Jingle Bells

12. Winter Wonderland

13. Ave Maria

Pre-save Tis the Season HERE.

Photo credit: Sienna Morales

Fall Tour 2025 - US, Japan, South Korea, & China

October 1, 2025 - San Luis Obispo, CA - Performing Arts Center SLO - Harold Miossi Hall

October 2, 2025 - Livermore, CA - Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center

October 3, 2025 - Santa Cruz, CA - Rio Theatre

October 4, 2025 - Crystal Bay, NV - Crystal Bay Casino

October 5, 2025 - Irvine, CA - Irvine Barclay Theatre

October 9, 2025 - Honolulu, HI - Blue Note Hawaii

October 10, 2025 - Honolulu, HI - Blue Note Hawaii

October 16, 2025 - Tokyo, Japan - Ex Theatre Roppong I

October 17, 2025 - Tokyo, Japan - Ex Theatre Roppong I

October 19, 2025 - Yokohama - Yokohama Kannai Hall

October 21, 2025 - Seoul, South Korea - Yes24

October 23, 2025 - Beijing, China - RMMF Beijing 798 Store

October 24, 2025 - Wuhan, China - MAO Livehouse Wuhan

October 25, 2025 - Nan Jing Shi, China - 1701 Livehouse Max

October 26, 2025 - Shanghai, China - VAS Shanghai

October 28, 2025 - Guang Zhou Shi, China - MAO Livehouse Guangzhou

October 30, 2025 - Nagoya - Nagoya Diamond Hall

October 31, 2025 - Osaka - Namba Hatch

November 1, 2025 - Hiroshima - Blue Live Hiroshima

November 2, 2025 - Fukuoka - Skala Espacio

Holidays in Hawai’i Tour 2025

November 12, 2025 - Franklin, TN - The Franklin Theatre

November 13, 2025 - Atlanta, GA - City WInery Atlanta 

November 14, 2025 - Jacksonville, FL - Florida Theatre

November 15, 2025 - Gainesville, FL - Phillips Center For The Arts

November 16, 2025 - Clayton, NC - The Clayton Center

November 17, 2025 - Sellersville, PA - Sellersville Theater

November 18, 2025 - Leeburg, VA - Tally Ho Theatre 

November 19, 2025 - College Park, MD - The Clarice

November 20, 2025 - Richmond, VA - Tin Pan 

November 21, 2025 - Wilmington, DE - The Grand

November 22, 2025 - New York, NY - Sony Hall 

November 28-30, 2025 - Napa, CA - Blue Note Napa

December 1, 2025 - Kirkland, WA - Kirkland Performance Center

December 2, 2025 - Edmonds, WA - Edmonds Center for the Arts

December 3, 2025 - Lone Tree, CO - Lone Tree Arts Center 

December 4, 2025 - Loveland, CO - Rialto Theater

December 5, 2025 - Tucson, AZ - 

December 6, 2025 @ 6pm and 8pm - Phoenix, AZ - Music Instrument Museum

December 7, 2025 @ 6pm and 8:30pm - Solano Beach, CA - Belly Up

December 10, 2025 - Santa Barbara, CA - UCSB Campbell Hall/Granada Theatre

December 11, 2025 - Malibu, CA - Pepperdine University/Smothers Theatre

December 13, 2025 - Kilauea, HI - Porter Pavillion at AHCP

December 14, 2025 - Lihue, HI - The Performing Arts Center at KCC

December 16, 2025 - Honolulu, HI - Blue Note Hawaii

December 17, 2025 - Honolulu, HI - Blue Note Hawaii

December 18, 2025 - Honolulu, HI - Blue Note Hawaii

December 19, 2025 - Honolulu, HI - Blue Note Hawaii

December 20, 2025 - Maui, HI - Maui Arts & Culture Center

December 21, 2025 - Hilo, HI - The Palace Theater

About Jake Shimabukuro

Over the past two decades, Jake Shimabukuro has proved that there isn’t a style of music that he can play. While versatility for any musician is impressive, Jake showcases his transcendent skills as he explores his seemingly limitless vocabulary, with a variety of genres, on perhaps the unlikeliest of instruments: the 'ukulele. Called "one of the hottest axemen of the past few years [who] doesn't actually play guitar" (Rolling Stone), Jake Shimabukuro has become one of the most exceptional and innovative 'ukulele players in the history of the instrument—an artist who has drawn comparisons to musical titans such as Jimi Hendrix and Miles Davis.

For more information, visit:

https://jakeshimabukuro.com/ 

For Media Inquiries:

Jensen Communications

Erin Cook, Leo Lavoro & Michael Jensen

erin@jensencom.com and leo@jensencom.com