Dressed in their top hats, colorful vests, velvet bodices and gathered skirts, The Oakwood waits look and sing like they’re stepping out of the pages of Dickens – which was always the goal.
Since 1984, the Raleigh singing troupe has celebrated its merriment in the most traditional way, mixing “Pat-a-Pan” and “Fum, Fum, Fum” with “Jingle Bells.”
Relentlessly festive, the 16-person a cappella ensemble sings in churches and performs benefit concerts around the Triangle with the exuberance of Scrooge following the three spirits.
But on Tuesday, they bring their harmonies to the most majestic residence in the country: the White House.
“This is the greatest honor we have ever received and we are deeply grateful,” said Lee Baker, Waits’ longtime singer. “Just to see people’s faces and know we put them in a good mood.”
Christmas, “the only thing I’m not really bored of”
This will be the group’s third presidential trip: the first in 1997 and the second in 2004. More than a return after two decades, the Waits consider having endured the pandemic, which wiped out the least robust volunteer musicians, unable to practice or perform.
“It’s a testament to the long life of the band, the little flame that’s still lit,” said Jon Douglas, one of the Waits. “It’s like, for me, the one thing that I’m not really jaded about. I love Christmas. I’m going to be cheerful no matter what, dammit. This feeling is found throughout the group.
The Waits began as a quartet in Raleigh’s historic Oakwood neighborhood, and although the membership grew into an ornately costumed ensemble, the neighborhood’s Christmas carols continued through a tradition now known as “The Traipse.”
The term “waits” refers to the British term for buskers – sometimes spelled “waits”. And while Oakwood’s repertoire includes Christmas carols dating back to medieval times, the group has always added a few “Rudolph” or jazz tunes.
“Jingle Bells” and more
“For years,” Baker said, “the only children’s song we had was ‘Jingle Bells,'” Baker said. “We’d be at a concert and we’d probably sing ‘Jingle Bells’ 10 times in two hours.”
Getting to Washington required an application, considerable Secret Service scrutiny, and some influence from North Carolina First Lady Kristin Cooper.
And while the Waits will sing for visitors to the White House rather than the First Family, it will be during a special organized tour.
Still, one imagines President Biden grabbing a few bars of “Masters in this Hall” and sneaking downstairs to take a look.
This story was originally published November 30, 2023, 11:41 a.m.