Serena Ryder kicks off Merry Myths tour in Calgary

When Serena Ryder opens her Merry Myths holiday tour at the Bella Concert Hall on Nov. 28, she says the invitation is something more than just another festive concert.

She describes it as part solstice ritual, part storytelling circle, and part collective exhale at one of the most emotionally loaded times of the year.

This year’s show blends her own Christmas originals with the classics, and she is expecting background vocals from the crowd.

Ryder recorded her holiday album ‘Christmas Kisses’ with legendary producer Bob Ezrin, whose credits range across generations and genres.

“For anybody who doesn’t know, Bob Ezrin produced Pink Floyd, ‘The Wall.’ He produced Alice Cooper… he’s unbelievable. And we made a jazz Christmas record together,” she says. “It’s always been my dream to make a jazz record… and so it was a dream come true.” 

That record became the foundation for a beautiful seasonal rhythm in her career.

“Every couple of years I go out on tour at Christmastime and this is one of those years… we’re coming out with the Merry Myths Christmas Tour, which is inspired by the mythology behind the stories of Christmastime and, you know, kind of where it all began,” she says. 

Ryder has been immersing herself in the old stories behind solstice traditions, rituals of light, and the early origins of figures like Santa.

“There was one that was so crazy… the origin of this time of year is back to solstice and the pagan tradition of celebrating solstice and celebrating the light coming back,” she explains. She laughs describing one old tale about a gremlin-like woman who carried away children who failed to honour the returning sun.

And for her, these stories mirror the emotional “seasons” we live in as humans.

“It gives us the permission as well to have more inner seasons where it doesn’t always have to be summer… it needs to be fall and it needs to be winter in order for spring to come.” 

Ryder is open about how heavy this time of year can be, particularly for people living with anxiety depression or any kind of other struggle. “There’s so much pressure for everything to be perfect,” she says. But for herself, the tour is a bit of a breather. 

“This tour really allows me to be a little slower and to be a little bit more present… singing and being together and having community… that’s really shifted so many things for me.” 

Ryder is also using this tour to highlight Water First, a charity she’s supported privately for years and is now partnering with onstage.

“I’ve been a monthly donor for the last several years,” she says.

When the organization reached out earlier this year, “I felt like it would be a really wonderful partnership… to learn about them as well as teach the people that come out to the shows about Water First.” 

“There’s over 18 per cent of Indigenous communities [that] are still under boil water advisories, which is absolutely preposterous,” Ryder says. “Having clean, clear water should be something that every single human being has access to.” 

Water First works within communities by invitation, building long-term relationships and training youth and adults to operate and maintain their water systems.

“They’ve been able to go into over 90 different communities… created amazing relationships… and are teaching youth and adults within the community how to clean their water systems,” she explains.

For Ryder, advocating for safe water ties directly into the emotional heart of the season.

“This time of year… we’re all kind of looking for something that we can do that actually makes a difference… in order to heal ourselves, heal the people that we love, water really does need to come first,” she adds.

Tickets can be found here.