October 22, 2021 – Multi-Grammy Award-winning band TRAIN releases a brand-new, original holiday song, “Mittens” – listen here. The release of “Mittens” coincides with the announcement of the new Hallmark Channel original movie, Christmas in Tahoe, starring frontman Pat Monahan, who also serves as an executive producer, alongside Laura Osnes (Raise a Glass to Love, One Royal Holiday), Kyle Selig (Madam Secretary), and George Lopez (George Lopez). The film will premiere as part of the network’s annual “Countdown to Christmas” programming event. Monahan will donate 100% of net proceeds he received for the film to Keep Tahoe Blue: League to Save Lake Tahoe, Tahoe’s oldest and largest nonprofit environmental advocacy organization, which serves to protect and restore the environmental health, sustainability and scenic beauty of the Lake Tahoe Basin. Learn more at keeptahoeblue.org.
Featuring a Christmas soundtrack from the diamond-selling group, comes a story of love and family. Christmas in Tahoe is inspired by Train’s Christmas album of the same name, which was originally released in 2015 and re-released as a deluxe edition with five never-before-heard covers in 2017. This holiday season, for the first time ever, Christmas in Tahoe is available as a limited-edition translucent green vinyl. Pre-order the festive holiday vinyl HERE.
On their first-ever holiday album, Train puts their signature sound and spin on timeless holiday hits such as Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas,” Stevie Wonder’s “What Christmas Means To Me,” and Elvis Presley’s “Blue Christmas,” together with newly penned, originals like “Merry Christmas Everybody” and RIAA Platinum-certified smash “Shake Up Christmas,” the latter of which Monahan and Kyle Selig perform in the film. “Shake Up Christmas” has quickly become a holiday staple over the last decade, boasting over 250 million global streams.
“Ever since having made our Christmas album, Christmas in Tahoe, it’s been a dream of mine to bring it to life on the screen,” says Monahan. “Hallmark has now made that dream a reality. I loved being able to not only act but also perform “Shake Up Christmas” and our new original song, “Mittens” in the movie. I know that everyone is going to feel the love and warmth of the holiday season when they see this heartfelt film.”
Hallmark’s Christmas in Tahoe, from Christmas Lake Productions Inc., tells the story of Claire (Laura Osnes), an aspiring talent booker, who is about to be offered a prestigious job with a big Vegas venue when the Christmas Eve show that she put together at her family’s hotel and casino in Lake Tahoe suddenly loses their big act! Her best friend and concierge Jackson (Pat Monahan) reminds her that she knows someone famous. Claire’s ex-boyfriend Ryan (Kyle Selig), the lead guitarist of the hugely popular band Wild Lynx, offers to help her find replacement acts. He’s on break from his tour and spending the holidays back in Tahoe with his family. Though Claire helped the band break out initially, she and Ryan haven’t spoken since they cut her loose in favor of a bigger management company. While trying to prove she has put the past behind her, feelings come back to the surface and they both realize they may need each other more than they remembered.
Kim Arnott, Ivan Kayden and Pat Monahan serve as executive producers. Kim Arnott serves as producer. Dawn Knight serves as supervising producer. Robert Lieberman directed from a story by Nina Weinman. Teleplay by Nina Weinman and Stephanie Jackson & Zach Lewis. Music is by Gramoscope Music.
TRAIN – fronted by Pat Monahan – is a multi-Grammy and Billboard Award-winning band from San Francisco that has had 14 songs on Billboard’s Hot 100 list since the release of their debut self-titled album. Train’s climb to the top began in 1994, as the original five-member band tenaciously built a loyal hometown following, leading up to their debut album, released by Columbia in 1998. The tumbling wordplay of “Meet Virginia” gave them their first unlikely radio hit and 2001’s Drops of Jupiter broke them to multi-platinum status thanks to the double-Grammy Award-winning title song that spent 10 months in the Top 40, has been certified 6x platinum in the US, and earned the 2001 GRAMMY Award for Best Rock Song. The group won another Grammy award in 2011 for their global hit “Hey, Soul Sister” from their multi-platinum album Save Me, San Francisco. “Hey, Soul Sister” was the No.1 best-selling smash and most downloaded single of 2010 and achieved RIAA Diamond status. Train has sold more than 10 million albums and 30 million tracks worldwide, with multiple platinum/gold citations, including three Grammy Awards, two Billboard Music Awards and dozens of other honors. They’ve had 12 albums on the Billboard 200 albums chart with their 2014 Bulletproof Picasso reaching No. 4 in 2012 and 2017’s a girl a bottle a boat debuting at No. 8. “Play That Song,” the lead single from a girl a bottle a boat, went platinum in four countries including the U.S., hit Top five on the US iTunes chart, Top 10 at Hot AC radio, and charted at Adult Top 40. Monahan has performed the U.S. National Anthem at events nationwide including the NBA Finals, NHL Stanley Cup Finals, Daytona 500, and Atlanta Motor Speedway. He has also made guest appearances on The Voice, American Idol, The Bachelor, and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. Additional credits include Dr. Ken, 90210, CBS’s Hawaii Five-0 and Magnum P.I., and Driver Dan’s Story Train as the voice of ‘Driver Dan.’ Outside of music, Monahan partakes in other ventures including his award-winning wine portfolio, Save Me, San Francisco Wine Co., which was created in 2011 and has sold over 10 million bottles and won over 100 medals. Proceeds from his wine business support Family House, a San Francisco charity that supports families of children with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.
