Article Contributed by Big Feat PR
Published on 2026-11-12
Today, the legendary band Little Feat brings its unmistakable groove to the holiday season with a new version of “Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin’” and their first-ever original Christmas recording: “Christmas in Treme’” featuring Maggie Rose. Both songs are available exclusively on digital streaming platforms via Hot Tomato Productions. Listen HERE.
Little Feat also shares a new video for “Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin’,” directed by Joshua Britt and Neilson Hubbard of Neighborhoods Apart. Watch HERE.
Written by Sir Mack Rice and made famous by Albert King, “Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin’” finds percussionist Sam Clayton stepping up to the microphone with the husky, soulful vocals that have long been an essential ingredient of Little Feat’s sound and secured the band a GRAMMY nomination for their Clayton-fronted blues album, Sam’s Place. “Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin’” offers slippery slide guitar, dexterous piano, and the band’s irresistible groove gives the holiday classic a distinctly Feat-shaped swagger.
On “Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin’,” Bill Payne shared, “We had a blast recording this song at Sputnik Sound in Nashville. It gave us a chance to reunite with Vance Powell, for one. It was familiar territory for us, as we recorded ‘Strike Up the Band’ there. The song fits right into Little Feat’s world. Great energy from the top! Sam Clayton nails it, and the band is on fire! With gratitude to Brian Penix, our manager, for turning us on to it.”
“Christmas in Treme’” brings the celebration to New Orleans, a city whose musical spirit has coursed through Little Feat’s work for decades. Written by Fred Tackett and Scott Sharrard, the new original pairs Sharrard’s lead vocals with Maggie Rose, adding a new Christmas song to a catalog already rich with Southern soul, blues, and New Orleans R&B.
Produced by Vance Powell, Scott Sharrard, and Bill Payne, both tracks were recorded at Sputnik Sound in Nashville. They feature Little Feat’s current lineup: Payne on keys, Kenny Gradney on bass, Clayton on percussion, Tackett and Sharrard on guitars, and Tony Leone on drums and percussion. Rose also contributes backing vocals to “Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin’,” alongside Austin Marshall.
The holiday releases arrive as Little Feat continues The Last Farewell Tour, which will conclude in 2027. More dates will be announced soon, with confirmed shows and ticket information available at littlefeat.net/tour. As the band explained when announcing the tour, this farewell marks a retirement from the demands of life on the road, with their appetite for making music very much intact.
Next year will also bring a deeply personal look at the life of Little Feat co-founder Bill Payne. His long-awaited memoir, Carnival Ghosts: A Memoir of Life, Loss and Rebirth with Little Feat, will be published by Regalo Press on February 16, 2027.
“Writing a book is like writing a symphony—several of them,” Payne shared. “Lots of threads over a lifetime to connect. My journey as a musician would not have taken place without the person I dedicate my book to: Ruth Neuman, my piano teacher. Everyone needs a mentor, Ruth was mine. The rest is history.”
This year, Little Feat: The Documentary (directed by Jesse Lauter) has been making the rounds at film festivals. Fans can look forward to its international and streaming release in 2027.
Spanning six decades of music, the book follows Payne from his childhood as a piano prodigy and youthful church organist through the formation of Little Feat, the band’s rise, losses, and rebirth, and his extraordinary career as a session musician. Along the way, Payne takes readers inside a world of unforgettable characters and creative partnerships, drawing on a life that has included recording with The Doobie Brothers, James Taylor, Bob Seger, Bonnie Raitt, Jimmy Buffett, and B.B. King. Told with candor and a storyteller’s eye, Carnival Ghosts is an intimate account of musical adventure, personal loss, and renewal.
Formed in Los Angeles in 1969, Little Feat created a musical language all their own, blending rock, blues, country, funk, jazz, and New Orleans R&B. From “Willin’,” “Dixie Chicken” and “Oh, Atlanta” to the landmark live album Waiting for Columbus, their songs and performances have inspired generations of musicians and devoted fans. Following the GRAMMY-nominated Sam’s Place and Strike Up the Band, these first Christmas recordings find Little Feat still expanding their repertoire, still following the groove, and bringing the spirit of Little Feat to a whole new generation of music fans.
“Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin’”
Featuring Lead Vocals by Sam Clayton
“Christmas in Treme’”
Featuring Maggie Rose
Written by Fred Tackett and Scott Sharrard
Listen to Both Holiday Songs
Watch “Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin’”
Produced by Vance Powell, Scott Sharrard & Bill Payne
Engineered by Vance Powell
Assistant Engineers: Koehn Terry & Stephen Adolf
Recorded and mixed at Sputnik Sound, Nashville, TN
Mixed by Vance Powell
Assistant Mixing Engineer: Koehn Terry
Mastered by Pete Lyman at Infrasonic Sound
Executive Producer: Brian Penix
Record Label: Hot Tomato Productions
2026 TOUR DATES
November 13 — Fort Wayne, IN — Clyde Theatre
November 14 — Skokie, IL — North Shore Center for the Performing Arts
November 15 — Champaign, IL — Virginia Theatre
November 17 — Chesterfield, MO — The Factory
November 19 — Memphis, TN — Cannon Center (with The Hot Tomato Horns)
November 20 — Meridian, MS — MSU Riley Center
November 21 — Mobile, AL — Saenger Theatre Mobile
2027 TOUR DATES
January 4 — Osaka, Japan — Festival Hall
January 6 — Tachikawa, Japan — Tachikawa Stage Garden
February 21 — Jim Thorpe, PA — Penn’s Peak
February 23 — Rehoboth Beach, DE — Rehoboth Beach Convention Hall
February 24 — Morgantown, WV — The Metropolitan Theatre
February 26 — Charlottesville, VA — The Paramount Theater
February 27 — Charlottesville, VA — The Paramount Theater
February 28 — North Myrtle Beach, SC — Alabama Theatre
March 2 — Macon, GA — Macon City Auditorium
March 3 — Tallahassee, FL — The Moon
March 5 — Pompano Beach, FL — Pompano Beach Amphitheater *
March 6 — St. Augustine, FL — St. Augustine Amphitheatre *
March 7 — Clearwater, FL — The BayCare Sound *
April 30 — New Orleans, LA — Orpheum Theater +
May 1 — Cleveland, MS — Bologna Performing Arts Center
May 2 — Greenville, TX — Greenville Municipal Auditorium
May 4 — San Antonio, TX — Tobin Center for the Performing Arts
May 5 — Abilene, TX — Paramount Theatre
May 7 — Oklahoma City, OK — The Criterion
May 8 — Fayetteville, AR — Ozark Music Hall
May 10 — Des Moines, IA — Hoyt Sherman Place
May 13 — Wausau, WI — The Grand Theater
May 14 — Milwaukee, WI — Pabst Theater
May 15 — Morton, MN — Venue TBA
* With Old Crow Medicine Show
+ Little Feat & Friends Perform Waiting for Columbus: The Last Farewell Tour
More dates to be announced.
