Keith and Kristyn Getty Home for Christmas Concert 2025 at SSE Arena in Belfast - includes special programme crafted to lift spirits after WWI
The Gettys’ forthcoming Belfast Christmas concert features a programme inspired by the aftermath of World War I, created to lift spirits “however good or bad the past year has been — and whatever the coming year may hold.”
Speaking to the News Letter from Washington DC, Lisburn man Keith told the News Letter he and his wife Kristyn are doing their largest ever in the SSE Arena - seating around 8000 people on 22 December.
The Grammy-nominated duo, best known for the modern hymn “In Christ Alone,” have performed at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the Sydney Opera House.
Key features of the concert will be;-
:: Twice Grammy nominated Blessing Offor, with several surprise NI guests.
:: R&B and rap artists, with Glaswegian Alistair Begg, who will provide the homily.
:: The NI launch of their new Getty Hymnal, with video-link appearance by astronaut Butch Wilmore, who called them from space in its final stages.
:: The world premiere of a Narnia poem to mark the 75th anniversary of The Lion Witch and the Wardrobe.
:: Their four daughters Eliza, Charlotte, Grace and Tahlia, aged 7-14, singing Christmas carols.
Keith says half the concert will be based on the traditional Anglican Nine Lessons of Christmas and Carols - which he noted was established in Christmas 1918.
"Britain was at its lowest, most blown apart moment, where we had just suffered unprecedented losses in World War One," he said.
"People were thinking it was going to be the saddest Christmas because so many tables would be missing someone.
"And they decided to try the Lessons and Carols as a way of helping encourage and inspire people's imagination; that as they reflected on the past and looked to the future, they could turn to the Christmas story, and in that find faith and hope and joy and peace.
"So the first half of the concert will be very entertaining and funny. But the second half is just that little golden 60 minutes so that everyone, however good or bad their past year has been, or whatever they're expecting next year, can turn and look to the Christ Child and see their story within that."
The first half of this year's concert will be "a really fun celebration of Christmas" with songs, instrumental, and a little bit of dance.
"Afterwards there will be a jam session in the lobby for 25 minutes, so people can come along and watch and take pictures. It's a real fun night."
The Gettys now live and work in Nashville where they run their own recording studio but they love coming back home.
"America has given us more than we could ever dream of and we absolutely love it. But despite all that, it still is not and will never be home,” Keith said.
“In terms of natural beauty, it's incredible. And then you have all the friends and family that know you from childhood.”
"The pace of life is also a little bit better - in America, everything is flying, all the time."
On top of that the people in NI just "sing better" along to Christmas carols: “We're more passionate and more soulful."
He also noted the surging interest in the Christian faith at US universities.
"In America there are a couple of factors. We're seeing it at university level a lot,” he said.
"And then more generally there's a broader, massive rise of what you would call conservatism generally."
"That includes everything from Charlie Kirk to the podcaster Joe Rogan and the Republican Party.
"There's a massive rise in a kind of conservatism and vocal opposition to wokeness.
"And some of that is a healthy relief to society, and some of that does have a health to it - but it's not to be mistaken with Christianity, because it's not that.”
People are increasingly "not accepting unthinking liberalism", he added that some leading politicians associated with US conservatism are "certainly not Christian - so let's be very clear about that".
"But in most US universities the attendance at Christian events is about twice what it was five years ago.
"I think there's a general hunger which has come, in a significant part, from the bankruptcy of secularism."
In April a UK survey by YouGov commissioned by the Bible Society found 25 to 34-year-olds have seen an increase from 4% to 13% in church attendance 2018-2024, especially in Catholic and pentecostal churches.
‘Home for Christmas’ Tour Dates; 17 December - SEC Armadillo, Glasgow; 19 December - Royal Albert Hall, London; 22 December - SSE Arena, Belfast.
The Belfast Concert will be broadcast by BBC NI as its Christmas Day Service. The London concert will be livestreamed and broadcast by Premier Radio on Christmas Day.
Buy tickets at www.ticketmaster.ie and www.SSEArenaBelfast.com