The Sony Nashville Prep will be taking a holiday break, with the stories below representing our final full posting of 2008 before we return to our usual schedule the week of January 5th.

As we celebrate the joys and blessings of the season and look ahead to 2009, we’d like to take a moment to thank you for your time right now, for your partnership, and for your support of the artists and music represented throughout these pages each week.

For so many of us who work in various facets of the music industry, we’ve been drawn to it by our simple love for the music, for how it touches us…and for how we know it has the power to touch others. Years ago, there was an industry campaign that encouraged people to “Give the Gift of Music.” And while times may change, the gift of music remains an enduring gift, whether it inspires you to relax, dance, sing along, smile, see the world in a slightly different way, or find comfort in a lyric that reminds you that you’re not alone in something you might be facing in your life.

So from all of us, we wish you a very happy holiday season and — always — the gift of music.