Karrin Allyson, Orianthi, Peterson Family, José James Featured in Star Tribune

The much-lauded guitarist from Australia is well-connected. She was hired by Michael Jackson for his This Is It Tour that never happened. She joined Alice Cooper’s band for a couple of tours. She saluted Carlos Santana when he received his Kennedy Center Honors. And she’s gigged with the Hollywood Vampires and collaborated with, among others, Richie Sambora, her former beau. Her solo career has been a bit hit and miss, as her 2025 disc “Some Kind of Feeling” demonstrates. While she tries for some radio friendly songs, Orianthi is more compelling when she gets more emotional, especially on the bluesy, dreamy “What I’ve Been Looking For,” the slow-burn “Ghost” and the explosive blues-rocker “First Time Blues” featuring Joe Bonamassa.

For the fifth consecutive December, the hip-hop-embracing jazz crooner is coming home for the holidays. The Minneapolis native, who now lives in Los Angeles, will, for the second consecutive year, be accompanied by pianist Jahari Stampley on some Christmas nuggets as well as his own should-be-a-classic “Christmas in New York” with its Nat King Cole/Mel Tormé vibe. Maybe James will also share a taste of this year’s album “1978: Revenge of the Dragon,” which expresses his enlightened and eclectic world view including a jazzy, trumpet-punctuated treatment of Michael Jackson’s “Rock with You”.