The country breakout star shares an updated version of the 1986 hit
Multi-platinum country star Dasha rings in cozy season with her moving rendition of “Driving Home for Christmas.” The 1986 Chris Rea original is an enduring holiday pop hit in the UK, but lesser-known Stateside, so Dasha is about to change that with her rich, Americana-forward version, first recorded for the Spotify Singles Holiday series and now available on all platforms via Warner Records.
With a sweep of steel guitar, Dasha reinvents “Driving Home for Christmas” from the start. Jingle bells soon mingle with acoustic strum, banjo pluck, and her yearning voice: “I’m driving home for Christmas, well I’m moving down that line / And it’s been so long, but I’ll be there / I’ll sing this song, to pass the time.” While the original strikes a jaunty tone, Dasha captures the loneliness of the road, a longing that evolves into hope as she gets closer to her destination: “I got red lights all around / But soon there’ll be a freeway, yeah / Get my feet on holy ground.”
Produced by Dasha’s brother Bardo, the winter warmer of a song is a perfect candidate for a country makeover, a driving song about the lonesome road back home to reunite with family. It’s also a reminder of Dasha’s emotional range and effectiveness following the October release of her Anna EP. The eclectic eight-song set is raw and introspective at times, rowdy and rollicking at others, and includes the flirty “Work on Me,” which Holler. said, “sounds like something that could’ve soundtracked any and every cult-classic romcom from the early 2000s in all their glory.”
A nod to her birth name, the Anna EP is a personal body of work that revisits formative memories while carving a bold path forward. On the wistful “Train,” Dasha ruminates on planting new roots: “You learn the turns and time the lights, the town you didn’t recognize / Becomes a little more like home.” The song, penned by songwriter Kyle Sturrock, resonated with Dasha as a reflection of her own journey, leaving home at 18 to find her footing in Nashville.
