Join us for the 21st Annual Lighting of the Green on Tuesday, December 2, 2025 in Allen Arena.
For the last 20 years, Amy Grant has graciously hosted this special event, bringing her music and inviting talented artists to help us usher in the Christmas season. This year Amy has a scheduling conflict. So, we are excited to announce that we have invited one of Amy’s favorite musical friends — Ellie Holcomb, a beloved singer/songwriter and best-selling author who absolutely LOVES Christmas! — to host Lighting of the Green 2025 in her place. Holcomb has been a part of Lighting of the Green in the past and we look forward to welcoming her back along with some special guests to carry on this wonderful tradition this December!
Ellie will be joined by a talented lineup of guest performers! Due to unforeseen circumstances we have had a few updates over the last 24 hours. Check out the exciting list of artists who will help us celebrate the start of the holiday season tomorrow night:
- Matt Maher, nine-time GRAMMY® nominee contemporary Christian music artist
- Daves Highway, fan favorite and Lipscomb alumni group
- Sandra McCracken, a GRAMMY-nominated singer-songwriter and author
- Lipscomb Academy and Lipscomb University choirs
- Sanctuary and the Lipscomb Gospel Choir
Event Schedule
- Merry Marketplace begins at 4 p.m. CST and is a great place to shop for Christmas gifts while supporting student scholarships.
- Free photos with Santa begin at 4:30 p.m. CST
- The concert begins at 6 p.m. CST followed by the lighting of the green.
This event is FREE and open to the public, so bring your family and friends to celebrate the start of the Christmas season at Lipscomb! This year, Lighting of the Green will take place inside Allen Arena, bringing all of the festivities under one roof due to maintenance needs on the green. We will return outside next year! Seating will be first come, first served. For those unable to attend the event, join us virtually by live streaming the event. Watch the live stream here.
Food and beverages will be available for purchase from Lipscomb Dining Services in the concession stands in Allen Arena and in Lipscomb’s Bennett Campus Center.
Campus Map and Parking Information
Allen Arena is located on the south end of campus, but the largest available parking inventory for that evening will be on the north end of campus. Guests are encouraged to park in the P2 North Parking Garage (3720 Belmont Blvd) or in the nearby north campus surface lots, all of which are an easy walk, less than 10 minutes, to Allen Arena.
Shuttle service will be available from Lipscomb Academy's McCadams Athletic Center Football Field parking lot, located at 1027 Caldwell Lane (which is also a short walk from campus). Shuttles will run from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. and will drop off near Allen Arena. Accessible parking will be available on the gold level of the Allen Arena parking garage.
About our artists
Ellie Holcomb
For eight years, Ellie Holcomb recorded and toured full-time with her husband’s band, Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors, before stepping off the road when her first child was born. Her solo debut, As Sure As The Sun (2014), landed her a Top 10 hit and a GMA Dove Award for “New Artist of the Year.” Her critically acclaimed sophomore LP, Red Sea Road, followed in 2017. In 2021, she released her third full-length solo project, Canyon, to much acclaim, earning her a second Top 10 radio single with the song, "I Will Carry You.” In September 2025, she will release her new studio album Far Country. Holcomb has also released four children’s books, each with a companion EP of original music written specifically for kids. Her debut book, Who Sang The First Song? (B&H Publishers, 2018), has achieved the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) Bronze Award for selling more than 100,000 copies. The book hit the ECPA juvenile bestseller list and was a finalist for the 2019 Christian Book Award in the children's category. She has also authored two additional children's books: Don't Forget to Remember, her Christmas book, and Sounding Joy, which landed at No. 4 on ECPA's Christian Juvenile Bestsellers list for Christmas 2022, and this year's Spring Sings. She won the GMA Dove Award for "Children's Album of the Year" in 2020 for her Sing: Remembering Songs album, in 2022 for "Recorded Music Packaging" for her album Canyon, as well as in 2023 for "Children's Recorded Song of the Year" for her Christmas song "Sounding Joy." Her first adult book and devotional, Fighting Words: 100 Days of Speaking Truth into the Darkness (2021), has spent many months on the ECPA Bestseller list. Ellie resides in her hometown of Nashville, TN, with her husband, Drew Holcomb, and their three children. For more information, visit: ellieholcomb.com.
Matt Maher
Since his major-label debut in 2008, Matt Maher has become a staple in the artistic and songwriting community. A nine-time-GRAMMY® nominee and six-time-GMA Dove Award® winner, he has garnered multiple radio successes, writing and recording songs such as his Top 5 CCLI song “Lord, I Need You” and the chart-topping radio singles “Because He Lives (Amen)” and "Alive & Breathing." Along with other hits such as “Hold Us Together,” “Christ Is Risen,” “All The People Said Amen,” and “Your Grace Is Enough,” Maher has written or co-written six No. 1 radio singles. Penning numerous songs recorded by Crowder, Hillsong, Casting Crowns, Chris Tomlin, We Are Messengers, Chris Renzema, Mack Brock, Brandon Lake and Passion, he’s had multiple titles on the CCLI chart’s Top 500 list. With career album sales of more than 600,000 units to date, Maher was awarded RIAA Platinum® certification for “Lord, I Need You” and RIAA Gold® certification for “Hold Us Together,” "All The People Said Amen," and "Because He Lives (Amen)". He’s released ten studio albums, including his 2017 GRAMMY-nominated album Echoes, and his first Christmas album and children’s book, both titled The Advent of Christmas. Maher, an official Steinway Artist, has been headlining his own tours and performing at major Catholic and Evangelical events since 2004, including multiple World Youth Day festivals, most recently in Rio De Janeiro presided by Pope Francis. He has also participated in the industry’s biggest tours and festivals, such as Worship Night In America with Chris Tomlin, and Tobymac’s Hits Deep. Maher has also toured with MercyMe, Chris Tomlin, and Casting Crowns. Matt has plans to release a new album and corresponding book in 2026.
Daves Highway
Defined by their exceptional harmonies and introspective lyrics, Lipscomb alums Daves Highway is an intertwined, free-spirited breath of fresh air making a difference one song, and three harmonies, at a time. The band name is their lineage derived early on when Zach (guitar), Delaney (bass) and Erika (lead vocals) traveled cross country as youngsters. The clan's shared passion for music, "together is better" philosophy, and unwavering "all or nothing" gumption, forms a tightly-knit bond in mutual trust and genuine friendship. Yet, each brings their own unique, individual talents to the assembly. Dynamic harmonies, honest lyrics and soft-rock, country fusion instrumentals characterize the musical triad–bringing a new organic sound to the contemporary country genre. Their music has earned them comparisons to Little Big Town, Band Perry, The Civil Wars and The Martins. Known for their genuine lyrics, undeniable chemistry and blood harmonies, Daves Highway has captivated audiences since their YouTube breakout in 2009 (amassing more than 20 Million views with the performance of “Jesus Messiah”). The group has recorded and released four studio albums, appeared on the "Bobby Bones Show," played the Ryman Auditorium, shared stages with Darius Rucker, LeAnn Rimes and Eli Young Band; and in 2023, toured with country music hitmaker Jake Owen. The band celebrated the release of its fifth recording project, IF YOU ASKED ME, produced by Geoff Sprung (bassist for award-winning, seven-time ACM and CMA Vocal Group Old Dominion), in late August 2025. The six-song EP spotlights emotionally rich, harmony-laced musical narratives and a unique musical interpretation of Martina McBride’s iconic hit ballad, "Anyway.” Learn more at daveshighway.com.
Sandra McCracken
Sandra McCracken is a GRAMMY-nominated, Dove Award-winning singer-songwriter, author, and creative leader based in Nashville. With a career spanning 25 years and 18 solo albums, she has become one of the most prominent voices in modern hymnody and gospel-roots music—known for blending Americana, folk, and sacred tradition into songs that are both deeply personal and spiritually resonant. Her best-selling album Psalms (2015) helped redefine modern congregational singing, followed by God’s Highway (2017), which broke into the Billboard Top 50 without a major label. In 2023, Light in the Canyon won the GMA Dove Award for Roots/Bluegrass Album of the Year. Sandra’s songs—including “We Will Feast in the House of Zion” and “Steadfast”—are sung in churches around the world.
In addition to her solo work, McCracken is a founding member of several collaborative projects: Paper Horses (a female folk supergroup), Shadowlands (a country-rock trio), and The Still Point (a neo-classical collaboration with Ben Shive). She has partnered on hymn projects with The Porter’s Gate, Indelible Grace, Rain for Roots, Getty Music, and Integrity Music. In 2023, she was a contributing songwriter and featured vocalist on Keith & Kristyn Getty’s GRAMMY-nominated album Confessio. A staff writer with Creative Nation Publishing, Sandra co-writes with acclaimed artists such as Luke Laird, Blessing Offor, Tom Douglas, and Cindy Morgan. Beyond music, she is the author of Send Out Your Light (B&H, 2021) and the children’s book Maker of the Mountain (B&H, 2025). Sandra also hosts The Slow Work podcast with Christianity Today, and has been a longtime contributor and columnist for CT and other publications.
Merry Marketplace
Merry Marketplace, a collection of holiday vendors who donate a portion of their proceeds to benefit Associated Women for Lipscomb scholarships to Lipscomb, is also a traditional feature of Lighting of the Green festivities. The Marketplace will take place in the North Lobby of Allen Arena on the Gold Level Concourse beginning at 4 p.m. If you are a vendor interested in participating in Merry Marketplace, please contact the Alumni Office at alumni [at] lipscomb.edu (alumni[at]lipscomb[dot]edu) to secure your vendor booth.
Pictures with Santa
Free pictures with Santa begin at 4:30 p.m. The evening will conclude with the lighting of the green.
