Indy Christmas Caroling Big Band Spreads Holiday Cheer INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A local band is making the rounds this Christmas Eve across Indianapolis, spreading holiday cheer. This family affair is now a big annual tradition, with volunteers using their holiday to spread joy to others. W hile so many are crossing the last-minute items off their lists this Christmas Eve, shopping, wrapping and baking, the Indy Christmas Caroling Big Band is singing. “It’s our favorite day of the entire day, not because we get to see our friends that sometimes we haven’t seen for a whole year, but we get to spread joy through music, and you can’t ask for something better,” said Maria Nix. The band has more than 50 volunteers, some professional musicians – They come together on Christmas Eve and pack into homes, shopping malls, nursing homes and fire stations. They stopped by a Fishers fire station in the middle of the firefighters’ shift to perform. “Our main goal of all of this is to show appreciation for people that might not get the appreciation,” said Laura Nix. Maria and Laura Nix play with their brother and Fishers native Daniel of Dan Nix music, who started the band. “This started with my brother, back when it was just him and he would go door-to-door, and he brought in a couple friends, and it’s grown from there. It’s officially year 12 of the band, and now we’ve grown to the fact that we have buses that we travel from place to place, and we have merch, so it’s been really cool,” said Laura. “It means everything. I think the greatest thing you can do as a human on this planet is to make somebody else happy, and the fact that I get to do it with my sister and my brother who created the band, top notch,” said Maria. Many former Fishers residents, now living all over the country, return for this annual tradition. Glen Dash on the trumpet has been in the band since it started. “It’s a wide variety of people you get to see and talk to. I’ve had conversations with people who have been dealing with very tough deaths in the family, health issues. And we get to go and play for thm and their families. it’s always a joe to see the smile you put on his face. I always think back to my grandmother who had dementia and didn’t know who I was. She couldn’t do much but then we played one of her favorite pieces of music for her, and all of a sudden, you could see her feet tapping. It’s that idea that the music can just touch people, reach them in ways that they need it hopefully. So, that’s the big goal of this I think,” said Dash. Goal reached. “Music is the universal language, and I think we’re spreading universal cheer,” said Laura. Since it began in 2013, this band has visited more than 70 locations across Indy. If you’re interested in joining the band, click here. ...read more read less