The holiday entertainment monsoon got off to its traditional fast start this year, courtesy of the Santa Fe Symphony’s pre-Thanksgiving Messiahs, and continues in the sooner-is-better vein with today’s Winter Solstice Concert by the New Mexico Performing Arts Society, which arrives about a month before the celestial event itself.

There’s nothing on tap quite as er, um, unique as 2022’s A John Waters Christmas. However, many established favorites are back, including the New Mexico Gay Men’s Chorus in its largest-ever holiday extravaganza, the Santa Fe Desert Chorale and its Candlelight Carols performances at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, Mariachi Christmas 2023 at the Lensic Performing Arts Center, and conductor-pianist Joe Illick with his New Year’s Eve Orchestra, also at the Lensic.

Santa Fe Pro Musica has a strong lineup in its Bach Festival at St. Francis Auditorium and Broadway favorite Jessica Vosk returns for a concert under the Performance Santa Fe banner, while the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet is offering Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. Groups new to our town include The Golden Gays with their holiday drag musical tribute to television’s The Golden Girls, titled Thank Yule for Being a Friend and, at the other end of the spectrum, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, courtesy of Family Theatre of Santa Fe.