Maddie Poppe heading home for holidays

Maddie Poppe’s fifth annual Christmas show Sunday at the Paramount will be stripped down.

“This year we are taking it a bit more acoustic than we have in previous years,” Poppe said while calling from Nashville. “These are my favorite kinds of shows to play, because I feel it caters to my audience and my musical style best.”

The Clarksville native who moved to Nashville in 2022, has crafted a set of primarily holiday tunes she’ll bring to the downtown Cedar Rapids venue.

“Being that it’s a Christmas show, almost half of the set is Christmas music,” Poppe said. “But of course, I will still throw in a few of my favorites, as well.”

Many of the tunes will be from her charming 2020 EP, “Christmas From Home.” The title is apt since Poppe always comes back to her hometown for the holidays.

“I love being with my family as much as possible and I’m so grateful I’ve had the time to do that this year.”

“Jingle Bell Rock,” “I’ll be Home for Christmas” and “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of Year” will be some of the familiar chestnuts Poppe belts out. Her set list is a mix of modern and traditional.

“Both styles are so great,” she said.

The rest of Poppe’s set will pull from her two albums: 2016’s “Songs from the Basement” and 2019’s “Whirlwind.”

“I have plenty of songs to pick from,” she said.

‘American Idol’ lessons

It’s been six years since Poppe won television’s “American Idol” competition, after delivering memorable performances of such classics as the Beach Boys’ “God Only Knows,” Simon & Garfunkel’s “Homeward Bound” and Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide.”

“I had the most wonderful time on ‘American Idol.’ I learned so much from that experience," she said.

”What I learned most, which is cliche as it sounds, is to stick to my guns and just be true to myself. It’s not as easy as you think, since this industry is one in which so many doors are slammed in your face. Rugs are pulled out from under you. You learn from it and you move on. I took (show judge) Katy Perry’s advice to heart, which is to be myself.“

After self-managing for her entire career, Poppe signed on with management earlier in the year, and said that’s helping with the creative process.

“I’ve really taken a lot of time for myself this year to sort of regroup and reshape my career and the goals I’m headed toward,” she said.

Home for the holidays

Poppe hopes to record and release new music in 2025. In the meantime, she will enjoy her Cedar Rapids show and Clarksville for the holidays.

“The Paramount Christmas show has been a tradition of mine for the past four years or so,” she said. “It’s one that I plan to continue for as long as I’m able to. The audience truly never disappoints, and it is really one of my favorite shows of each year.”

The bonus is that Poppe looks for familiar faces in the crowd.

“I hope to see my family in the audience,” she said. “And my boyfriend, Gabe, will be playing guitar with me.”

It’s not just the shows at the Paramount that appeal to Poppe, who prefers the vibe of Cedar Rapids and Clarksville.

“I miss the normalcy of the small town,” she said. “I like the feel of the small community, where everyone trusts each other and is willing to help each other. But sometimes you have to move away, like I did because of my career. But you can always come back, which is something I love to do.”

And where might fans find Poppe during her return home?

“I love going to thrift stores to find other people’s throwaways or things not everyone would know the value of,” she said. “It’s like a treasure hunt for me.”