Christmas is a time for peace and togetherness, and the Australian brother duo for KING & COUNTRY are encouraging both those things with their holiday music and tour.

Joel and Luke Smallbone are currently on the road performing songs from their album A Drummer Boy Christmas, including their latest hit “Do You Hear What I Hear?,” and they’re finding that their Christmas music has earned them many brand-new fans.

“I think that roughly two-thirds of the Christmas show [audience] usually are people who have never seen us before,” Luke tells ABC Audio.  He explains, “Christmas music is universal to people, and I think that’s a special thing.”

You can see that in action Monday night, when the group stars in CMT Crossroads Christmas, where they’ll be performing holiday songs with a diverse group of artists, including country star Breland, This Is Us star Chrissy Metz and Christian singer Natalie Grant.

“It was just like,….all different walks of life, different genres, different ethnicities, but we’re all able to come together,” Joel says of the special. “That’s the magic of Christmas, right?”

Coming together is also the message of “Do You Hear What I Hear?” The third verse says, “Pray for peace, people, everywhere,” which Joel says is particularly important this year, given world events.

“This year we’ve taken a moment of silence for Eastern Europe and Ukraine,” he notes. “I think it’s a part of what we feel is our work as musicians…there’s a level of peace that we’re trying to create.”

“That’s why we have to have Christmas every year,” he adds. “I’d be frightened to think of what the world would be like without that stake in the ground — every December, going, “There is joy, there is peace, there is love. And it can overcome so much.”

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