.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... “The Tom Waits for Christmas Vol. 6 – A Virtual Holiday Special” will feature about 30 performances by local artists. (Courtesy of Barney Lopez) The deep, gravelly voice of Tom Waits is at the heart of a virtual show celebrating the singer and songwriter during the holidays. “Tom Waits for Christmas Vol. 6 – A Virtual Holiday Special,” presented by Blackout Theatre Company and the Launchpad will feature 30 spots of performances by local solo artists, duos and bands. The virtual show will be begin at 8 p.m. Dec. 24. “Basically, when I first started it we did some shows, Blackout (Theatre Company), and I made this character who was, like, this Tom Waits-esque character, and I sang Christmas songs and played, like, the ukulele at that show,” said Barney Lopez of Blackout Theatre Company, who’s also Launchpad promoter. “Then it went over really well, and those were kind of fun, and so a couple years later, I started reaching out to other musicians in town who are big Tom Waits fans to see if anyone else was interested in this kind of meld. So basically, what’s happened is all the artists are playing Tom Waits songs, Christmas songs, or Christmas songs in Tom Waits style.”