It’s a throwback feel at a Mannheim Steamroller show.

The holiday concert with baroque Christmas music is an old-school event. The vibe for Mannheim Steamroller, which took its name from a 19th century German musical technique, feels like 2019 and it pleases Roxanne Layton. Mannheim Steamroller’s percussionist and recorder player is excited about relative normalcy.

“It’s a different feel than it was last year with COVID,” Layton said while calling from Cape Cod. “The protocols were so strict last year that it wasn’t as much fun as it could have been. But it feels very different this year. People are ready to hear live music again and immerse themselves in the experience. We’re all excited about that. It just feels so much better now than it did in 2021. It’s time to go out and enjoy live entertainment.”

Mannheim Steamroller, which will perform Saturday at the First Interstate Center for the Arts, signifies that the holiday season has arrived for fans of their atmospheric Christmas music. The soothing New Age holiday tunes have been crowd pleasers since the act’s “Mannheim Steamroller Christmas” was released in 1984.

“Fans love our Christmas music and I get it,” Layton said. “We enjoy playing those Christmas songs. We’ll play those songs this year but we’re also going to change things up from last year. We’re adding some different songs and (Mannheim Steamroller founder and percussionist) Chip (Davis) is adding more from the Fresh Aire series.”

The Fresh Aire material, an amalgam of classical piano music, progressive rock and medieval songs, was what Mannheim Steamroller was known for when the group earned notice in 1975. A cult of fans embraced the first five albums, which were all Fresh Aire releases.

However, everything changed when “Mannheim Steamroller Christmas” dropped.

The group’s breakthrough album has sold more than 40 million copies.

That’s more than Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi or Billy Joel over the same period. The nice marketing approach works, more than 80% of Mannheim Steamroller’s record sales are Christmas albums.

But Mannheim’s fan base is incredibly wide, ranging from children to college students to octogenarians. “It really is amazing how diverse our audience is,” Layton said. “I love that about Mannheim. I love looking out at the sea of faces. I love the diversity.”

Expect to experience the Mannheim holiday debut album, “Christmas 1984” in its entirety. Such Christmas classics as “Deck the Halls,” “We Three Kings” and “Good King Wenceslas” will be performed.

“That album has been remastered and reprinted on vinyl,” Layton said. “That’s what the fans want and it’s just wonderful.”

Mannheim Steamroller has a hard-core base of followers, which will purchase any of its sonic output, but

the majority of fans are into the group’s Christmas fare.

It’s more than music since Mannheim Steamroller has become a cottage industry. There are an array of Mannheim Steamroller products, including food items, apparel and a bath and body line. Fans can’t get enough of Mannheim Steamroller hot chocolate.

“We’re always busy at this time of year but over the last couple of years it’s just been crazy,” Chip Davis said while calling from Omaha. “Our most popular food product is Cinnamon Hot Chocolate. We sell tons of it during the holidays.”

Davis played drums in the group until 2007 when he left his post due to the latent effects of a car crash he experienced during the ‘70s and the rigors of constant performance.

“I couldn’t play forever,” Davis says. “The pain was just too much for me to endure.”

But Layton has picked up the slack. “I’ve been with Mannheim Steamroller for 27 years,” Layton said. “I can’t think of anything I would rather do than this.”

Layton has Davis to thank since he turned a quirky act into an enviable entity.

Davis defied convention and didn’t listen to his contemporaries take on new age holiday tunes. Davis was advised not to branch out into Christmas tunes. “I was told to stay where I was with Fresh Aire releases,” Davis said. “I was told, ‘Don’t do a Christmas album because that will signal the end of your career.’ That obviously isn’t true. But it’s about more than Christmas albums for me.”

Davis is still crafting new Mannheim Steamroller music. “Exotic Spaces,” a non-holiday project, is the most recent Mannheim Steamroller album. “Exotic Spaces” is a lush collection of new age cuts written by Davis. “There is so much to Mannheim Steamroller,” Layton said. “There’s the Fresh Aire series and then there is the Christmas music,” Layton said. “I love it all but right now I’m enjoying the Christmas material.”