Billy McLaughlin doesn’t believe some very good things would have happened to him if some very bad things hadn’t happened first.

McLaughlin, a nationally known acoustic guitarist, founded the group, SimpleGifts, for five weeks in 2002 as a way to keep playing despite the effects of focal dystonia, an incurable neuromuscular disorder that was impeding his solo career as a national touring and recording artist.

“To watch this group take on a life of its own has been so rewarding,” McLaughlin said. “The guitar is not the most important thing in this group — it’s what we do collectively.”

SimpleGifts with Billy McLaughlin will perform at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4, at the Lighthouse Event Center, 638 Marshall St. in Albert Lea.

Tickets are $20 in advance for adults and $10 in advance for students. They may be ordered at www.simplegiftsmusic.net or purchased at Tone Music. Tickets at the door will be $25 for adults and $12.50 for students.

McLaughlin said the group has been spending weeks of intense rehearsal getting ready for its tour, which started Friday in Greenfield, Wis., and ends Dec. 22 in Marine on St. Croix’s Marine Town Hall — the very place the group recorded its new CD.

“The three-part harmonies are amazing,” McLaughlin said. “We can’t wait to get out and share this music.”

There will also be concerts in Lakeville, Zumbrota, Council Bluffs, Iowa, Omaha and Fremont, Neb., and Minneapolis.

“The touring schedule is so intense in the month of December — but we absolutely love it,” McLaughlin said. “It’s wonderful to have a family to travel with.”

The guitarist said the places the group will play reflect the small-town feeling the group strives for. “Vegas is for New Year’s. Give me a small-town Christmas,” he said. “This is all about community, and it’s a great time of year to share community.”

The group also played at the Lighthouse Event Center last year. “It’s smaller than most of the places we play, but we’re so close to the audience, it’s a great feeling,” McLaughlin said. “I hope we fill up the Lighthouse this year.”

He said the group includes two young mothers, and while it’s hard for them to be away from home, “that speaks to the kind of passion in this group,” McLaughlin said.

The group features McLaughlin on acoustic guitar; Jeni-Lyn Starr on piano and Celtic whistles; Heather Garborg on vocals and violin; Karen Paurus on vocals; Carin Vagle on vocals; and Billy Oehrlein on percussion.

McLaughlin said the group’s fans helped pick out the songs that appear on the group’s new CD, “A Small Town Christmas: Songs of the Season from a Simpler Time.”

The CD is a collection of 13 traditional carols, hymns and holiday favorites. Songs include “Carol of the Bells,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “In the Bleak Midwinter,” “Breath of Heaven,” “Mary Did You Know,” “I Saw Three Ships,” “O Holy Night,” “O Come, O, Come Emmanuel,” “In Judah’s Land,” “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” “White Christmas” and “Silent Night.”

The CD will be available at the concert or on the group’s Web site, www.simplegiftsmusic.net. The CD is being distributed nationally.

In addition to the new CD, PBS aired a documentary, “Changing Keys: Billy McLaughlin and the Mysteries of Dystonia,” about McLaughlin’s remarkable story of doing the nearly impossible and teaching himself to play guitar again — this time left-handed. From this, McLaughlin was chosen to be featured during Twin Cities Public Television’s pledge drive on Dec. 1. The documentary will be broken up with footage from McLaughlin’s concerts and his comments.

“This pledge-drive opportunity is a highly sought-after opportunity,” McLaughlin said.