It’s the time of the year to celebrate the holidays with family and friends.
For members of the popular holiday touring outfit Trans-Siberian Orchestra, that means getting back on the road — including two laser-and-pyrotechnics-heavy shows on Dec. 22 at Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
“I always look forward to the tour, but I also to see my bandmates and everybody in the crew,” said drummer Jeff Plate, calling from Upstate New York. “We’ve become a very pretty tight-knit family.
“This year we’re celebrating the 25th anniversary of ‘The Christmas Attic,’ which was our second album.
“We’ll be highlighting a number of songs from that album, too. That’s also going to be a part of the show along with the story ‘The Ghosts of Christmas Eve.’”
Next year also marks the 25th anniversary of TSO’s concert special “The Ghosts of Christmas Eve,” which put the rock act on the holiday map. That’s where early on audiences discovered the group thanks to PBS incessantly airing the show, which it continues to do today.
A product of the imagination of TSO’s late founder, Paul O’Neill, “The Ghosts of Christmas Eve,” which is also a multi-platinum album, follows the journey of a runaway who breaks into an abandoned vaudeville theater on Dec. 24. While seeking shelter from the cold, the teen is discovered by the theater’s caretaker, who uses the ghosts and spirits from the building’s past to turn the teen’s life around.
A veteran drummer who spent the first half of his five-decade career playing in hard-rock and metal bands, Plate early on knew there was something special about TSO. That was crystalized in 1999, when the group taped “The Ghosts of Christmas Eve,” which included guest performances by Michael Crawford and Jewel, in a New Jersey theater.
“It really was an interesting event for all of us because we’re doing TV, so it’s like you’re kind of playing along to tracks but you’re also playing the song,” he said. “As the drummer, I was really on my toes throughout the whole thing to make sure I represented each song properly.
“I remember being done with the last song, ‘This Christmas Day,’ and feeling relieved. It really was a lot of work and just a cool experience all the way around. Meeting Jewel — she was super nice. Michael Crawford singing ‘Oh Holy Night,’ that’s just awesome. It’s beautiful.”
Since its touring debut roughly a quarter-century ago, TSO has played more than 2,000 winter shows to more than 18 million fans. The act also has sold more than 12 million albums and DVDs.
Recently added to that list is the newly released 25th-anniversary edition of “The Christmas Attic” on vinyl, as well as a digital release of “The Ghosts of Christmas Eve” in Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio.
Considering the act shows no signs of slowing down, one doesn’t have to stretch their imagination to consider this holiday tradition will have a life of its own for decades to come.
“People look forward to seeing this during the holidays,” he said. “As far as these winter tours we do, there are a lot of people who can’t function during the holidays until they’ve seen our show. It’s really pretty amazing and speaks to everybody.
“Also, O’Neill’s vision and creation are timeless. Something that man said to us over and over was TSO would outlive us all and pass on from generation to generation. I see it right before my eyes.”
Trans-Siberian Orchestra
What: “The Ghosts of Christmas Eve – the Best of TSO & More.”
When: 3 and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 22.
Where: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, One Center Court, Cleveland.
Tickets: $50 to $305.
Info: 888-894-9424 or visit Rocketmortgagefieldhouse.com.
