Harry and the Potters host annual Yule Ball at Middle East Sunday

Since their inception 10 years ago, Harry and the Potters have created a genre, toured internationally and captured the hearts and minds of countless Harry Potter fans. Norwood natives Joe and Paul DeGeorge’s duo sings exclusively about boy wizard Harry Potter and his adventures over the course of J.K. Rowling’s seven-books series, and has spawned countless wizard rock imitators seeking to harness the power of Rowling’s stories into the power of music.

One of the cornerstones of the Harry and the Potters mythology is the Yule Ball, an annual smorgasbord of Christmas and wizard rock that takes place at the Middle East, 472 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. Paul DeGeorge talked to WickedLocal about this year’s Yule Ball, taking place Sunday, Dec. 16, and what fans and newcomers can expect.

For the uninitiated, how would you describe the Yule Ball?

It’s probably our biggest, most exciting annual show. We’ve been doing it in Boston now for eight consecutive years. Every year it’s been at the Middle East downstairs. They’ve been a great host to us, and it’s always a family friendly, all ages event. It’s a night for wizards to get a little crazy and get dressed up all fancy. The Yule Ball in the books is a big fancy prom-like event. My brother and I wear tuxes and introduce all the bands.

We try to make it a fun event. It’s not just a fun concert. It’s an event.

Part of the ticket sales from the Yule Ball go to the Harry Potter Alliance. What is the Harry Potter Alliance?

The alliance is actually a national nonprofit that’s based in Somerville. I co-founded it 7-1/2 years ago with Andrew Slack, who’s the current executive director. The whole idea behind the HPA is to take the themes from the book, and the language from the book, to help contemporary social justice issues make sense to younger people, who understand the complex workings of the wizard world, but maybe not the real world.

For example, we can contextualize marriage equality by saying, Harry Potter literally lived in the closet until he was 11 years old. Dumbledore advocated for treating non-wizard creatures with the same rights as wizards.

Tell me a bit about the other bands that are going to be at the Yule Ball.

Potter Puppet Pals, who aren’t a band, but are actually a puppet show, will be there. They’re YouTube famous—they have one of the most famous YouTube sketches of all time. They’ve performed for most of the Yule Ball events. They toured with us last summer. It’s a fun match to have the puppet show. Although it caters towards little kids, a lot of the jokes are for adults too. I think this will be a new show for them. They’re working on some new material, so it’s probably not something that people will have seen.

Also, the Whomping Willows, which are as far as I know the only magical tree that has a band dedicated to it in the wizarding world. The Whomping Willows are this guy Matt who lives in Rhode Island.

Then Jason Anderson, who’s kind of a rock-soul revivalist. He’s a really engaging performer who plays lots of songs—last year he led an a cappella version of Don’t Stop Believin’.

Finally, Home Alones, a band from San Francisco, a pop-punk band based on the movie Home Alone. We had heard about them a few years ago and checked out their stuff and were blown away.

One of the most famous wizard rock bands besides Harry and the Potters was Draco and the Malfoys. But Draco and the Malfoys officially retired last year. How are you going to function without them?

Their last performance was at last year’s Yule Ball. I think there is a gap, without a foil. The Boston crowd, it will be on their mind, especially the people who were at the Yule Ball before. They’ll think, oh man, this is the first year without Draco and the Malfoys.

Which songs should fans expect to hear?

With every Yule Ball we try to make it a little more Christmas-heavy. We bust out the holiday songs that we typically only play once or twice a year.

Last year we had a punk rock marching band from Providence called the What Cheer? Brigade. Last year several of those members played horns with us. They’ll be playing for part of our set. They’re doing both our Yule Ball shows. That’ll be a special treat. Some of these songs are going to rip beyond what we’re capable of with just a three-piece ensemble.

Finally: what’s your favorite Harry Potter book and favorite character?

The seventh book—I like how she ties it all together. And Dumbledore—he’s just so classy and funny and weird.

Visit mideastclub.com for ticket information.

Contact Watertown Tab and Cambridge Tab reporter Emily Cataneo at ecataneo@wickedlocal.com.