On the heals of their soon-to-be-released new album Night Castle, Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) will ring in the holiday season with two shows at the Wachovia Center on Saturday, November 21 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.  TSO, one of rock music’s biggest arena attractions, is known for their powerful renditions of classical Christmas and holiday songs.

TSO’s four albums prior to Night Castle, including the holiday-themed Christmas Eve & Other Stories (1996), The Christmas Attic (1998) and The Lost Christmas Eve (2004) have sold more than 5,000,000 units.  TSO’s 2001 DVD release, The Ghost of Christmas Eve, has also achieved platinum status.

TSO was born when Paul O’Neill - the group’s producer and lyricist, and its primary composer approached longtime friends Jon Oliva, Robert Kinkel, and Al Pitrelli to help him record the song “Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24),” a holiday-inspired instrumental with a rock n’’ roll edge.  The song - which combined the timeless melodies of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” and “Carol Of The Bells” with new, original music - was an instant radio hit, garnering airplay in diverse formats from classical to pop, and metal to adult-contemporary.

Critics from such well-known publications as The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and People championed the group’s music as one of the most ambitious and unique sounds of modern times, with Rolling Stone praising its “stately yuletide rock operas with high-concept subject matter and majestic processionals.”