The Wizards of Winter Announce 2015 Holiday Tour Dates

The Wizards of Winter, the self-described "yuletide rock opera ensemble" featuring original members of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, is on the road for a 21-city holiday tour.

Promising a set of original songs and TSO favorites, the tour — dubbed "An Evening with Wizards of Winter" — is visiting 17 cities between Dec. 3 and Dec. 29, with each stop receiving a two-and-a-half hour dose of the Wizards' festive spin on the rock opera experience. For a portion of these dates, the band is joined by bassist Greg Smith, a longtime sideman for Ted Nugent and veteran player for Billy Joel, Alice Cooper and others.

"I'm very excited to perform with the Wizards of Winter for 11 shows and am looking forward to meeting the fans," Smith enthuses in a statement. "Drummer Tommy Ference and I have been friends for a few years now. When the Wizards needed someone to fill in for some shows, Tommy called me and asked if I was interested. I thought it would be great - the music is fun and challenging!"

Take a look at an example of the Wizards of Winter in action via the above video embed, and see the complete list of upcoming dates below. For detailed ticketing information, visit the group's official site.

Wizards of Winter 2015 Holiday Tour Dates

12/3 -- Concord, N.H. -- Capitol Center for the Arts
12/4 -- Collingswood, N.J. -- Collingswood Scottish Rite Theatre
12/5 -- Easton, Pa. -- The State Theater Performing Arts Center
12/6 -- Sugarloaf, N.Y. -- Sugarloaf Performing Arts Center
12/9 -- Ridgefield, Ct. -- Ridgefield Playhouse
12/11 -- Cleveland, Ohio -- Agora Theatre and Ballroom
12/12 -- Kalamazoo, Mich. -- The Kalamazoo State Theatre
12/13 -- Munhall, Pa. -- Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall
12/16 -- Asheville, N.C. -- The Orange Peel
12/17 -- Nashville, Tenn. -- Marathon Music Works
12/18 -- Effingham, Ill. -- Effingham Performing Arts Center
12/20 -- Chicago, Ill. -- Thalia Hall
12/26 -- Albany, N.Y. -- The Egg
12/27 -- Syracuse, N.Y. -- Crouse Hinds Theater
12/29 -- Harrisburg, Pa. -- The Forum

See 2015's Biggest Rock News Stories

25 Interesting Rock Movie Facts