WIZARDS OF WINTER, known for their high energy and classically-infused-rock concerts, are excited to announce that they are in the midst of recording the follow-up to their critically-acclaimed Tales Beneath a Northern Star album. To help bring this new epic project to life, the band enlisted legendary vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Tommy Farese to produce the album. Tommy also has plans to lend his voice to a song or two to the recording.

Known throughout North America for his long and storied connection to the TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, Farese helped found that act and served as lead vocalist and guitarist for their first 13 tours. In addition to fronting the act for over a decade, Farese also starred in TSO’s TV movie The Ghosts of Christmas Eve, playing the role of the runaway’s father.

After touring with The Wizards of Winter as a special guest this past winter, Farese says “I’m excited to work with this great group of musicians again. Producing is one of my favorite things to do. They asked me on board to produce and sing a song or two and it was an instant ‘yes.’”

Though full tour details have not yet been announced, both Farese and founding TSO narrator Tony Gaynor – both of whom guested with the Wizards last year – will join the band once again for their 2014 Winter Tour. Says Gaynor: “2014 is proving to be a very rewarding year for me, after the last few years of nothing but pure survival. With so much on my plate already this year, I was honored to be asked by the Wizards to join their 2014 tour at the end of the year. I had such a wonderful time this past year touring with this group of talented musicians, who do it strictly for the love it. There is no better feeling for an artist, then being at the beginning of a project, and watching it grow. They have opened their hearts to me and always made me feel welcomed. I am looking forward to raising the bar even higher on my abilities and bringing some new and exciting energy and showmanship to the table. I'm getting older, but thank God I'm getting better!”

"The Wizards are extremely honored to have Tommy and Tony accept our offers to  join us on tour again this year." stated Scott Kelly, leader of The Wizards of Winter. "As Tony states, when we first came together with these talented gentlemen last year, it just felt right. We worked together as if we had been old friends for many years.  The overwhelmingly positive response we received from the fans was validation that we had a good thing going here. I am excited for the chance to get to do it again for a larger and broader audience. In our view, having Tommy assist us on the production of the album seemed to be a natural extension of this joint success. He has such a great ear and is such a stickler for detail that I know his input will help us deliver a better end product. All of us are very happy that he graciously accepted our offer to be our producer".

For more information go to TheWizardsOfWinter.com.