Speaking with USA Today, Trans-Siberian Orchestra / Savatage / former Megadeth guitarist Al Pitrelli curated a playlist of classic favorite tracks for the publication. Following is an excerpt from the list.

"Whipping Post" - Allman Brothers (at Fillmore East)

Pitrelli: "Live At The Fillmore was and is the album that started my love affair with the guitar. Duane Allman and Dickie Betts were two of my biggest influences. Every time I listen to that track it takes me back to 1971, learning every note of it on my father’s turntable."

"Funeral For A Friend / Love Lies Bleeding" - Elton John

Pitrelli: "The first time I heard this it stopped me dead in my tracks. So deep musically, but so simple and memorable melodically."

"Light Up The Sky" - Van Halen

Pitrelli: "Hands down my favorite Van Halen song. To me it is the perfect 'arena rock' song. King Edward’s (Eddie Van Halen) guitar sound is something that everyone has tried to emulate but never has."

"Going To California" - Led Zeppelin

Pitrelli: "Jimmy Page was the first guitarist I’d ever heard that recorded with so many different acoustic instruments. He greatly influenced the way I hear and play acoustic guitar. Very orchestrated yet subtle while creating a strong foundation for the vocal. More importantly...an amazing song."

Read the complete article here.

A product of the vision and imagination of TSO’s late founder/composer/lyricist Paul O’Neill, Christmas Eve And Other Stories began the unique format O’Neill called “Rock Theater” and forged a deep connection with their fans that it turned into the wildly-successful tour, cementing the group’s status as a must-see, multi-generational, holiday tradition and kick-started the trend of Yuletide season tours. This year’s multi-sensory extravaganza is set to begin on November 13th and will visit 66 cities for 109 performances across North America before concluding on December 30th (see full itinerary below and online).

Starting August 19th, the Winter Tour 2019 began its “12 Days of TSO Verified Fan Registration” where all fans can sign up at tso.tmverifiedfan.com/ (powered by Ticketmaster Verified Fan) for exclusive access to the best tickets for the best price before tickets go on sale to the general public.  Pre-sales will begin for TSO fan club members on Tuesday, September 4 for November 13 through November 30 tour dates and on Thursday, September 5 for December 1 through December 30 tour dates. Fans who are not members of TSO’s fan club, but have registered during the “12 Days of TSO Verified Fan Registration” will have the opportunity to participate in pres-ales on September 9 and 10. General public on sale is set to begin on September 13. For more details on tour dates and all on sales, visit trans-siberian.com.

Tour dates:

November
13 - Green Bay, WI - Resch Center (4 PM , 8 PM)
13 - Council Bluffs, IA - Mid America Center (7:30 PM)
14 - Sioux Falls, SD - Denny Sanford Premier Center (7:30 PM)
15 - Youngstown, OH - Covelli Center (3:30 PM, 7:30 PM)
16 - Allentown, PA - PPL Center (3:30 PM, 8:00 PM)
16 - Denver, CO - Pepsi Center (3:00 PM, 8:00 PM)
17 - Worcester, MA - DCU Center (3:00 PM, 8:00 PM)
17 - Colorado Springs, CO - World Arena (3:00 PM, 7:30 PM)
20 - Raleigh, NC - PNC Arena (7:30 PM)
20 - Salt Lake City, UT - Vivint Smart Home Arena (3:30 PM, 7:30 PM)
21 - Baltimore, MD - Royal Farms Arena (7:30 PM)
21 - Boise, ID - Taco Bell Arena (7:30 PM)
22 - Wilkes Barre, PA - Mohegan Sun Arena (3:30 PM, 8:00 PM)
22 - Spokane, WA - Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena (8:00 PM)
23 - Manchester, NH - SNHU Arena (3:30 PM, 8:00 PM)
23 - Portland, OR - Moda Center (3:30 PM, 8:00 PM)
24 - Hartford, CT - XL Center (3:00 PM, 7:30 PM)
24 - Tacoma, WA - Tacomadome (3:30 PM)
26 - San Jose, CA - SAP Center at San Jose (8:00 PM)
27 - Toledo, OH - Huntington Center (4:00 PM, 8:00 PM)
29 - Cincinnati, OH - US Bank Arena (4:00 PM, 8:00 PM)
29 - Sacramento, CA - Golden 1 Center (3:00 PM, 7:30 PM)
30 - Dayton, OH - Nutter Center (3:00 PM, 8:00 PM)
30 - Ontario, CA - Toyota Arena (3:30 PM, 7:30 PM)

December
1 - Grand Rapids, MI - Van Andel Arena (3:00 PM, 7:30 PM)
1 - Phoenix, AZ - Talking Stick Resort Arena (3:00 PM, 7:30 PM)
4 - Nashville, TN - Bridgestone Arena (7:30 PM)
4 - El Paso, TX - Don Haskins Center (3:00 PM, 7:30 PM)
5 - Lexington, KY - Rupp Arena (7:30 PM)
5 - Lubbock, TX - United Supermarkets Arena (7:00 PM)
6 - Greenville, SC - Bon Secours Wellness Arena (4:00 PM, 8:00 PM)
6 - Wichita, KS - INTRUST Bank Arena (8:00 PM)
7 - Charlotte, NC - Spectrum Center (3:00 PM, 8:00 PM)
7 - Kansas City, MO - Sprint Center (3:00 PM, 8:00 PM)
8 - Duluth, GA - Infinite Energy Center (3:00 PM, 7:30 PM)
8 - Oklahoma City, OK - Chesapeake Energy Arena (3:00 PM, 7:30 PM)
11 - Greensboro, NC - Greensboro Coliseum (7:30 PM)
11 - Birmingham, AL - Legacy Arena at The BJCC (7:30 PM)
12 - Charlottesville, VA - John Paul Jones Arena (7:30 PM)
12 - Jacksonville, FL - Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena (7:30 PM)
13 - Hershey, PA - Giant Center (4:00 PM, 8:00 PM)
13 - Sunrise, FL - BB&T Center (8:00 PM)
14 - Buffalo, NY - KeyBank Center (3:30 PM, 8:00 PM)
14 - Orlando, FL - Amway Center (3:00 PM, 8:00 PM)
15 - Philadelphia, PA - Wells Fargo Center (3:30 PM, 8:00 PM)
15 - Tampa, FL - Amalie Arena (3:00 PM, 7:30 PM)
18 - Rochester, NY - Blue Cross Arena (7:30 PM)
18 - New Orleans, LA - Smoothie King Center (7:30 PM)
19 - Albany, NY - Times Union Center (7:30 PM)
19 - Memphis, TN - Fedex Forum (7:30 PM)
20 - Uniondale, NY - NYCB LIVE, home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (8:00 PM)
20 - Tulsa, OK - BOK Center (8:00 PM)
21 - Newark, NJ - Prudential Center (3:00 PM, 8:00 PM)
21 - Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center (3:00 PM, 8:00 PM)
22 - Pittsburgh, PA - PPG Paints Arena (3:30 PM, 8:00 PM)
22 - Houston, TX - Toyota Center (3:00 PM, 8:00 PM)
23 - Washington, D.C. - Capital One Arena (3:00 PM, 7:30 PM)
23 - San Antonio, TX - AT&T Center (3:30 PM, 8:00 PM)
26 - Columbus, OH - Nationwide Arena (3:00 PM, 8:00 PM)
26 - St Louis, MO - Enterprise Center (3:00 PM, 7:30 PM)
27 - Cleveland, OH - Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (3:00 PM, 8:00 PM)
27 - Milwaukee, WI - Fiserv Forum (3:30 PM, 8:00 PM)
28 - Detroit, MI - Little Caesars Arena (3:00 PM, 8:00 PM)
28 - St Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center (3:00 PM, 8:00 PM)
30 - Toronto, ON - Scotiabank Arena (3:00 PM, 8:00 PM)
30 - Chicago, IL - Allstate Arena (2:30 PM, 8:00 PM)

Christmas Eve And Other Stories is based on the triple-platinum album of the same name and follows a story by TSO’s late founder/composer/lyricist Paul O’Neill.  In keeping with the classic line “If You Want To Arrange It, This World You Can Change It,” the story is set on Christmas Eve when a young angel is sent to Earth to bring back what is best representative of humanity.  Following favorite TSO themes of “strangers helping strangers” and “the kindness of others,”  Christmas Eve And Other Stories takes listeners all over the world to help reunite a young girl with her distraught father. The album and tour feature such fan-favorites as “Ornament” and the epic “Old City Bar,” both of which have not been performed live in recent years. The rock opera also features such TSO classics as "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24," "O’ Come All Ye Faithful," "Good King Joy," "Promises To Keep," and "This Christmas Day." Additionally, the tour will enjoy a new second set containing some of TSO’s greatest hits and fan-pleasers including "Christmas Canon," “Wizards In Winter” and many more.

Since its historic touring debut, TSO has played nearly 2,000 Winter Tour shows for more than 16 million fans, with tour grosses of more than $725 million, and has sold in excess of 12 million albums and DVDs.  Year-after-year TSO hits the upper reaches of the domestic and worldwide tour charts. Recently in July 2019, TSO was ranked No. 6 on Pollstar’s North American Tours Mid Year chart and No. 8 on Pollstar’s Worldwide Tours Mid Year chart. In 2018, TSO came in at No. 16 on Pollstar’s 2018 Top 200 Year End North American Tours and at No. 17 on Pollstar’s 2018 Year End Worldwide Ticket Sales Top 100 Tours chart with more than 925K tickets sold. Additionally, in July 2019, TSO was featured in Billboard’s Money Makers of 2018. In 2009, Pollstar ranked TSO at No. 20 on the “Top Tour(s) of the Decade” and Billboard placed TSO at No. 25 on its “Top Touring Artists of the Decade.”

Always embracing the O’Neill’s sense of altruism, TSO remains one of rock’s most charitable bands. This year, as in years past, TSO will give at least $1 from every ticket sold to charity – to date approximately $16 million has been donated by the group.

TSO’s Winter Tour 2019 is presented by Hallmark Channel.