Christmas isn't here yet. But it will roll up fast, and while for many the holiday will ignite happy emotions, for others the season will be accompanied by a touch of melancholy.

That's only natural, says Al Pitrelli, 61, a core member of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, a band whose infectious mash-up of hard rock and Christmas tunes has been going strong for nearly three decades.

"Christmas is an interesting emotional time, which is something Paul set out to explore from the outset," says Pitrelli, referring to TSO founder Paul O'Neill, who died in 2017. "When you miss someone, that feeling is magnified around the holidays. But as Paul would say, it's better to miss something than to never had have it at all."

TSO fans will have plenty to celebrate as the band kicks off dual touring shows Nov. 13 in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Green Bay, Wisconsin. The production winds through cities including Phoenix, Denver, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Nashville, Indianapolis and Detroit. The tour wraps Dec. 30 with concerts in Oklahoma City and Toronto.

Presales for TSO fan club members begin Sept. 5 at 10 a.m. local time, with additional presales starting Sept. 12 at 10 a.m. local time. Sales to the public start Sept. 13 at 10 a.m. local time.

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This year's show revives a 20-year-old double album, "The Lost Christmas Eve," which, in music, song and spectacle, tells the story of a hard-hearted business executive who rediscovers the love of a son he had long ago cast aside.

"Paul's message here was simple," says Pitrelli, often speaking of his friend as if he were in the room. "And that is, it's never too late."

TSO launched in the mid-'90s by veteran hard rock musicians and producers (O'Neill helped produce some of Aerosmith's albums, and Pitrelli's resume includes stints with Megadeath and Alice Cooper) as an ode to the rock operas launched by bands such as The Who and Pink Floyd, with a decidedly Christmas-sounding vibe.

Why are they called the Trans-Siberian Orchestra?

As for the name, Pitrelli says, O'Neill just thought the notion of Russia's famous Trans-Siberian train "sounded cool." He adds that in the band's early days an interviewer, assuming the band was foreign, told O'Neill, the rocker from Queens, New York, "You know, your English is so good."

After the group's first album, 1996's "Christmas Eve and Other Stories," took off, a movie followed in 1999, "The Ghosts of Christmas Eve." But a tour was still an afterthought. "We were basically like the Steely Dan of Christmas music," jokes Pitrelli, a nod to the legendary rock band that almost never toured.

But when legions turned out for a set of live dates, a phenomenon was born. This year marks TSO selling about 20 million tickets resulting in $20 million donated to charity. The group consistently ranks among the top touring acts, according to Pollstar and other industry trackers.

As just who are TSO's fans? Pitrelli chuckles. "The first show we did, back in 1999 in Philadelphia, I looked in the front row when we got out there, and I saw two grandparents in crocheted reindeer-themed sweaters, sitting right next to a big young guy in a Slayer hoodie, so that tells you everything."

As for Pitrelli, heading back out on tour is not only a way to connect with TSO fans but also to salute a man whose memory looms large.

"Paul was my best friend, my boss, my producer, my big brother. Paul loved my kids as if they were his own," he says. "I don't want to miss him, but I'm also so glad I had him in my life. And when we go out there and perform, we celebrate Paul."

Trans-Siberian Orchestra tour dates in 2024