{"id":64758,"date":"2025-12-08T21:30:06","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T21:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/64758\/"},"modified":"2025-12-08T21:30:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T21:30:06","slug":"trans-siberian-orchestra-brings-revamped-holiday-rock-spectacle-to-ubs-arena-on-dec-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/64758\/","title":{"rendered":"Trans-Siberian Orchestra brings revamped holiday rock spectacle to UBS Arena on Dec. 18"},"content":{"rendered":"

The multi-platinum Trans-Siberian Orchestra<\/a> (TSO) will bring its high-octane holiday production back to Long Island, returning to UBS Arena<\/a> on Dec. 18 at 7:30 p.m. with a reimagined staging of its celebrated show, \u201cThe Ghosts of Christmas Eve: The Best of TSO & More.\u201d<\/p>\n

The stop is part of TSO\u2019s expansive 2025 winter tour, which launched on Nov. 13 and will reach 64 cities before concluding Dec. 30. This year\u2019s run features a special tribute marking the 25th anniversary of \u201cBeethoven\u2019s Last Night,\u201d the band\u2019s landmark non-holiday rock opera.<\/p>\n

For drummer Jeff Plate, who has been with the group since its earliest days, the return to the road is a highlight he anticipates every year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the fans have seen us before, I think they know what to expect \u2014 huge show, big lights, big production, rocking band onstage, great vocalists,\u201d Plate said. \u201cThere\u2019s the holiday themes, the classical themes which the late founder Paul O\u2019Neill created, so there\u2019s always a sense of familiarity to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plate said fans can also expect the unexpected, as the band continues O\u2019Neill\u2019s mandate that no two tours should ever be the same.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery year we come out, we switch up our setlist,\u201d he said. \u201cWe try to do something different with the intro of the show, something different with the back half of the show. Every year we come out with something different visually and this year will be no different.\u201d<\/p>\n

That includes updates to lighting, video design and other technical elements.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s always some new effects. There\u2019s something new that\u2019s on our stage every year,\u201d Plate said. \u201cPaul\u2019s standard was, there will never be a repeat show.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Ghosts of Christmas Eve,\u201d originally conceived by O\u2019Neill for TSO\u2019s 1999 TV special and multi-platinum DVD, serves as the narrative centerpiece of the first half of each performance. The story follows a runaway who finds herself inside an abandoned theater on Christmas Eve, guided by haunting songs and a mysterious narrator. The second half shifts into a more freeform concert setting, filled with TSO hits and deeper cuts.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThis year we are going to be honoring the 25th anniversary of \u2018Beethoven\u2019s Last Night,\u2019\u201d Plate said, noting its significance as the band\u2019s first non-holiday album. \u201cSo, a lot is going on in our show. It\u2019s a huge show \u2014 40 tractor-trailers, lighting and sound and the arena is full of production.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Plate, the thrill of performing with TSO hasn\u2019t faded over nearly three decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m surrounded by A-list musicians, amazing vocalists. The production team and the crew members are the best of the best,\u201d he said. \u201cAs a kid, seeing KISS<\/a> on television was what inspired me to pursue the drums. I\u2019ve always dreamed of being part of a show like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said it\u2019s not only the spectacle that keeps him returning each year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt isn\u2019t just the spectacle \u2014 it\u2019s the music, it\u2019s the management. Things are run extremely well. We are well taken care of,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen you finish the show and there\u2019s 10,000 people on their feet, clapping and smiling, there\u2019s nothing better than that.\u201d<\/p>\n

TSO\u2019s Long Island appearances have become a tradition of their own. The group played the site\u2019s predecessor, the Nassau Coliseum<\/a>, for years before UBS Arena opened.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe venue is fantastic. It\u2019s beautiful. I love it. It\u2019s one of my favorites,\u201d Plate said of UBS Arena. \u201cThe backstage area is awesome, the seating area is awesome. I think this is our third time playing there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plate, who grew up in Horseheads in the Finger Lakes region, said performing in New York carries personal meaning, particularly when the band returns to storied venues like the former Coliseum.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Coliseum has so much history,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a couple of people in our band that grew up in the New York area and had been there when they were kids, seeing shows. It\u2019s always really cool and nostalgic to wander back into these arenas you were in when you were a kid and now you\u2019re playing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plate joined TSO through his work with the metal band Savatage<\/a>, whose 1995 album \u201cDead Winter Dead\u201d unexpectedly launched \u201cChristmas Eve\/Sarajevo 12\/24,\u201d the breakout hit that inspired O\u2019Neill to build Trans-Siberian Orchestra.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cPaul was probably the only guy at the time that really believed what was coming down the road,\u201d Plate said. \u201cHe created something that was a huge hit. It\u2019s still a huge hit. It\u2019s become a holiday tradition and several of us have been here from the beginning. We\u2019re all just so proud and thankful that we were involved from the beginning and still a part of this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Visit www.ubsarena.com<\/a> for details and tickets. A portion of the proceeds will benefit God\u2019s Love We Deliver<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The multi-platinum Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) will bring its high-octane holiday production back to Long Island, returning to UBS…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":64759,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[12565,9,24,63,122,124,123,33853,33854,33855],"class_list":{"0":"post-64758","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-queens","8":"tag-christmas","9":"tag-new-york","10":"tag-new-york-city","11":"tag-nyc","12":"tag-queens","13":"tag-queens-headlines","14":"tag-queens-news","15":"tag-the-daily","16":"tag-trans-siberian-orchestra","17":"tag-ubs-arena"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64758"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64758\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}