TSO’S WINTER TOUR 2015 MAKES YEAR-END TOP GROSSING TOUR LISTS
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NEW ALBUM LETTERS FROM THE LABYRINTH HITS THE UPPER REACHES OF MULTIPLE BILLBOARD CHARTS
Los Angeles, CA – January 20, 2016 – Since the critically-acclaimed, multi-platinum, progressive rock group’s formation in 1996, Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) has been a musical sensation. Nearly 20 years since the band’s first album (1996) and first tour (1999), the group sits at the height of its popularity. 2015 was another landmark year for TSO, with their hit annual Winter Tour and the release of the chart-topping new album, Letters from the Labyrinth. TSO has cemented itself as one of the world’s biggest rock acts, by playing an excess of 1,600 shows for more than 13 million fans, with tour grosses of nearly $575 million, and selling in excess of 10 million albums and DVDs.
TSO’s Winter Tour 2015 kicked off on Nov. 18 and hit 60 cities across North America before concluding on Dec. 30. Based on the group’s “The Ghosts of Christmas Eve,” the tour played to more than 850,000 people and grossed more than $41 million in just 45 days. This year’s tour was ranked No. 15 on the “Top 200 North American Tours” chart and No. 30 on the “Top 100 Worldwide Tours” chart by concert industry trade Pollstar magazine. In 2009, Billboard magazine placed TSO at No. 25 on its “Top Touring Artists of the Decade.” As in years past, TSO gave at least $1 from every ticket sold to charity – more than $13 million has been donated in total.
In the media, TSO’s Winter Tour 2015 was featured on CBS Sunday Morning and in an Arena cover story for the Wall Street Journal. This summer, at the Wacken Open Air music festival in Germany, TSO created an industry first when they performed a coordinated set across the festival’s two main stages to a crowd of over 80,000 fans from all around the world.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s new album, Letters from the Labyrinth (Lava Records/Republic Records), its first full-length album since 2009’s Night Castle, was released on Nov. 13, 2015. Letters from the Labyrinth debuted at No. 1 on Billboard magazine’s “Rock Album,” No. 6 on Billboard’s “Top Albums” chart, and No. 7 on Billboard’s “Top 200” chart. The bold, conceptually provocative album has sold more than 150,000 copies to date and has spent 6 weeks on the Top 10 Billboard’s Hard Rock chart. Radio stations across the world are currently playing the album’s debut single “Forget About The Blame (Moon Version)” featuring vocals by Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale.
Prior to the release of Letters from the Labyrinth, TSO has enjoyed a string of successful album and DVD releases throughout its illustrious career. Night Castle debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard “Top 200” chart and is now certified platinum. Christmas Eve and Other Stories (1996) boasted the smash hit “Christmas Eve Sarajevo 12/24” and is certified triple platinum with over 3.5 million albums sold. The Christmas Attic (1998) earned certified platinum status with nearly 2 million albums sold. The Lost Christmas Eve (2004), featuring hit single “Wizards in Winter,” was certified double platinum with 2.5 million albums sold. Beethoven’s Last Night (2000), TSO’s first non-holiday rock opera, was certified gold with more than 650,000 album sales. TSO had three of these albums in the Top 25 of Billboard’s “Catalog Albums” chart during the first week of 2016 and the singles “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24” and “Christmas Canon” spent 25 weeks on Billboard’s “Holiday 100” chart.