The multi-platinum Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) will bring its high-octane holiday production back to Long Island, returning to UBS Arena on Dec. 18 at 7:30 p.m. with a reimagined staging of its celebrated show, “The Ghosts of Christmas Eve: The Best of TSO & More.”
The stop is part of TSO’s expansive 2025 winter tour, which launched on Nov. 13 and will reach 64 cities before concluding Dec. 30. This year’s run features a special tribute marking the 25th anniversary of “Beethoven’s Last Night,” the band’s landmark non-holiday rock opera.
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.
“If the fans have seen us before, I think they know what to expect — huge show, big lights, big production, rocking band onstage, great vocalists,” Plate said. “There’s the holiday themes, the classical themes which the late founder Paul O’Neill created, so there’s always a sense of familiarity to that.”
Plate said fans can also expect the unexpected, as the band continues O’Neill’s mandate that no two tours should ever be the same.
“Every year we come out, we switch up our setlist,” he said. “We 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.”
That includes updates to lighting, video design and other technical elements.
“There’s always some new effects. There’s something new that’s on our stage every year,” Plate said. “Paul’s standard was, there will never be a repeat show.”
“The Ghosts of Christmas Eve,” originally conceived by O’Neill for TSO’s 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.
“This year we are going to be honoring the 25th anniversary of ‘Beethoven’s Last Night,’” Plate said, noting its significance as the band’s first non-holiday album. “So, a lot is going on in our show. It’s a huge show — 40 tractor-trailers, lighting and sound and the arena is full of production.”
For Plate, the thrill of performing with TSO hasn’t faded over nearly three decades.
“I’m surrounded by A-list musicians, amazing vocalists. The production team and the crew members are the best of the best,” he said. “As a kid, seeing KISS on television was what inspired me to pursue the drums. I’ve always dreamed of being part of a show like this.”
He said it’s not only the spectacle that keeps him returning each year.
“It isn’t just the spectacle — it’s the music, it’s the management. Things are run extremely well. We are well taken care of,” he said. “When you finish the show and there’s 10,000 people on their feet, clapping and smiling, there’s nothing better than that.”
TSO’s Long Island appearances have become a tradition of their own. The group played the site’s predecessor, the Nassau Coliseum, for years before UBS Arena opened.
“The venue is fantastic. It’s beautiful. I love it. It’s one of my favorites,” Plate said of UBS Arena. “The backstage area is awesome, the seating area is awesome. I think this is our third time playing there.”
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.
“The Coliseum has so much history,” he said. “We’ve 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’s always really cool and nostalgic to wander back into these arenas you were in when you were a kid and now you’re playing.”
Plate joined TSO through his work with the metal band Savatage, whose 1995 album “Dead Winter Dead” unexpectedly launched “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24,” the breakout hit that inspired O’Neill to build Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
“Paul was probably the only guy at the time that really believed what was coming down the road,” Plate said. “He created something that was a huge hit. It’s still a huge hit. It’s become a holiday tradition and several of us have been here from the beginning. We’re all just so proud and thankful that we were involved from the beginning and still a part of this.”
Visit www.ubsarena.com for details and tickets. A portion of the proceeds will benefit God’s Love We Deliver.
