 NEW YORK, NY (Atlantic Records) - The phenomenon that is the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) experienced its biggest year yet, outshining all of the group's previously acclaimed accomplishments. TSO continues to captivate the holiday season, as evident by the group's highly successful 2005 national concert tour and their strong presence on the Billboard Album Charts. The band's winter tour hit over 80 markets selling over 725,000 tickets for a concert tour that lasted only eight weeks. An astonishing number of 1.35 million people have seen the Trans-Siberian Orchestra perform live in just the past 2 years alone. According to Billboard, only one other band (The Eagles) drew more ticket-buyers over the 2004 six-month span covering the winter and spring - and TSO was on the road for only seven weeks during that time. These achievements further reaffirm Trans-Siberian Orchestra's place as an American institution. Since TSO's inception into the music industry in 1996, their album sales have continued to increase and hold impressively strong numbers. In 2005, it took only 10 weeks for CD sales to surge above 850,000 placing all three TSO holiday albums in the Top 10 on Billboard's Top Catalog Album Chart. Two of those albums held the No 1 & No 2 spots in Billboard's Top Pop Catalog Chart with "The Lost Christmas Eve" placing No 2 on the Seasonal Chart. The band had an extremely busy year as they once again graced the small screen with performances on "Good Morning America," "Live With Regis & Kelly" and "Good Morning America Weekend." In December of 2005, a video for "Wizards in Winter" created by a fan made its way on to the internet and became one of the most downloaded files. The video, an over-the-top light display choreographed to the group's latest single attracted local news all over the country as well as the "Today Show" and "Inside Edition." The "Wizards" email became such a phenomenon that it was opted to become a national TV commercial. With its timeless message, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra has become an essential amongst music lovers during the Christmas season. 2005 marked the band's seventh consecutive year of touring. Just days in to the New Year, TSO has an already busy 2006 ahead of them. Plans are in the making for the group to record their second non-holiday album titled "Nightcastle." The group's annual winter tour will kick off in the fall of 2006, which will be followed up by a yet-to-be-named national concert tour in Spring 2007.
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