Al Pitrelli Trans-Siberian Orchestra November 29-30, 2025
Al Pitrelli Trans-Siberian Orchestra November 29-30, 2025
Al Pitrelli
As we have five weekends in November, LA Lloyd wanted to extend Thanksgiving to get you into the Holidays. The perfect guest to assist him is Al Pitrelli from Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Al is definitely a friend of the show and has been a guest before. This tour began and 1999 and has been going strong every year. It has become a family tradition for millions of fans through the years. For 2025, The Ghosts Of Christmas Eve: The Best of TSO & More will perform 106 concerts in 64 cities in 48 days.
Trans-Siberian Orchestra – Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24
Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24 was the first single released in 1996. Paul O’Neill, creator of Trans-Siberian Orchestra explained the story behind the song in an interview published on ChristianityToday.com:
“We heard about this cello player born in Sarajevo many years ago who left when he was fairly young to go on to become a well-respected musician, playing with various symphonies throughout Europe. Many decades later, he returned to Sarajevo as an elderly man—at the height of the Bosnian War, only to find his city in complete ruins.
I think what most broke this man’s heart was that the destruction was not done by some outside invader or natural disaster—it was done by his own people. At that time, Serbs were shelling Sarajevo every night. Rather than head for the bomb shelters like his family and neighbors, this man went to the town square, climbed onto a pile of rubble that had once been the fountain, took out his cello, and played Mozart and Beethoven as the city was bombed.
He came every night and began playing Christmas Carols from that same spot. It was just such a powerful image—a white-haired man silhouetted against the cannon fire, playing timeless melodies to both sides of the conflict amid the rubble and devastation of the city he loves. Some time later, a reporter traced him down to ask why he did this insanely stupid thing. The old man said that it was his way of proving that despite all evidence to the contrary, the spirit of humanity was still alive in that place.
The song basically wrapped itself around him. We used some of the oldest Christmas melodies we could find, like “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” and “Carol of the Bells” part of the medley (which is from Ukraine, near that region). The orchestra represents one side, the rock band the other, and single cello represents that single individual, that spark of hope.” It truly is amazing how relevant this song remains in the present as Al will explain to LA Lloyd during his guest appearance on the Rock 30.
The Ghosts Of Christmas Eve: The Best of TSO & More
How do you top the lights, pyro, songs, musicians that have encompassed the past 25 years of Trans-Siberian Orchestra. You roll into year #26 with even more. Here is a little tease.
Rock 30 Radio
You can now hear your favorite Rock 30 songs 24/7 on Rock 30 Radio. Also, if you missed last weekend’s show, we replay it for you four times daily at 12 midnight, 6am, 12 noon and 6pm Central time. We replay archived shows as well different times of the day so you’ll always have some surprise appearances from many of the artists who have co-hosted the show previously. It’s free to stream in the US, Canada, Mexico and the UK. We are thinking about doing some live shows on Rock 30 radio. If you would like us to add this to our lineup, tell us about it at feedback@rock30.com. To listen now, click on the link below or ask Alexa to “Play Rock 30 Radio.”
Interact with the Rock 30
We always love to hear from you so follow us on all the LA Lloyd socials. And of you have anything you’d like to suggest or just make a request, call the Rock 30 hotline at 855-5-ROCK-30 that’s 855-576-2530. Plus we would love to have you subscribe to the LA Lloyd YouTube channel youtube.com/lalloyd to see weekly video interviews with our Rock 30 guests. Feel free to email LA Lloyd directly to feedback@rock30.com
