The Wizards of Winter
The Wizards of Winter is an American progressive rock band that plays Christmas and holiday music. The group comes from the tri-state area around New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. They took their name from a Trans-Siberian Orchestra song, Wizards in Winter, and several members have roots in TSO.
Overview
- Style: Christmas music with progressive rock and symphonic influence.
- Formation: Founded in 2009 by Scott Kelly (music director, keyboards) and Sharon Kelly (flute, vocals) to give back to the community.
- Purpose: They host holiday concerts to support local charities and give back to fans and the community.
history
- 2009: The Wizards of Winter formed to help local charities; a holiday concert supported a struggling food pantry.
- 2010: They continued with more holiday performances to help the community.
- 2011: The band began writing its own Christmas rock opera, Tales Beneath a Northern Star.
- 2014: Released their first self-titled Christmas rock opera album. Artwork for the albums was created by Ioannis.
- 2015: Released The Magic of Winter, which included a track featured on Yahoo Music as The Spirit of Christmas.
- 2014–2016: Began working with Breaking Band LLC, a venture linked to industry veterans.
- Tours and members: They have toured with several original Trans-Siberian Orchestra members. Guy LeMonnier and Tony Gaynor became official band members in 2014. In 2015, Greg Smith (Ted Nugent’s longtime bassist) joined on tour and became a regular member in 2016.
- 2017: Released Salzburg Carol, a medley arranged by Scott Kelly.
- 2018: John O. Reilly joined as a full member. Vocalist Guy LeMonnier left; Karl Scully (The Irish Tenors) and Chris Green (Tyketto) joined, along with Rebecca Graae.
- 2019: In the studio to work on a new album; Steve Brown (Steve Brown from Trixter/Def Leppard) joined.
- 2019 release: The Christmas Dream, a 10-song album with four instrumentals and six vocal tracks. Lead vocals were by Sharon Kelly, Karl Scully, and Vincent Jiovino. Jiovino and Scully left after the 2019 tour.
- 2020: No touring due to Covid restrictions.
- 2021: Guy LeMonnier returned; Manny Cabo, a Season 9 finalist on The Voice, joined.
- 2023–2024: Filmed a two-hour PBS holiday special with Song of the Mountains during the 2023 tour. The band released a double live album, The Wizards of Winter Live Volume I & Volume II, drawn from the PBS event and 2023 touring. It began shipping in November 2024.
Discography
- Tales Beneath a Northern Star (2011)
- The Wizards of Winter (2014)
- The Magic of Winter (2015)
- The Christmas Dream (2019)
- The Wizards of Winter Live Volume I & Volume II (2024)
Charity and other notes
- The band supports several charities, including BackPack Friends and the Wounded Warrior Project. Proceeds from the single “March Of The Metal Soldiers” were donated to the Wounded Warrior Project.
- They partnered with Breaking Band LLC in 2014 to help grow the project and its charitable mission.
Website
- Official site: www.thewizardsofwinter.com
The Wizards of Winter continue to perform, record, and share their festive, powerful blend of Christmas music and progressive rock.
This page was last edited on 1 February 2026, at 21:45 (CET).