RIP … Trans-Siberian Orchestra creator Paul O’Neill dead at 61

RIP
Trans-Siberian Orchestra creator Paul O’Neill dead at 61

Blabbermouth — Paul O’Neill, creator of the multi-platinum rock theater experience TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, has passed away from chronic illness. He was 61 years old.

The news of O’Neill‘s death was broken on the TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA Facebook page. The statement added: “[Paul] was our friend and our leader — a truly creative spirit and an altruistic soul. This is a profound and indescribable loss for us all.”

TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA formed in 1996 out of the ashes of the Florida power metal band SAVATAGE and started touring three years later, connecting with fans by releasing a series of rock operas, such as 1996’s “Christmas Eve And Other Stories”, 1998’s “The Christmas Attic” and 2004’s “The Lost Christmas Eve”. Over the past 20 years, it has become a critically acclaimed, multi-platinum, musical powerhouse. The progressive rock group’s record-setting “rock theater” tours sell out venues year after year and they have cemented their status as a must attend, multi-generational, holiday tradition.

2016 was another record-breaking year for TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA (TSO). Proving that it is more popular on the road than ever before, TSO‘s winter tour 2016 sold the most tickets per show in the group’s history, with a total in excess of 927,000. The tour also set a record gross for TSO with a total of more than $56.9 million.