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Do You Hear What I Hear?
To get you fired up as you peruse these holiday dates, here’s Mannheim Steamroller’s version of “Carol of the Bells” put to creative use by a really enthusiastic homeowner.
Aiken will warm up for his outing by performing November 6 at the Capitol One Holiday Celebration on Ice at The Orleans in Las Vegas. The show will feature Olympic silver medalist Sasha Cohen and other champion skaters and will be taped for broadcast on Christmas Day on NBC.
The singer’s Christmas In The Heartland gets rolling November 26 at Central Christian Church in Wichita, Kan., and runs through the end of December.
Highlights include stops the Genesee Theatre in Waukegan, Ill. (November 29), the Warner Theatre in Washington, D.C. (December 2), the Palace Theatre in Albany, N.Y. (December 7), the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, N.J. (December 11), Community Arts Center in Williamsport, Pa. (December 15), Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis (December 19-20) and the Star Plaza Theatre in Merrillville, Ind. (December 22).
Florida rockers Sister Hazel will head out for the 12 Days of Christmas Tour in support of their first holiday album, Santa’s Playlist.
The band will kick off the festivities with an appearance at the Magnificent Mile Lights Festival in Chicago on November 17. Other performers at the annual holiday lighting event held along North Michigan Avenue between Oak Street and the Chicago River include K.T. Tunstall and Corbin Bleu.
Sister Hazel’s holiday jaunt launches November 27 at the University of Florida in the band’s hometown of Gainesville, Fla.
Other stops include the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. (November 29), B.B. King’s in New York City (November 30), The Music Mill in Indianapolis (December 5), the Northern Light Theatre in Milwaukee (December 7), The Roxy in Atlanta (December 13) and House of Blues in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (December 15).
Last, but certainly not least, is the top-selling Christmas act of all time, Mannheim Steamroller. The classic rock group will head out at the end of November for its 23rd annual holiday tour supporting Christmas Song, the sixth Christmas album from the band since 1984.
The tour kicks off November 20 at Taco Bell Arena in Boise, Idaho and will hit arenas across the country through Christmas.
Venues on the schedule include Rose Garden Arena in Portland, Ore. (November 30), Spokane Arena in Washington (December 4), Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif. (December 8), Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Ariz. (December 15), and Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb. (December 26).
Fans of Mannheim Steamroller can also catch the band’s holiday music November 2 through December 8 at The Grand Palace in Branson, Mo.
Tickets for most shows on all three tours, as well as for 2008 Mannheim Steamroller non-holiday dates are available at www.ticketmaster.com.