If you’re tired of hearing the same cheerful holiday songs on repeat since Nov. 1, Classical Blast is here with a classic rock-meets-Christmas experience.

Formed in 2012, Classical Blast is known for blending the classics — rock songs with classical music. In 2016, the group released a holiday-themed album and subsequent tour called “The Dark Side of the Yule.”

Classical Blast will perform “The Dark Side of the Yule” at 7 p.m. Dec. 17 at the Hobart Art Theatre in Hobart. Members performing in this year’s show include: Stephanie Koklys (lead vocals, acoustic guitar, piano); Dave Kelly (drums and vocals); Hannah K. Watson (violin and vocals) and Bill Syniar (bass). This year’s guest artist is cellist Tom Culver of Strung Out-Chicago.

Syniar is a longtime Chicago bass player who previously toured and recorded with band Survivor and founded the popular R&B group, R-Gang. He’s an original member of Classical Blast.

“We’ve got three different shows … ‘Bach to Rock’ all summer long, the ‘Dark Side of the Yule’ show during the Christmas season and our Celtic show, ‘Classical Blast in Kilts,’ during St. Patrick’s month,” Syniar said.

The idea for the “The Dark Side of the Yule” came about simply as a change-up from their normal “Bach to Rock” show, he said.

“Instead of doing the obvious — all the happy, ‘Jingle Bell’ stuff — we thought we would take it from a different point of view and do the darker side of Christmas,” he said. “Which is still nice but it’s not all the obvious stuff you would normally hear. All the songs are mashed together with classical music again.”

Audiences will hear “Silent Night” melded with “Sounds of Silence;” Amy Grant’s “Breath of Heaven” mashed with “Bring Me to Life” by Evanescence;” “Carol of the Bells” blended with the theme from “Game of Thrones;” “Coventry Carol” mashed with “Great Gig in the Sky” by Pink Floyd; “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” blended with Metallica’s “Enter Sandman;” and more. New music this year includes “Sally’s Song” from “Nightmare Before Christmas” melded with “I Wonder as I Wander,” and others.

“In our case, it’s a lot of music you aren’t used to hearing this time of year,” he said. “It all has meaning for this time of year, but it’s all dark and it’s all mashed. If they don’t know the classical piece, they’re going to know the rock piece.”

He also contributed three original songs to the show cowritten with his wife and band manager, Barbara Weigand.

“Odds are, after you hear this, you’re going to want to go find more of this because it’s unexpected,” he said.

They hand out programs with details about the songs so if an audience member doesn’t know a song, they can get educated. Personally, he has a lot of favorite moments in the set.

“I love the dynamics of ‘Breath of Heaven’ and ‘Bring Me to Life,’ ” he said. “We do that at the end of the first (half). The emotions are so big. And then in the second set, we do … ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’ and it’s all instrumental and yet it’s completely entertaining.

“No vocals, but the violin and cello feel so special. I love the ‘Carol of the Bells’ and ‘Game of Thrones’ mixed together. That is so strong. And then at the end, we go into an encore called ‘Swingle Bells.’ It’s our first fun, happy tune, but it’s a great, unusual arrangement. It has a whole different vibe. It’s the perfect closure.”

Annie Alleman is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.