This Saturday, viewers will be treated to winter festivities from the comfort of their own seats with our first Yule Ball at Home! Viewers will get to jam with Tonks and the Aurors and Ashley Hamel, two wizard rock bands that’ll be playing for us! But what is wizard rock? It’s a new music genre that arose when some of the first Harry Potter books were being published. Lots of fans expressed their enjoyment of the world of wizardry in many creative ways, and wizard rock being one of them!

Tonks & The Aurors

Meet the Yule Ball Bands!, Fountaindale Public Library

Tonks & The Aurors’ name pays homage to two things in the Harry Potter setting. The first is Nymphadora Tonks, a half-blood witch who is an ally of Harry’s. The second is the Aurors, whom Tonks is a member of. They are a group of highly trained witches and wizards who protect magical society from the threat of those who practice the dark arts. Steph Anderson founded Tonks & the Aurors. Steph and her band have been writing and playing songs about the world of wizardry since 2007. Since then, they have released 6 full-length albums, and some of their most popular tracks, according to Spotify, are Ravenclaw, Weasley Brothers, and 1991 (Charlie Weasley).

Learn more about the band

Ashley Trix & The WZRDS

Meet the Yule Ball Bands!, Fountaindale Public Library

Ashley Hamel is a singer and songwriter who uses her musical talents to write magical tunes. Together with bassist Dave Beaucar and drummer Dwayne Keith, they form Ashley Trix & The WZRDS! They’ve taken their act to several conventions like the New England WizardFest and festivals like the Ithaca Wizarding Weekend in Ithaca, New York. Their first wizardry world album, W.Z.R.D., came out on January 9, 2019.

Learn more about the band

We’re so happy to have Tonks & the Aurors and Ashley Hamel playing for our Yule Ball! We’ll be going live this Saturday, December 12, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on our Facebook page and YouTube channel!

Posted on behalf of Nelly Ambriz and Anthony Nguyen, Adult and Teen Services Specialists