Last year, local hard-rock phenoms Piebald celebrated the holiday season by playing a special Christmas show in Andover, the punk-happy suburb where they grew up. They had such a blast that they’re doing it again. But this year’s show, which takes place next Saturday at the Old Town Hall in Andover, carries an added significance: it’s the group’s first home-town concert since they moved to LA at the end of the summer.

"It was exciting to play in the place where it all started for us, and our parents had a good time," says frontman Travis Shettel about last year’s show. "We set up the stage nicely and put Christmas lights over everything, but we didn’t do much to make it a Christmas event. This year, we’re going to try and pull off a few things. It’s going slowly, but we’re working at it."

For starters, Piebald have invited another Andover-bred band, local chamber-pop upstarts Apollo Sunshine, to open the show. The two groups are hoping to play a few Christmas songs together, and Apollo Sunshine frontman Jesse Gallagher says his dad might wear a Santa suit.

Apollo Sunshine are also playing a key role in the Travis Shettel Benefit Show next Thursday at the Middle East, which will help pay the astronomical hospital bills Shettel recently incurred when he underwent surgery for injured vocal cords. Sharing the stage with local pop-punk luminaries like Lost City Angels and Junction 18, Gallagher and his band are planning an entire set of Piebald covers.

As for Shettel’s throat, he says it feels like new. "When I woke up from surgery, it felt like my mouth had been stretched further and for longer than ever before in my life. It wasn’t bad, though. Now I have to do all these vocal exercises before I sing. I have to get out of the bad habits I got myself into so I won’t hurt myself anymore."

Piebald are playing a string of headlining club dates around the holidays, both on their way to Massachusetts and on their way back to LA. Their current album, We Are the Only Friends We Have (Big Wheel Recreation), has sold well since its release last spring, and they plan on recording a couple of new songs over the holidays. Which raises the question: are the band ready to take the major-label plunge?

"We’ve spoken to a few labels, but nothing serious," says Shettel. "We’ll see what happens after we record the new demos and get them out there. I’ll talk to anyone. We’re not saying no to major labels, we’re not saying no to indie labels. We would love to talk to anybody who is interested at all, to see what they think about the band and what they would do for us. Because that’s what’s really important, not whether it’s a major or an indie."

The Second Annual Piebald Christmas Pageant features performances by Piebald and Apollo Sunshine next Saturday, December 21, at the Old Town Hall in Andover. Call (978) 623-8241. The Travis Shettel Benefit Show features performances by Lost City Angels, Junction 18, Apollo Sunshine, Crash and Burn, Every Forty Seconds, Kipper Tin, and Dirty Water next Thursday, December 19, at the Middle East, 480 Massachusetts Avenue in Central Square. Call (617) 864-EAST.