The Dresden Dolls

Informace o akci

The Dresden Dolls announce global tour and re-recorded release of Yes, 
Virginia…(Tailor’s Version), out on vinyl, CD, and all streaming platforms 
August 7, 2026   

Guest vocalists include Jinkx Monsoon and Veronica Swift  

The Dresden Dolls—the pioneering punk cabaret duo of singer-songwriter Amanda 
Palmer  and drummer/multi-instrumentalist Brian Viglione—are entering a powerful new 
chapter.  

The band’s landmark 2006 album Yes, Virginia… has been fully re-recorded from 
scratch by Palmer and Viglione in Boston, with the new release, Yes, 
Virginia…(Tailor’s Version), arriving on vinyl, CD, and all streaming platforms on 
August 7, 2026. The band will then hit the road for a tour of celebratory shows in major 
venues across the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Europe.  

The newly fashioned title is a nod to Taylor Swift’s reclamation of her early master  
recordings. Following the conclusion of a 20-year contract with Roadrunner Records, 
The  Dresden Dolls regained the right to re-record the albums originally issued on the 
label. The  announcement comes almost exactly 20 years after the release of the 
original record,  making the timing of this release especially significant.  

The track list remains unchanged (save for a bonus track on the vinyl & CD  
versions), but the performances reflect two decades of the band’s artistic and 
personal evolution.  

Originally hailed for Viglione’s orchestral, emotionally expressive drumming and 
Palmer’s percussive piano work and unflinching songwriting—exploring sexuality, 
identity, addiction, capitalism, Holocaust denial, and social isolation against a 
backdrop of defiant joy—Yes, Virginia…(Tailor’s Version) brings new depth and 
nuance to the material. Fan favorites including “My Alcoholic Friends,” “Sex Changes,” 
“Backstabber,” “Mrs. O,” “Sing,”  “Delilah,” and “Me and the Minibar” return with 
renewed intensity.  

Recorded over several weeks in late 2025 at Mad Oak Studios in Boston, the 
album was tracked almost entirely live with longtime collaborator Benny Grotto and 
mixed by Paul  Kolderie, co-founder of Boston’s iconic Fort Apache Studios (and 
the original sound  engineer of the 2006 Yes, Virginia…).  

The new recording also features guest vocalists Veronica Swift, who received a French 
knighthood and worldwide acclaim for her 2021 recording of the Dresden Dolls’ “Sing,” 
and Jinkx Monsoon, an ardent supporter of the band who performed “Me and the 
Minibar” with  a full orchestra at her Carnegie Hall debut in 2025. 
The album includes new front and back cover artwork by South African surrealist 
painter Niki McQueen.  

Why now?   

Having earned a global reputation for scorchingly visceral live performances over the 
past  20 years, Palmer and Viglione approached the material with a deeper musical 
connection  and a more expansive emotional range. Their performances do not 
attempt to perfectly replicate the original recordings. Instead, they reflect a matured 
interplay—subtler, more  elastic, and more attuned to space and restraint—while 
preserving the raw theatricality that  defined the band’s early work.  

The release of Yes, Virginia…(Tailor’s Version) signals a broader resurgence for the 
band.  The Dresden Dolls are currently working on new material—some of which has 
already  appeared in live performances—and are actively planning future touring.  

That resurgence is already visible in the band’s growing reach: they have amassed 
nearly 3 million followers on Spotify, while “My Alcoholic Friends” has surpassed 240 
million Spotify streams and 70 million YouTube streams and recently earned the band 
their first platinum certification, nearly two decades after the album’s original release. 
Their influence continues to resonate with new audiences, as streaming platforms and 
social media introduce their work to a new generation drawn to dramatic, emotionally 
bracing songwriting.  

About The Dresden Dolls  

Formed in Boston in 2000 after a chance meeting at a Halloween party, Amanda 
Palmer and Brian Viglione quickly established The Dresden Dolls as a singular force in 
the underground music and art scene. Their fusion of theatricality, punk energy, and 
cabaret sensibility helped define the “punk cabaret” genre.  

In 2003, the band won the prestigious WBCN Rock & Roll Rumble and released their 
self-titled debut album, featuring enduring songs such as “Coin-Operated Boy” and 
“Girl  Anachronism,” the latter later featured on the HBO series Weeds. A support slot 
with Nine Inch Nails in 2005 helped propel their international profile.  

The band has toured extensively worldwide and shared stages with artists including 
Cyndi Lauper, Debbie Harry, Patti Smith, The Cure, and Panic! at the Disco and has 
appeared at major festivals including Lollapalooza, Coachella, Bonnaroo, Fuji Rock, 
and Glastonbury.  They have also collaborated with the Boston Pops at Symphony 
Hall and received multiple Boston Music Awards. Billie Eilish, Doja Cat, Lady Gaga, 
and Jinkx Monsoon have all publicly celebrated the band and Palmer’s songwriting 
as influences on their own work.  

Following an unofficial hiatus beginning in 2008, both artists pursued wide-ranging 
creative paths. Viglione has performed with acts including Nine Inch Nails and Violent 
Femmes,  while Palmer has built a multifaceted solo career spanning theater, 
crowdfunding, and  public speaking. Her TED talk is about to achieve a milestone 20 
million views, and her 2014  memoir The Art of Asking became a New York Times 
bestseller. Now, after years of individual evolution and intermittent reunions, Palmer and 
Viglione return. 

It’s time, once again, for the Punk Cabaret.