THE DRESDEN DOLLS
Written by Aimsel Ponti
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.
