Actor and musician Michael Shannon (The Shape of Water, Revolutionary Road) and Jason Narducy (Bob Mould, Superchunk, SDRE) have been covering whole albums live in Chicago for the last 10 years. This July, they covered R.E.M.’s Murmur in tribute to its 40th anniversary at Chicago’s Metro, a show where Mike Mills ended up joining the band. They had so much fun, they decided to turn it into a short tour, playing the whole album and other songs from R.E.M.’s catalog.
The band they have put together includes Jason’s Bob Mould Band bandmate Jon Wurster on drums, plus Dag Juhlin (guitar), Nick Macri (bass), and Vijay Tellis-Nayak (piano). The tour hits Minneapolis, Athens, Carrboro, DC, Ardmore, Cambridge, and Brooklyn. All dates are listed, along with video from this summer’s Metro show, below.
“I have been a fan of R.E.M. since my cousin played me the Document cassette out at my Aunt Norma’s trailer,” Shannon says. “I spent days and hours stumbling around my hometown of Lexington, KY listening to Murmur on my Walkman, long before the notion of being anything other than completely anonymous was a viable option. Jason and I have done several other albums and shows together but this one means the most to me.”
“I’m looking forward to going on the road with Michael and the band,” adds Narducy. “Michael and I have been doing shows for a long time but this is our first proper tour. The energy in the room at our Murmur show at Metro last July was really special. It’s fun celebrating a record that is so beloved.”
The tour wraps up in Brooklyn at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Valentine’s Day (2/14). Tickets for the tour go on sale Friday, September 29 at 10 AM.
Michael Shannon & Jason Narducy And Friends Play R.E.M.ʼs Murmur
Sun. Feb. 4 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
Thu. Feb. 8 – Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club
Fri. Feb. 9 – Carrboro, NC @ Catʼs Cradle
Sat. Feb. 10 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat
Mon. Feb. 12 – Ardmore, PA @ Ardmore Music Hall
Tue. Feb. 13 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
Wed. Feb. 14 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
