Today, Michael Shannon & Jason Narducy And Friends announce a 2025 U.S. tour celebrating the 40th anniversary of R.E.M.’s iconic 1985 album, Fables of the Reconstruction. After the pair’s acclaimed, sold out run honoring R.E.M.’s famed debut album Murmur, which saw the four original members of R.E.M. come together for the first time in 17 years at the tour’s Athens stop, the Fables tour will take Shannon & Narducy to nearly three times as many cities across the country, including shows in Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia, and more, along with two nights in R.E.M.’s hometown of Athens, GA.
Kicking off Friday, Feb. 14th at Pappy & Harriets in Pioneertown, CA, the tour will see Shannon & Narducy—alongside Jon Wurster (drums), John Stirratt (bass), Dag Juhlin (guitar), and Vijay Tellis-Nayak (piano)—playing Fables of the Reconstruction in full each night in addition to many other R.E.M. songs.
Shannon, an actor/musician known best for his film/series/stage work, and Narducy (Bob Mould Band, Superchunk, Sunny Day Real Estate, Verböten, Split Single) have been collaborating for the last eleven years, playing entire albums by some of their favorite artists such as Neil Young, The Modern Lovers, Bob Dylan, The Smiths, and T. Rex at various Chicago clubs. In July 2023, they performed Murmur at Chicago’s Metro to a full house, with a guest appearance from R.E.M.’s own Mike Mills. Initially planned as a one-off performance to honor both the album and venue’s 40th anniversary, the show’s success inspired Shannon and Narducy to take the project on the road.
“I had never done a tour before. Jason nudged me after the Murmur set in Chicago at Metro. Now it’s all I want to do,” Shannon says. “I’m happy this one is twice as long. The last one was too short. This music is beyond comprehension and I cherish every chance I get to deliver it, even second generation. R.E.M. means the world to me. And this band led by Jason is stone cold ridiculous. Even if I never walked onstage, you would get a hell of a show.”
Narducy adds: “After Michael and I took the band on the road playing Murmur, we discussed possibly trying something again in 2025. It will be the 40th anniversary of Fables Of The Reconstruction so we will open with that album, in sequence. Then we will dig deep into the R.E.M. catalog to round out the performance. Each show will have unique setlists. We love celebrating the music of this great band.”
