The Dresden Dolls

Born in Boston in the early 2000s, The Dresden Dolls bring together Amanda Palmer on vocals and piano and Brian Viglione on drums, in a duo format that quickly defined a singular onstage identity between dark cabaret, alternative rock, piano rock and the Berlin cabaret heritage. The group willingly speaks of Brechtian punk cabaret to describe a tense, theatrical and direct music, built on the dialogue between Palmer’s percussive piano, Viglione’s nervous drums and lyrics that mix irony, vulnerability and dramatic tension. After an initial circulation in the Boston scene and a demo in 2001, The Dresden Dolls released A Is for Accident, then their album The Dresden Dolls in 2003, followed by Yes, Virginia... in 2006 and No, Virginia... in 2008, a collection of rarities and tracks associated with that period. The duo also drew attention for concerts mixing music, performance and vaudeville aesthetics, on tours, in festivals and in more cross-disciplinary contexts tied to theater. After a pause from 2008, The Dresden Dolls reformed several times in the 2010s and have resumed live activity since 2022, reintroducing new songs into their repertoire.