The Mountain Goats have just announced their plans for a low-key tour of stripped-down performances in smaller venues, bringing us all one step closer to our dreams of having John Darnielle perform just for us. Darnielle shared the news via his Tumblr account on Tuesday by first thanking fans for making 2015, which saw the release of Beat The Champ, “such a special year” for the band. The singer-songwriter (and author) then admitted that the band developed a preference for the bare-bones, “playing with friends” performances during its last tour, and would carry that acoustic austerity into 2016’s tour. “Making eye contact with people in the back row, being able to go off-mic when I want to and still be heard. Total visibility,” Darnielle promised, before returning to hibernation.


Here are the dates for the 2016 tour; please note that the February 24, 25, and 28 dates are solo shows featuring Darnielle.

February 24—Sidebar Theater—Tallahassee, Florida

February 25—High Dive—Gainesville, Florida

February 28—Swedish American Hall—San Francisco, California

April 1—Bearsville Theater—Woodstock, New York

April 2—College Street Music Hall—New Haven, Connecticut

April 3—Columbus Theatre—Providence, Rhode Island

April 4—Port City Music Hall—Portland, Maine

April 6—Asbury Hall at Babeville—Buffalo, New York

April 7—Beachland Ballroom—Cleveland, Ohio

April 8—The Blind Pig—Ann Arbor, Michigan

April 9—The Vogue—Indianapolis, Indiana

April 11-13—City Winery—Chicago, Illinois

April 14—Covenant Fine Arts Center at Calvin College—Grand Rapids, Michigan

April 16—Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center—York, Pennsylvania

April 17—City Winery—New York, New York


[h/t Pitchfork]