Julian Koster, idiosyncratic leader of the Music Tapes and formerly a member of Neutral Milk Hotel, is launching a new podcast via Night Vale Presents, backers of popular surreality show Welcome to Night Vale. Kostner’s series, The Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air), will feature Music Tapes music and stars Koster along with actor/director John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Itch), actor Tim Robbins, Drew Callandar, Susannah Flood, and others.

According to a press release, Circus tells “the story of a mysteriously impossible variety show broadcast from the ballroom at the top of the Eiffel Tower, and the janitor who longs to become a part of it.” The launch is accompanied by a slate of live performance dates, which will feature new Music Tapes material interwoven with Orbiting Human Circus stories.

The Orbiting Human Circus (of the Air) premieres October 12, with a new episode to be released biweekly through February 2017. It will be available on iTunes, SoundCloud, YouTube, and elsewhere. Needless to say, it looks fantastically weird. Listen to a preview (featuring Welcome to Night Vale’s Cecil Baldwin) and check out the live performance dates below.

November 9 — Kingston, New York @ BSP Lounge

November 10 — Troy, New York @ The Hangar on Hudson

November 11 — Burlington, Vermont @ Arts Riot

November 12 — Portsmouth, New Hampshire @ 3S Artspace

November 14 — Northampton, Massachusetts @ Iron Horse Music Hall

November 15 — Somerville, Massachusetts @ ONCE Lounge

November 16 — Providence, Rhode Island @ AS220

November 17 — Hamden, Connecticut @ The Ballroom at The Outer Space

November 18 — Brooklyn, New York @ The Bell House

November 19 — Philadelphia, Pennslyvania @ Boot & Saddle

November 20 — Washington, DC @ Songbyrd