Arriving right on time for its 20th anniversary (and a U.S. tour kicking off next week!), Faun Fables’ musical theater work The Transit Rider returns on August 28, 2026 in a lovely 2xLP vinyl release that dimensionally burnishes the bristling performances and elevated cabaret folk sounds of the original 2006 CD-only release. A new video for “House Carpenter” is out today, featuring footage from the original stage show.
At once a work of theatre, allegory and autobiography, The Transit Rider is a pungent masterpiece of 21st century folk rock that combines Faun Fables’ distinctive song telling style with their full-hearted thespian energies. Years before its recorded release, The Transit Rider took the form of a full-length theater production in 2001, staged in San Francisco with a cast of thirteen; the story was inspired by Dawn McCarthy’s early ‘90s move to NYC, where she was introduced to the transient and constant glories of the subway system. The music was then further developed, recorded, and adapted into a touring show in 2006 by Dawn and her stalwart co-conspirator Nils Frykdahl (of Sleepytime Gorilla Museum), joined by multi-instrumentalists Jenya Chernoff and Matt Lebofsky. The album features creative contributions from Dawn’s mother Michelina Tyrie (“Earth’s Kiss”) and father Will McCarthy (“I No Longer Wish To”), with thematically related songs by Zygmunt Konieczny (“Taki Pejzaz / Such a Landscape”), Soeur Sourire (“Je Voudrais / I’d like To Be”) and the Anglo Saxon traditional “House Carpenter”.
The capricious mists of time have parted just in time for The Transit Rider’s 20th anniversary celebration: Faun Fables will begin a series of shows revisiting songs from the album this summer 2026 with Jesca Hoop’s US tour. The new 2xLP edition — featuring revamped artwork with previously unseen photos of the original show — officially releases August 28, 2026.
Faun Fables 2026 Tour Dates:
(all dates w/ Jesca Hoop)
June 13 – Sebastopol, CA @ HopMonk Tavern
June 14 – Felton, CA @ Felton Music Hall
June 15 – Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room
June 17 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
June 19 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
June 20 – Seattle, WA @ Ballard Homestead
June 23 – Minneapolis, MN @ Parkway Theater
June 24 – Chicago, IL @ Schubas Tavern
June 27 – New York, NY @ City Winery
June 28 – Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse
June 29 – New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge
July 1 – Wayne, PA @ 118 North
