Theatrical alt-pop act The Dresden Dolls [ tickets ] will spend parts of the winter months working a headlining tour spanning the New Year and continuing through the first half of January.

Before kicking off their headlining run Dec. 27 in Washington, DC (as well as a second show later the same night in Baltimore,) pianist Amanda Palmer and drummer Brian Viglione will tackle a pair of separate tours, Palmer hitting Australia for a slate of solo appearances, while Viglione teams with singer/songwriter Jesse Malin for a number of European and US shows.

Indie-pop acts Two Ton Boa and Meow Meow will fill the support slots for many of the dates; check out the Dolls' website for information on specific dates, including Palmer and Viglione's non-Dolls schedules.

The Boston-based group, whose most recent release was last year's "Yes, Virginia," ends a hiatus of sorts with the winter outing. Palmer spent much of the summer working on her first solo album, "Who Killed Amanda Palmer." The disc, with singer/songwriter Ben Folds handling production chores, is tentatively set for release next spring. Viglione, meanwhile, stayed busy by collaborating with other Boston-area musicians, which this year included hitting the road with indie rockers Humanwine.

"Yes, Virginia," produced by Sean Slade and Paul Q. Kolderie (Radiohead, Pixies), follows up on the band's self-titled 2004 debut album. The set was recorded over several weeks last year in a turn-of-the-century mansion converted into a recording studio in the Catskills Mountains region of upstate New York.