When a famous actor decides that he wants to sing, the results aren’t always strictly musical.

To illustrate my point, let me ask you a question. Do you still want to party all the time, party all the time, party all the tiiiiimmme?

I didn’t think so.

But a tour that is coming to the Vogue Theatre in Indianapolis on Monday is a little different.

The actor Michael Shannon (“Man of Steel,” “Knives Out,” “The Shape of Water”) and a band that includes Windy City guitarist Jason Narducy will perform R.E.M’s “Fables of the Reconstruction” in its entirety.

Shannon isn’t trying to launch a second career. He is merely a big fan of the band (and a music aficionado in general) whose one-off concerts with Narducy grew in popularity until a tour became the next logical step.

The idea of performing a legendary album in its entirety was devised more than a decade ago by alt-country singer-songwriter Robbie Fulks. The concerts happened at a Chicago bar called the Hideout.

Fulks brought Shannon and Narducy together to pay tribute to Lou Reed’s “The Blue Mask.” Fulks subsequently moved to Los Angeles, and Shannon and Narducy continued the tribute tradition in his stead.

A turning point of sorts came in July of 2023 when Shannon and Narducy performed at the Metro in Chicago to commemorate the 40th anniversary of R.E.M.’s debut album, “Murmur.”

“We sold a lot of tickets, number one,” Narducy said in a phone interview with Fort Wayne magazine. “The energy in the room was just insane. We played for a long time and no one left. It just felt like a celebration onstage and off. And then I started getting emails. Honestly, I started getting emails before we even played the Metro show asking if we would bring that to whatever city. I think San Francisco reached out first. Maybe Minneapolis right after that, Austin wasn’t far behind…I asked Michael, ‘Do you think I could put together a little mini tour, if you’d be up for it?’ He said, ‘Yes.'”

While Shannon and Narducy were performing at the 40 Watt Club in Athens, Georgia in early 2023, the members of R.E.M. got on stage with them. It was the first time they had all been on stage together in 17 years.

Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Bill Berry each performed different songs with Shannon and Narducy and Michael Stipe joined the other three at the end of the concert to thank the band.

“Which they did twice,” Narducy said. “They came up near the end and again at the very end. Just a month ago, Michael and I were texting each other: ‘Can you believe that?’ We still can’t believe it. It’s incredible.”

It would be easy to peg this as a vanity project, but Narducy said Shannon approaches the music with the utmost seriousness and humility.

“I’ve seen or performed with people who have a career in music that I’ve not been impressed by,” Narducy said. “He pretty quickly proves that he is totally committed to a project. I would say, on every album we have worked on, he’s known the record better than anybody in the room. He kind of approaches it in the same way that I’ve heard he approaches his acting work, which is utter and total commitment.”

By way of elucidation, Narduccy shared a story about something that happened at a recent concert in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Bob Dylan’s “Blood on the Tracks.”

“It was stocked with legendary talent: Elvis Costello, Lucinda Williams, Diana Krall, Adam from War on Drugs…It was quite the thing. And Michael was…I’ll just say I was playing acoustic guitar and I wasn’t doing much. And Michael got the only standing ovation before the song ended.

“That crowd didn’t buy tickets just to see us,” Narducy said. “I would never say that was our crowd. And he brought them to their feet before the song was over. Do I need to say more?”

Michael Shannon, Jason Narducy and Friends Pay Tribute To REM’s “Fables of the Reconstruction” (Opening Act: Comedian Dave Hill): $35, 8 pm, 6259 N. College Avenue, Indianapolis, 317.259.7029, thevogue.com

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