Patti Smith Adds Several July Club Dates

Patti Smith has scheduled a healthy batch of July concert appearances as she continues to tour the North American club circuit in support of her eighth album, "Gung Ho." The 53-year-old punk poet has been on the road sporadically since the album's March 21 release.

Smith's touring band, which is the same as the recording band for "Gung Ho," features her longtime songwriting collaborator and guitarist Lenny Kaye, as well as guitarist Oliver Ray, bassist Tony Shanahan, and Jay Dee Daugherty on drums.

Though the release of "Gung Ho" was met with critical praise, the album has been a slow seller. After entering the Billboard 200 chart at No. 178 in April, it quickly dropped off of the album chart.

Smith is expected to perform an acoustic set at the annual Medicine Ball in Los Angeles, a benefit for Sweet Relief Musician's Fund, which provides assistance to musicians without medical insurance. (Beck is also expected to play an acoustic set at the invitation-only show.)

A previously unreleased Smith track titled "Black Peter," which she was recording when she heard of the death of the Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia, will appear on a new Grateful Dead tribute album titled "Stolen Roses," tentatively scheduled for an Aug. 1 release.