Steve Earle Returns With New Album, Tour

Alternative country stalwart Steve Earle, whose latest album "Transcendental Blues" arrived in stores on Tuesday (6/6), will tour North America in support of the release in July and August. More than a dozen dates have been confirmed, and more shows are expected.

"Transcendental Blues" is one of Earle's more diverse recordings. Besides his trademark rock/country/folk style, the new album also delves liberally into psychedelia and beyond. Earle picked up a Grammy nomination for his 1999 bluegrass collaboration with the Del McCoury Band, and the "Transcendental Blues" track "Until I Die" features bluegrass bandleader Tim O'Brien.

A longtime anti-death penalty activist, Earle is also scheduled to perform on June 30 at the 7th Annual Fast & Vigil to Abolish the Death Penalty, which takes place on the sidewalk in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Steve Earle and Sheryl Crow recorded a duet of the Chambers Brothers' "Time Has Come Today" which will appear on the official soundtrack from "Steal This Movie," a film about '60s counterculture guru Abbie Hoffman due for release in July.