Iron & Wine add new dates to winter trek

Singer/songwriter Sam Beam--better known as Iron & Wine--has added several new dates to his upcoming winter tour supporting his new full-length, "The Shepherd's Dog."

The Austin, TX, native's itinerary now includes stops in Boise, ID, and Magna, UT (outside of Salt Lake City), along with a tour-closing Dec. 11 appearance in his hometown. The outing gets underway Nov. 26 in Tucson, AZ, and includes stops in 13-cities. All dates are shown below.

In the meantime, Beam and his eight-piece touring band (which includes percussionists Chad Taylor from The Sea and Cake and Benny Massarella of Califone, former Wilco keyboardist Leroy Bach and Calexico's Paul Niehaus, among others) are preparing for a short trip to the UK and Ireland for a 12-city outing. The full overseas itinerary can be found at Iron & Wine's website.

Beam spent six months recording "The Shepherd's Dog" with longtime producer Brian Deck and engineer Colin Studebaker, working mainly in his home studio in Texas.

"I budgeted three weeks, thinking that I was being real generous," Beam recently told the UK's Independent newspaper, "but songs developed in the recording process into things that were bigger than we imagined."

The singer expanded his instrumental palette on the new album by including help from his sister, Sarah Beam, along with Patrick McKinney and EJ Holowicki. Niehaus and Joey Burns--also from Calexico--also contributed to the recording.

Iron & Wine previously released a pair of EPs in 2005: "Woman King," released in February, and "In the Reins" in September, the latter of which is a joint effort with Calexico.