Bob Weir's Ratdog plots spring tour dates

Bob Weir & Ratdog have announced dates for a spring tour that includes three nights at New York City's Beacon Theatre and a two-day run at Florida's Wanee Festival.

The Grateful Dead co-founder and his band--now back to full strength with the return of guitarist Mark Karan, who sat out the group's summer tour last year to be treated for throat cancer--kicks things off March 21 in St. Paul, MN.

The 10-city outing ends in April with back-to-back shows at the Wanee Festival in Live Oak, FL. The roster of talent for the jam band-oriented event also includes The Allman Brothers Band, Gov't Mule, moe. and several other acts. Ratdog's full spring itinerary is included below.

Earlier this week, Weir and Karan joined with Dead emeritus Phil Lesh and Mickey Hart, along with members of Lesh's Friends, for a pre-Super Tuesday reunion concert in San Francisco in support of Barack Obama. It was the first time the three former Dead members have performed together since 2004.

Ratdog hasn't released a studio album since 2000's "Evening Moods." That was followed a year later by the double-CD "Live at Roseland."

The band, co-founded by former Grateful Dead guitarist Weir in the mid-'90s, performs a large repertoire of songs including Dead tunes, covers and originals.