Maxwell adds dates to first tour since 2002

R&B artist Maxwell has added a few new dates to his highly anticipated comeback tour, which will feature the reclusive singer's first live shows in more than six years.

The run, which kicks off Oct. 8 in Boston, now includes new appearances in Toronto (10/12) and New York City (11/23) since last check, as well as second nights in Oakland, CA (10/28-29); Houston (11/6-7) and Washington, DC (11/17-18). Full details are below.

Maxwell has described the tour in statements to the press as a "pre-party tour celebration" for the forthcoming "Black Summers' Night," a trilogy of studio albums that the artist expects to release over the next three years. The first installment, titled "Black," is due out sometime this year on Columbia, and streaming audio of the first track from the set, "Pretty Wings," can be heard at Maxwell's MySpace page. The following pieces of the trilogy, "Summers'" and "Night," are planned to follow next year and in 2010.

"Maxwell's still working with Sade's band, his tried-and-true team," Columbia exec Kyambo "Hip-Hop" Joshua told Billboard last year. "He took some time off and now he's ready."

The singer's previous album, "Now," has sold more than 1.7 million copies in the US alone, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Maxwell delighted fans in June when he made a surprise appearance during a tribute to Al Green as part of the nationally televised BET Awards program to sing Green's "Simply Beautiful."