Keller Williams takes band on a 'Live' outing

Following a handful of solo shows this month, Keller Williams will tour with bassist Keith Moseley, guitarist Gibb Droll and drummer Jeff Sipe to support their new album, "Live."

Williams will return to the road Oct. 16 in Tuscon, AZ, and take his one-man band setup through Tempe, AZ; Kent, OH; Columbus, OH; and Las Vegas. He'll join up with Moseley, Droll and Sipe Oct. 25 in Asheville, NC, and then head to the West Coast for 10 more dates with the band. Since last check, Williams has also added a couple of late November gigs with Grunge Grass, which plays bluegrass versions of alternative radio hits of the '90s and features Williams on guitar, Claude Auther on bass and Jay Starling on dobro. The full itinerary is listed below.

Last year, Williams recruited friends Moseley (The String Cheese Incident), Droll (Marc Broussard, Brandi Carlile) and Sipe (Aquarium Rescue Unit, Leftover Salmon) for a few summer shows, including Manchester, TN's Bonnaroo festival.

"It was too good to be true," Williams said in his bio. "I'd been friends with and fans of these guys for so long. This was my dream band."

The excitement behind the summer shows led to a winter '08 tour that is captured on the double album/DVD set "Live," which was released last month. The collection puts a new spin on 17 tracks that span Williams' career, and covers styles from country to bluegrass, jazz and hard rock.

"With group improvisation, you can go so much farther than you can solo," the musician explained. "There's this camaraderie that allows everyone to play more freely."

Williams' latest studio effort, last year's "Dream," features another dream-team of performers including Bela Fleck, John Scofield, Charlie Hunter, Victor Wooten, The String Cheese Incident and Steve Kimock, to name a few. The normally one-man performer, who's been called a "solo cult-hero," also recently released his 12th album, "12," a compilation that looks back at his 20 years of making music.

Though he's having a blast fronting a band, Williams still looks forward to his one-man shows and has already started recording his next solo record, according to his bio. He's also planning a children's album, a remix record and a followup to 2006's "Grass," the critically lauded bluegrass project he recorded with The Keels.

The Virginia native plays more than 100 shows a year, according to his bio. In his one-man show, Williams pads barefoot from guitar to bass to percussion stations, using looping effects.