Jay Brannan goes under 'Cover' on summer trek

Singer/songwriter Jay Brannan will hit the road this summer to support his second studio album, "In Living Cover."

The Houston native--who also moonlights as an actor, appearing most notably in John Cameron Mitchell's 2006 film "Shortbus"--kicks off the outing July 8 in his current hometown of New York City. The 15-city trek covers the remainder of July, after which Brannan heads overseas for a slate of European shows. North American dates are below; Brannan's international dates can be found at his website>/a>.

"In Living Cover" is due in stores July 7 on the Nettwerk label. The nine-track set features seven covers--including Joni Mitchell’s "All I Want," The Cranberries' "Zombie" and Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind"--along with a pair of originals.

"Expressing myself through my songs is one of the main reasons I write music, so singing other people's words felt a little fraudulent or 'uncool,'" he said in his bio. "Over time, I learned to appreciate songs that speak to me, whether I like the melody or think the lyrics are funny or ironic ... or if it's a song that meant something to me at a certain point in my life or has a personal story behind it.

"The covers on this album are ones that I chose for those reasons. I started performing them on YouTube and at my live shows. People continued to ask for them in properly recorded form, so I decided it was time to put this album together ... not just of covers, but of covers that have become a part of what my audience might consider my 'repertoire.'"

Brannan released his full-length debut, "Goddamned," last year.