Lucinda Williams spreads a 'Little Honey'

Lucinda Williams returns to the US in late August for a stretch of dates that will extend into the early fall in support of her latest release, last year's "Little Honey."

The album found its way onto many critics' "best of" lists at year's end, and reunited Williams with Elvis Costello for the track "Jailhouse Tears," Costello's return of the favor for Williams' high-wattage turn on "There's a Story in Your Voice," a standout duet on Costello's 2004 collection "The Delivery Man."

The likelihood of a live rendition of one or both songs seems high at the first stop on the new leg, as Williams will be sharing the bill with Costello at Los Angeles' Greek Theatre.

Williams is spending much of the summer in Europe, but before heading abroad, she did a spring run in the US, during which she made her own mark on the debate over ticket pricing and charges with an announcement that she would be discounting tour merchandise during her tour to offset charges added to tickets.

"I cannot, in good conscience, sit back and watch my fans get blatantly gouged." said Williams in a statement on her website. "As an attempt to offset these fees, we are going to offer a standing credit at our merchandise table to everyone attending our upcoming US shows in 2009."

Per Williams' website, a credit of $7 on clothing and $5 on CDs purchased either at her concert merchandise tables or through her online store through July 31 will be applied to anyone who purchased a ticket to a recent show.