Kenny Wayne Shepherd lines up more tour dates

With his first album in five years now in stores, blues/rock guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd has greatly expanded his fall tour plans.

Shepherd, who last month unveiled a dozen October and November concerts, has extended the itinerary into December. An Oct. 15 kick-off in Shepherd's home state of Louisiana remains intact, and things currently wrap up with a two-night stand at Chicago's House of Blues on Dec. 13-14. The full itinerary is shown below.

On Tuesday (10/5), Shepherd released "The Place You're In," the follow-up to 1999's "Live On." The new album is the first to see Shepherd--best known to date for his guitar prowess--handling lead vocals.

"I suddenly saw myself up on stage, fronting the band, singing and playing guitar," Shepherd said in a statement. "I finally locked in on how those two elements can work off each other. All of a sudden, I understood how making the songs my own as a vocalist would give so much more passion to my guitar playing and vice versa. From that moment, I knew I had to take the chance and give it everything I've got."

Despite his new role, Shepherd said that Noah Hunt--who sang lead on Shepherd's previous two albums--will continue to be a part of Shepherd's core group. Hunt co-wrote a song on the new album and sings on two cuts.

In addition to his turn on lead vocals, "The Place You're In" also finds Shepherd making a stylistic shift from blues-heavy tunes to more rock-oriented works.

"Although I established myself in the blues, my music has always had rock elements," he said. "When I started writing for this album, I just went where the songs led me and found myself opening up to another side of my music."

Four cuts from "The Place You're In," including the title-track, are streaming at Shepherd's website.

Shepherd's backing band features Jimmy Wallace (keyboards), Shaun Hague (rhythm guitar), Michael Devin (bass guitar) and Bogie Bowles (drums).