Lynyrd Skynyrd kicks off a long road trip May 3. The Southern rock legends play amphitheatres and arenas across America. They’ll be on the road at least into July and will meet up with some surprising friends along the way.

Skynyrd meets the Motor City Madman in Canada, where Ted Nugent joins the tour for north of the border dates from May 10 – 18.

Nugent rejoins the tour in June, along with Deep Purple – who will share the stage and the billing with Lynyrd Skynyrd from June 2 through July 8.

It’s been a typically busy year for the Southern men, who toured earlier in the year with 38 Special before taking a short break from the road to record tracks for a new album, a band rep told Pollstar. Once the summer caravan ends, they’ll head back to the studio to wrap up recording.

Deep Purple – known best for its 1970s hit “Smoke On The Water” – is joining the tour to support a DVD release, “Come Hell or High Water,” due out April 16.

The band has seen the likes of Richie Blackmore, Tommy Bolin, David Coverdale, Glenn Hughes, and Joe Satriani come and go through the ranks over the years.

As for Nugent, his time is well taken up with being The Nuge – and that’s a pretty tall order.

According to Nugent Web site, his year is pretty evenly split between touring, hunting, and famously serving on the board of directors of the National Rifle Association and various sportsmen’s organizations.

Recently, he’s been heard on the airwaves hosting his own Detroit radio talk show and he’s written a book, “God, Guns, and Rock ‘n’ Roll.”