Atlanta hosts the first of Williams’ 25 shows on February 21. He moves on to Jacksonville, Tallahassee and other Southern hot spots before hitting the West Coast.

Often described as a one-man band, Williams will share the stage with only his eight guitars on this outing. Although Tye North of Leftover Salmon and Dave Watts of The Motet appear as his backing band on Laugh, they’re not accompanying him on this trip.

Williams spent 2001 on the road non-stop. Toward the latter half of the year, he signed on with the So Many Roads tour, joining Rat Dog, Rusted Root and DJ Logic.

After that, he co-headlined several shows with jazz guitarist Charlie Hunter, playing solo gigs in between tour dates all the while.

Previous years saw Williams touring extensively with The String Cheese Incident as well as performing with Ani DiFranco, David Grisman and Bela Fleck. He generally logs more than 200 shows each year.

Fans wanting to take home more than a tour t-shirt will get their chance to place a bid for one of Williams’ guitars. He’s auctioning off his Seagull 12-string with proceeds going to benefit Leftover Salmon and Mark Vann, who was recently diagnosed with skin cancer. Check out Williams’ official Web site at www.kellerwilliams.net for more details on how to bid.

Incidentally, the guitar is “not really good for live performance use, but it is a wonderful wood-grained guitar that is perfect for learning on or hanging on a wall,” according to Williams, who will also sign and personalize the instrument for the winner. Just before his tour begins, Williams will be soaking up the rays at the Royal Lahaina Resort on Maui, Hawaii, where he performs on February 15.