The tour sticks to the East Coast, calling on Washington, D.C.’s DAR Constitution Hall for a special two-night engagement. Dates for Alabama, North & South Carolina, New York, Montreal and other North American locales will be scheduled in early 2003.

After taking a couple of years off, Maxwell has made up for lost time. His third album, Now, was released late last summer and hit the charts at No.1.

He started his comeback playing smaller theatres and gradually moved up to larger capacity venues, and introduced newcomer Alicia Keys to concertgoers. The strategy seems to have paid off well; virtually every show sold out.

It’s not just the buying public who are tuned into Maxwell’s hip sounds, though. The singer is up for best male R&B artist at the BET Awards June 25.

Meanwhile, former Maxwell tourmate Keys will light up the States when her headlining tour kicks off July 2. Musiq is rumored to be sharing the spotlight for the outing but that has yet to be confirmed.