The band will hit colleges throughout the eastern half of the U.S. on the new trek, which starts August 27, a few days before they play Seattle’s Bumbershoot Festival. Dashboard Confessional fans aren’t really used to waiting this long. Chris Carrabba and his collaborators often tour through most of the year, but they’ve been focusing more on the studio lately.

Carrabba and the guys – bassist Scott Shoenbeck, guitarist John Lefler and drummer Mike Marsh – hunkered down this May with legendary producer Daniel Lanois (Bob Dylan, U2) and recorded a new Dashboard album, set for release in early 2006.

The band currently has dates through October 17, when they play East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania. The itinerary also includes gigs at New York’s University of Rochester, the University of Georgia in Athens, and Bowling Green State University in Ohio.

Dashboard’s last tour, with Thrice and The Get Up Kids supporting, ended in July 2004. On that two-month trek, they regularly sold out large venues like Pittsburgh’s 5,000-capacity Chevrolet Amphitheatre and the 6,861-seat Paul E. Tsongas Arena in Lowell, Mass.

According to Dashboard’s official Web site, the group “has gone through great effort to make tickets available without a service charge or at a reduced rate.” Surcharge-free tickets for this year’s outing can be found in most cities at the venue box office or other designated outlets.