Starting September 22 in Dallas, they’ll rock the South before heading up the East Coast and out to the rest of the country. The itinerary is mostly theatres, with double dates booked in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., and Boulder, Colo.

They’ll stay on the road through November 1, when they finish with a gig at Anaheim, Calif.’s House of Blues.

So what’s the band been up to since last year? Recording a new album, of course. ¡Bastardos!, the group’s eighth album, is due September 13 and was recorded with the prolific Jay Bennett.

According to the band, the new disc reflects the “new life” that keyboardist Ben Wilson and bassist Tad Kinchla have given the band since joining after original bassist Bobby Sheehan’s death in 1999.

“When Tad and Ben joined the band, there was already a certain dynamic in place between John (Popper), Brendan (Hill) and I, and they were respectful of that,” guitarist Chan Kinchla – Tad’s brother – said.

“They didn’t feel comfortable asserting themselves. But now we’ve all found our places in the sonic mix, and emotionally. It’s us as a band for the first time since Bobby’s death,” Kinchla said.

“I think this is us,” Wilson added. “It’s no more new guys: This is Blues Traveler. That’s the serious side, and on the fun side, it’s like, ‘Well, god dammit, we go out, we rock out every night, so let’s have an album that rocks out.'”

The band played a couple July shows this summer, including a gig at Denver’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre with The Wallflowers, but hasn’t toured since summer 2004.