Amos will kick off nearly three months of shows October 9 at the Palace Theatre in Albany, N.Y. Stops on the first part of the trek include a pair of dates at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City (October 11-12), the Orpheum Theatre in Boston (October 18), Hummingbird Centre in Toronto, O.N. (October 23), and the Fox Theatre in Detroit (October 27).

A second set of shows in November and December brings the total to almost 50.

Highlights of the latter half of the tour include The Murat Theater in Indianapolis (November 2), Auditorium Theatre in Chicago (November 5), Andrew Jackson Hall in Nashville (November 12), the Fox Theatre in Atlanta (November 14), the Nokia Theatre near Dallas (November 24), Austin Music Hall in Texas (November 26), Wells Fargo Theatre in Denver (November 28), the E Center near Salt Lake City (November 29), the Paramount Theatre in Seattle (December 5), the Paramount Theatre near San Francisco (December 7), and the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles (December 16).

Posse, which is Amos’ ninth album, introduces the world to the five distinct characters – Isabel, Clyde, Pip, Santa and Tori – the singer said combine to make a complete whole.

She said that while looking back at her work, she realized each personality has surfaced in the past, which accounts for previous albums tackling a single theme.

“I was exploring one personality at a time,” Amos said. “So if you look at all the records, I was exploring these character traits, these feminine personality traits, usually in a sonic narrative form. And together they make the complete woman.”

Amos said this revelation has allowed her to put the pieces together for the first time.

“For many years I have been an image that isn’t necessarily who I am completely,” she said. “I have made certain choices and that doesn’t mean that those choices are the whole story. I think that these women are showing me that I have not explored honest extensions of the self who are now as real as the redhead.”

Each character has her own blog on Amos’ web site, and will make appearances on stage, complete with her own look, on tour.

“You’ll get to know the girls through the photographs, through the songs, and there needs to be writings,” she said. “Their relationships get more complicated. I love the idea of this multimedia project being improvisational.

“Improv in front of a mass audience…this allows the five women to explore and develop as opposed to them being restrained and contained in a portraiture medium. This way they learn and grow in front of everybody’s eyes.”