He’s bringing singer/actress Schuyler Fisk and her band along for the ride as he barnstorms across North America on the Kung Folk tour, which is sure to pack a trunk of surprises.

The trek kicks off Jan. 27 at the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton, Mass., for the first of 26 dates in just under a month, winding down Feb. 26 at Saint Rocke in Hermosa Beach, Calif.

In between are stops including the Bell House in Brooklyn, N.Y. (Jan, 28); Higher Ground Showcase Room in Burlington, Vt. (Jan. 31); El Mocambo in Toronto (Feb. 3); Martyr’s in Chicago (Feb. 6); Bluebird Theatre in Denver (Feb. 12); Knitting Factory Concert house in Boise, Idaho (Feb. 15); Triple Door in Seattle (Feb. 16); Aladdin Theatre in Portland, Ore. (Feb. 17); McNears Mystic Theatre in Petaluma, Calif. (Feb. 19), The Independent in San Francisco (Feb. 20) and The Troubadour in Los Angeles (Feb. 25).

Taylor brings his musical genes (he is the son of James Taylor and Carly Simon, after all), to bear in his latest, The Legend of Kung Folk on Iris Records. Guests on the disk include Morcheeba vocalist Skye Edwards and U.K. favorite Jamie Cullum and others.

The single “Wicked Way” was chosen as iTunes’ #2 folk track for 2008, according to his publicist.