The new shows commence Thanksgiving weekend and continue through mid-December. In all, the tour will find Mellencamp performing in 18 states at 24 venues.

As with the tour’s first leg, East Los Angeles legends Los Loboswill join Mellencamp on the bill for the new dates.

Collaborations between Los Lobos and the Mellencamp band have been eagerly anticipated by fans since initial news of the tour broke several weeks ago.

Mellencamp noted, “These shows are all about the music and the songs, that’sthe essence of what we’ll be bringing. The bands and I are really lookingforward to getting out there and performing some new songs and, of course, alot that are familiar to everybody. It’ll be a fantastic experience for theaudience and all of us.”

The Mellencamp band is currently rehearsing in Bloomington, Ind., but they get a short break this weekend when their frontman joins T Bone Burnett for a guest set at the annual Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in Golden Gate Park Burnett. The Friday afternoonset will also feature Texas guitar slinger Doyle Bramhall II.