Master lyricists Jim Lauderdale and Robert Hunter have united, once again, to release 'Reason and Rhyme,' the follow-up to their critically-acclaimed 2010 project, 'Patchwork River.'

"This one's back to total bluegrass," Jim explains of the new album, released this week. "We started on this one last August. This time around, we wanted to keep the momentum from 'Patchwork River' going. I started sending him melodies, and ten days later we had 18 songs to choose from."

With a partnership much like the legendary creative union between Elton John and Bernie Taupin, Robert's gift of crafting poetic lyrics combined with Jim's ear for strong melodies has thrived since the two musicians first joined forces in 2004 on their collaborative debut, 'Headed for the Hills.'

"I have worked just about every way you can think of -- writing in the same room, adding lyrics to music and music to lyric, but whichever way we go, he's the lyric guy and I'm the music guy."

The end result is 'Reason and Rhyme,' a dynamic 11-song collection that recalls Jim's childhood admiration for bluegrass music. The singer-songwriter has embarked on a cross-country tour to promote the project, with the first show tonight (June 22) at Nashville's Music City Roots. Click here to purchase tickets.

Jim Lauderdale 2011 Tour Dates

June 22 - Nashville, Tenn. - Music City Roots

June 24 - Nashville, Tenn. - Station Inn

June 27 - New York, N.Y. - The Living Room

July 22 - Trumansburg, N.Y. - Grassroots Festival

July 24 - Washington, D.C. - Hill Country

July 26 - Abindgon, Va. - Virginia Highlands Community College

August 6 - Casper, Wyo. - Beartrap Summer Festival

August 8 - Helena, Mont. - Myrna Loy Center

August 10 - Boise, Idaho - Alive After Five

August 11 - Snowmass Village, Colo. Jazz Aspen Snowmass Summer Series

August 13 - Alta, Wyo. - Targhee Music Festival

September 6 - Woodlands, Texas - Real Life - Real Music @ Dosey Doe

September 17 - Bristol, Tenn. - Bristol's Rhythm and Roots Reunion

October 6 - Richmond, Va. - Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden

October 7 - Asheville, N.C. - The Orange Peel (with the Blind Boys of Alabama)

October 13 - Nashville Tenn. - Americana Music Conference

October 21 - North Bethesda, Md. - Strathmore

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