Guitar legend Eric Clapton [ tickets ] has rolled out the initial leg of a North American tour that gets underway in the fall, and will come on the heels of a 14-country, sold-out European tour.

The North American outing's first leg--which will feature The Robert Cray [ tickets ] Band in the opening slot--kicks off in mid-September and is scheduled to touch down in 18 US cities and two Canadian cities by late October. Two-night stands are lined up at New York City's Madison Square Garden and Connecticut's Mohegan Sun Casino. The itinerary is included below.

Backing Clapton on stage are guitarists Doyle Bramhall II and Derek Trucks; keyboardists Chris Stainton and Tim Carmon; bassist Willie Weeks; drummer Steve Jordan; Simon Clarke, Roddy Lorimer and Tim Sanders--a.k.a. The Kick Horns--on brass; and backing vocals by Michelle John and Sharon White.

Clapton is already in the midst of his Euro trek, which launched earlier this month. His setlist has featured rarely played Derek and the Dominos cuts "Got to Get Better in a Little While," "Layla" and "Let It Rain," as well as solo hits such as "Pretending," "I Shot the Sheriff" and "Cocaine," and selections from his most recent studio set, last year's "Back Home," according to a press release.

The European tour is scheduled to wrap up with an Aug. 3 performance in Moscow's Red Square, which will be his first concert at that location. More information about the Euro outing is posted at Clapton's website.

Last year, Clapton reunited with his former Cream bandmates--drummer Ginger Baker and bassist Jack Bruce--for a handful of shows in the US and UK. The reunion shows yielded "Cream - Royal Albert Hall," a live DVD issued last October that documents the band's four-night stand at the famous London venue last May.

Random House is scheduled to publish a Clapton memoir in 2007, coinciding with the release of a comprehensive Clapton box set.