County/bluegrass veteran Emmylou Harris [ tickets ] has mapped out a tour schedule for summer and fall as she looks forward to the September release of a five-disc career retrospective.

The singer--who recently completed a stretch at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, will kick off her next chunk of shows July 4 in Franklin, TN, as part of a benefit for a humane shelter in that city. Harris, a passionate animal-rights activist, will be joined by John Hiatt [ tickets ], Kim Carnes [ tickets ] and others during the show.

Harris' schedule is currently scattered across the months leading into October, when she'll play several California venues before hitting the opposite side of the country. The itinerary is included below.

Harris and former Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler released "All the Roadrunning" together last April. The pair spent seven years working on recording bits and pieces one at a time, according to a press release.

"We put it together by stealing a few precious hours of studio time here and there," Knopfler said in the release.

"Songbird: Rare Tracks and Forgotten Gems," set for a Sept. 18 release on the Rhino label, features four CDs and one DVD that look back on Harris' entire career, opening with an unreleased outtake of "Clocks," from her 1969 debut, "Gliding Bird."

The 78-track retrospective, which also includes a DVD that houses nine videos from throughout the performer's career, should retail for around $75.

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