Singer/songwriter/guitarist Ani DiFranco [ tickets ] has a busy day in store tomorrow (9/11), as she releases a new album and a book of poetry, and kicks off tours of North America and Europe.

The self-described Little Folksinger will begin with her first-ever concerts at Buffalo, NY's Asbury Hall at Babeville, the headquarters of her own Righteous Babe Records. The Tuesday and Wednesday performances (9/11-9/12) will celebrate the renaming of the building, which was previously known as The Church.

DiFranco will then travel across the eastern half of the US this month and head for Europe next month. In November, she'll hit Toronto for two nights and then make her way along the East Coast until her Nov. 17-18 finale in New York City.

Bassist Todd Sickafoose and drummer Allison Miller will round out DiFranco's band on the road. This month, Mike Dillon will also join in on percussion and vibes. Singer/songwriter Melissa Ferrick will open the majority of the shows.

DiFranco is returning to the live performance arena following the birth of her daughter in January. North American dates are listed below while overseas concerts can be found at Righteous Babe's website.

DiFranco's new album, "Canon," is her first-ever career retrospective. She hand-selected 36 songs for the two-disc set, which covers material from her 1990 debut to her 19th album, last year's "Reprieve." "Canon" also includes five re-recorded tracks of old DiFranco favorites, including "Both Hands," which is streaming at her MySpace page.

The Grammy-nominated performer's artistry is also captured in "Verses," her first book of poems and original artwork published in the US.

DiFranco, known for her outspoken, humorous, intimate shows, has built her career through relentless grassroots touring and a DIY ethic that has not wavered in 17 years. Her Righteous Babe Records label is home to her music and that of about a dozen other genre-bending artists.

The label moved its headquarters into the Babeville building last year. DiFranco and her manager, Scot Fisher, saved the former Methodist church from the wrecking ball in the late '90s, according to a press release. Righteous Babe moved in following a $10 million renovation.

"I like that it's got kind of a humorously antiquated vibe to it," DiFranco said in a statement, "like Storyville or Pleasantville, all the Whos down in Whoville, and that it connotes a village, which is appropriate for a facility which houses a diverse but inter-related arts community."