John Mellencamp [ tickets ], who completed a major tour of the US last month, is getting ready to take his band to Canada for a dozen dates.

The outing is set to kick off Feb. 1 in Montreal and travel across the provinces of Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia through Feb. 19. Canada's own Tom Cochrane & Red Rider will open the shows, which are listed below.

"We're very excited about playing these dates with Tom for our friends across Canada," Mellencamp said in statement, adding that his camp has incorporated some interesting innovations in terms of staging and lighting. "But, of course, what's most important, the essence of these shows, is the music and the songs."

Some of those songs will be previews from Mellencamp's 22nd career album, "Life, Death, Love and Freedom." The roots-rocker has been in his Indiana studio with Grammy-winning producer T Bone Burnett working on the set, which doesn't have a drop date as of yet. However, the first single, "Jena," was released in October in response to the racially charged situation in that Louisiana town.

"The story is not, strictly speaking, about the town of Jena or this specific incident but of racism in America," Mellencamp said in a statement. "The song was not written as an indictment of the people of Jena but, rather, as a condemnation of racism, a problem which I've reflected in many songs, a problem that still plagues our country today."

The tune is streaming at Mellencamp's MySpace page.

His forthcoming album will follow the musician's January '07 release, "Freedom's Road," which bowed at No. 5 on The Billboard 200, earning him his highest debut ever. The set spawned crossover hits "The Americans" and "Our Country," the latter of which is currently up for a Grammy in the "Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance" category.

In the spring, Mellencamp will officially be inducted into the Rock and Roll of Fame alongside 2008 class members Madonna, The Ventures, Leonard Cohen and The Dave Clark Five.