Tom Petty [ tickets ] and the Heartbreakers will tour the US from June through August, as revealed by initial dates released online Friday (4/9) by Petty's record label, Warner Brothers Records. Petty will play a series of club shows in New York beginning Sunday to showcase material from his new album, Echo, which hits stores this week.

While in New York for his three dates (4/11, 12, 15) at Irving Plaza, Petty will also perform Saturday on Saturday Night Live and Tuesday on The Late Show with David Letterman.

Monday's Irving Plaza show will be webcast as part of the inaugural splash for Warner's official Tom Petty web site (www.tompetty.com), which will launch on Monday.

The tour dates released to date include a brief European tour involving dates in London and Hamburg. Upon returning to the US, Petty's itinerary lists an April 28th stop at the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Petty's publicists were unavailable for comment at press time regarding details about the date.

The main stretch of the tour unveiled at this point places the launch at Grand Rapids' Van Andel Arena, running through 23 markets before settling at Southern California's Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre in mid-August.

In a Boston Globe interview, Petty indicated that he will cap high end ticket prices at $50, saying, ''I don't want to wind up just playing to the elite. I see some people that don't mind that, but I don't think my fans would appreciate it too much.''

In most markets, Petty will likely keep prices to two or three levels, something of a rarity in the current climate in which several price levels are created for most major acts, often ranging from three-digit prices near the stage to bargain prices in the lawn or back rows. Many venues add luxury trappings such as waitress service in the high-end sections.

Petty isn't fond of such arrangements, being that they clash with the populist ethic that has characterised his two-decade career with the Heartbreakers. ''I won't go for golden circle seating,'' Petty tells the Boston Globe, ''I always resisted that and have had huge arguments with promoters about it. I just don't think that one part of the audience ought to be treated better than the other, or served drinks during the show.''

Tickets sales for several markets are expected to go begin next weekend.

Here is the latest, tentative itinerary for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.