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Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven line up fall dates

David Lowery will spend significant time this fall fronting both of his bands--Cracker and Camper Van Beethoven --with a full schedule of dates running through October.

While most of Lowery's time will be spent with the Campers, who kick off their fall headlining trek Sept. 10 in Las Vegas, Cracker will also make several appearances as the band continues backing last year's "Greenland." The group kicks off a short run Aug. 24 in Racine, WI.

Both bands will come together for the Cracker/Camper family's third annual Campout, a three-day festival that takes place Sept. 6-8 in Pioneertown, CA, near Joshua Tree National Park. In a recent posting at the band's website, Cracker announced that it would perform its breakout 1993 album "Kerosene Hat" in its entirety during its Sept. 8 slot at the event.

Although oriented around CVB and Cracker, the festival features a number of guest performers, including Magnolia Electric Company, Gram Rabbit and The Hackensaw Boys. Performers in previous year's Campouts have included Neko Case and John Doe.

"Greenland," Cracker's seventh studio album, and first since 2003's "Countrysides," hit stores last June on the Cooking Vinyl label.

"This album is the most personal and is the most directly about my life, my own experiences, and those around me,” Lowery said in a press statement at the time of the set's release. “I found myself asking whether I wanted to continue to be a musician and keep writing songs. Those questions were answered by writing this record."

Camper Van Beethoven's "New Roman Times," which hit stores in late 2004, was the band's first album of all-new material since 1989's "Key Lime Pie." The group officially disbanded in 1990, but reunited in 2002 for a national tour, after which it headed back into the studio. Cracker, Lowery's other project, continued as well.