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Old 97's feel pull of 'Gravity' for headlining trek

Veteran indie rockers the Old 97's will hit the road just before summer for a headlining jaunt behind their first studio album in four years, "Blame It On Gravity."

The Dallas alt-country outfit kicks off the trek May 30 in Houston, with 16 dates planned for the first leg of support for the new disc. Details of the outing are below.

"Blame It On Gravity," the band's seventh album, is the 97's follow-up to 2004's "Drag It Up." The band has released a live album and a best-of collection in the intervening years, along with a live DVD, as well as appearing prominently in the movie "The Breakup." The first single from the new album, due in stores May 13, is streaming at the band's MySpace page.

Through April 9, fans can go to the band's label website and sign up to receive a digital download of the band performing the song "My Two Feet" live at the group's end-of-recording-session party in Dallas earlier this year.

Vocalist/guitarist Rhett Miller, lead guitarist Ken Bethea, bassist/vocalist Murry Hammond and drummer Philip Peeples formed the Old 97's in 1993. In addition to the work with the band, Miller has since released two solo albums, 2002's "The Instigator" and 2006's "The Believer," in the process becoming a popular solo draw in his own right.