The UK-based artist, who finished a European tour earlier this month, will wrap a run of North American festival shows this weekend with appearances at the Austin City Limits Festival in Austin, TX, and San Francisco's Treasure Island Music Festival. She'll then spend a couple of weeks in Australia and Japan before kicking off her US tour with a two-night stand Oct. 18-19 in New York City.

In addition to headlining clubs and theaters across the country, M.I.A. will be on hand for New Orleans' Voodoo Music Experience and Las Vegas' Vegoose Festival. US tour details are listed below; overseas dates can be found at M.I.A.'s website.

The singer is supporting her sophomore album, "Kala," which, upon its release last month, reached No. 18 on The Billboard 200, topped the magazine's Top Electronic Albums chart and hit No. 8 on the Top Rap Albums chart. The lead single, "Boyz," is streaming at M.I.A.'s MySpace page.

"Kala" gets its international flavor from writing and recording sessions that took place in India, Jamaica, Trinidad, Australia, London, New York and Baltimore. Production help came from Switch and Diplo, and guest artists include Nigerian rapper Afrikan Boy, a group of Aborigine adolescents called The Wilcannia Mob and Timbaland.

The new record follows M.I.A.'s 2005 debut, "Arular," which was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. That set found the performer, who is the daughter of Sri Lankan refugees, rapping about politics and her early life split between her war-torn country and London's council estates.