AIC's 10 scheduled "Acoustic Hour" shows begin Sept. 29 in Austin, TX, and mostly fall on the late-October side of the calendar, following the arena tour. All of the band's upcoming dates are shown below.

The trek with Velvet Revolver kicked off last weekend in San Diego, and will eventually hit 15 cities.

The shows will feature the same Alice in Chains lineup that briefly toured nightclubs last fall: Jerry Cantrell (guitar/vocals), Sean Kinney (drums) and Mike Inez (bass), all of whom were members of the band's previous active period in the '90s, along with new lead vocalist William Duvall of Atlanta rock trio Comes With the Fall, who has replaced the late Layne Staley.

Original Alice in Chains frontman Staley died of a drug overdose in 2002; Inez joined the band in 1993, replacing original bassist Mike Starr.

According to an April posting at the band's website, Alice in Chains is working on material for a new studio album and is targeting a preliminary release date late this year or early in 2008. The planned set would be the band's first new studio release since its self-titled 1995 LP.

Alice in Chains formed in Seattle during the late '80s, and released their debut album, "Facelift," in 1990. The disc spawned the group's breakthrough hit, "Man in the Box," and secured the band's place in the pantheon of early '90s Seattle-based acts--which also included Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden--credited with ushering in the grunge scene.