Singer/songwriter/guitarist Ani DiFranco [ tickets ] just finished her first run of shows for 2008, but she'll be back on the road later this month with a newly expanded tour itinerary.

The self-described "Little Folksinger" will start with a makeup date Feb. 28 in Concord, NH, and then stick to the eastern US through mid-March--including a performance at Florida's Langerado Music Festival. DiFranco will skip over to the western US and British Columbia in April, and she also has Colorado's Telluride Bluegrass Festival slotted in for June, as well as a makeup date in Asbury Park, NJ, in July.

The Grammy-nominated performer will be backed by her usual crew--Todd Sickafoose on upright bass and Allison Miller on drums--plus special guests Over the Rhine, who will appear through mid-March. Dates are listed below.

DiFranco returned to the road last fall following the January 2007 birth of her first child. During her time off, she put together the material for her first career retrospective, "Canon," which surfaced in September.

The fiercely independent singer hand-selected 36 songs for the two-disc set, delving into material from her 1990 debut to 2006's "Reprieve." "Canon" also includes five re-recorded tracks of old DiFranco favorites, including "Both Hands," which is streaming at her MySpace page.

In conjunction with the best-of collection, DiFranco also released "Verses," her first book of poems and original artwork published in the US.

DiFranco, known for her outspoken, humorous, intimate shows, has built her career through relentless grassroots touring and a DIY ethic that has not wavered in 17 years. Her 20 albums on her own Righteous Babe Records label have sold more than 4 million copies without radio play or marketing campaigns, according to her bio. The label is also home to about a dozen other genre-bending artists.