Bob Weir [ tickets ]'s Ratdog [ tickets ] will kick off a month-long set of dates at Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium on March 28. The group's itinerary, which includes a stop at the Three Rivers Festival in Columbia, S.C., will visit several small markets.

Ticket on-sale information for the tour wasn't available at press time.

Ratdog's CD "Evening Moods" hit stores Sept. 26, marking the first official album release from the band. One of Weir's collaborators on the disc was Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, according to Grateful Dead Productions.

Weir's former Grateful Dead bandmate Phil Lesh [ tickets ] has set a mini-tour of his own, hitting the Fillmore in Denver (Feb. 9-10), the Roseland Theater in Portland (Feb. 12-13), and the Maritime Hall in San Francisco (Feb. 15-18). The Roseland shows are already sold out.

Lesh--who underwent a liver transplant in December of 1998--is also using his tour as a way to continue his blood drive. He'll make an appearance from 12-3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10, at Bonfil's Blood Center in Denver. All blood donors will receive a signed poster.