Widespread Panic [ tickets ] will deliver live performances and a new album to its fans in the coming weeks, beginning with a dozen headlining tour dates that kick off in mid-April. The shows will precede the June release of the group’s new album, “Don’t Tell the Band.”

The May tour dates include a two-day run at New Orleans' annual Jazz & Heritage Festival, and an opening stint during the Dave Matthews Band’s late-May two-night stand in Las Vegas. The jam band is scheduled to play full, 90-minute sets in Vegas, according to its publicist.

After a short break, Widespread Panic will follow the June 19 release of “Don’t Tell the Band” (Sanctuary) with a three-night stand at Colorado’s famed Red Rocks Amphitheatre that begins on June 22. The group is also planning to mark the release of the new album with listening parties in cities throughout the U.S. A fan questionnaire on the group’s official website is being used to gather information that will help the band plan these events.

The first pressing of the “Don’t Tell the Band” CD will include a bonus disc containing 30 minutes of live footage recorded during the group’s stop in its hometown of Athens, Ga., last year, according to a group press release. The band normally allows taping at its shows, but did not do so at this event.

"This was the only occasion we asked the kids not to tape so we could have exclusive music," frontman John Bell explained in the press release. "Fortunately, they were very respectful of that."

“Don’t Tell the Band” is the follow-up to 1999’s “’Til the Medicine Takes.”