Huey Lewis [ tickets ] and the News will be performing throughout the U.S. this summer, and are planning to release their first new album of original material in ten years. The group’s tour begins in early July.

In addition to its upcoming summer jaunt--which will primarily hit medium-sized outdoor venues--the band has a performance scheduled at the Wichita River Festival in Kansas on Friday night (5/18).

Lewis and the News are also slated to appear on the ABC television program “Live with Regis & Kelly” on July 20.

The group’s current lineup features Lewis backed by original members Johnny Colla (guitar, sax), Bill Gibson (drums), and Sean Hopper (keyboards), as well as longtime member John Pierce (bass) and recent addition Stef Burns (guitar). Lewis’ horn section--known as the News Brothers--consists of Marvin McFadden (trumpet), Rob Sudduth (sax) and Ron Stallings (sax).

Pierce replaced original bassist Mario Cipollina--who has moved on to other projects--in the mid-‘90s. Burns began filling in for original guitarist Chris Hayes--who is now retired--during Lewis’ 2000 tour. Hayes, however, did play guitar on the group’s forthcoming album, and will be performing with the band on Friday night (5/18), and again from July 2-4, according to the group's management.

The forthcoming album is titled “Plan B,” and it is the band's first album of original studio material since 1991’s “Hard at Play.” The group is shooting for a July release date, according to a spokesperson.

The group’s latest release is 1996’s “Time Flies: The Best of Huey Lewis and the News.” “Four Chords & Several Years ago”--a collection of covers--surfaced in 1994.

Last year, Lewis co-starred in the film “Duets” with actress Gwyneth Paltrow. The soundtrack featured the pair’s rendition of Smokey Robinson’s “Cruisin’,” which reached the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary singles chart.

“Sports,” Huey Lewis and the News’ 1983 album, remains the group’s most commercially successful release to date. The album--which features the Top 10 hits “I Want a New Drug,” “The Heart of Rock & Roll,” “If This Is It” and “Heart and Soul”--has been certified seven-times platinum, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.