Though Great Big Sea [ tickets ] and its founding bassist recently parted ways, the Canadian band is preparing to return to the road for a series of U.S. dates at the end of the month.

Darrell Power, who played bass for the Celtic rockers for a decade, said in a statement that he has "chosen to pursue interests, musical and otherwise, off the road and closer to home for the foreseeable future," adding that "it was an amicable decision and the right one for me at this time."

Founding members Alan Doyle, Bob Hallett and Sean McCann, who hail from the Newfoundland fishing village of Petty Harbor, will enlist an as-yet unnamed replacement bass player for their upcoming tour dates.

According to the group's publicist, Great Big Sea played a 40-city Canadian tour last fall and performed for more than 100,000 people.

The band continues to tour behind its fifth studio album, "Sea of No Cares," which debuted at No. 1 on the Canadian charts last February.

Multi-instrumentalist Hallet, in the band's label biography, describes Great Big Sea as "a really aggressive folk band that marries traditional Celtic music with modern rhythms."