Steve Earle [ tickets ], who opens a two-week tour of the U.K. at the end of March, begins a new round of North American tour dates in late April.

The country maverick continues to support his critically acclaimed 2002 album, "Jerusalem," which was nominated for this year's GRAMMY award in the Best Contemporary Folk Album category. (Nickel Creek's "This Side" ended up winning the award.)

Even before its release, Earle's sixth album in six years garnered much negative attention on conservative talk-shows for its track "John Walker's Blues," which was written from the perspective of so-called American Taliban John Walker Lindh, and explores how Lindh may have ended up in Afghanistan.

"Fundamentalism, as practiced by the Taliban, is the enemy of real thought, and religion too," Earle said in a statement. "But there are circumstances."

In the end, the controversy died down and "Jerusalem" appeared on many critics' 2002 Top 10 lists. The album entered the Billboard 200 album chart at No. 59--his highest debut ever--and debuted on the Country chart at No. 7.

Earle is featured on "I'll Change for You," a track on Rosanne Cash's forthcoming album "Rules Of Travel," which is set for release on March 25.