Country-folk troubadour Steve Earle [ tickets ] opens a month-long round of North American tour dates in October, and has begun to pencil in some 2004 dates as well.

Before he hits the road, though, Artemis Records will release a two-disc live set titled "Just An American Boy, The Audio Documentary." The album, due on Sept. 29, is the companion piece to the forthcoming DVD "Just An American Boy," an Amos Poe documentary covering the period after the release of Earle's controversial 2002 track "John Walker Blues." A release date for the DVD hasn't been announced.

"John Walker Blues"--a track from Earle's "Jerusalem" album--was written from the perspective of so-called "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh, and explores how Lindh may have ended up in Afghanistan.

The live album, which features 18 songs as well as a number of Earle's on-stage monologues, was recorded earlier this year, primarily in Bloomington, IN, and Toronto.

"Jerusalem" hit stores in 2002, and was nominated for this year's GRAMMY^® award in the Best Contemporary Folk Album category. (Nickel Creek's "This Side" ended up winning the prize.)

On Tuesday (8/19), Universal will issue "The Best of Steve Earle," part of the label's 20th Century/The Millennium Collection series. The set culls 14 tracks from Earle's first three MCA albums.