Alt-country maverick Steve Earle [ tickets ] merges his music and activism into a fall tour and weekly radio show, all keyed to the recent release of his latest studio collection, "The Revolution Starts ... Now."

"Revolution" continues a prolific release schedule for Earle, coming on the heels of 2002's "Jerusalem," the 2002 outtakes package "Sidetracks" and 2003's double-live CD and DVD "Just an American Boy."

Earle has frequented cable and radio talk-show guest chairs since the release of the politically-charged "Jerusalem," and, in particular, "John Walker's Blues," his lyrical first-person treatment of what the world may have looked like through the eyes of John Walker Lindh. Lindh, the so-called "American Taliban," pleaded guilty in 2002 to supplying services to the Taliban during the post-9/11 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, drawing a 20-year prison sentence.

In "Revolution," Earle continues his decidedly liberal political focus, and expands his platform from the live stage to the radio studio. In August, Earle began hosting a weekly, hour-long,Sunday-night show on the Air America network, also called "The Revolution Starts ... Now."

Earle's tour activity behind "Revolution" got a head start with his participation Saturday (9/18) in Farm Aid's 19th almost-annual gathering at the White River Amphitheatre near Seattle. The show featured its standard lineup of Farm Aid founders Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp and Neil Young, along with guests that included Earle, Dave Matthews Band, Lucinda Williams, Trick Pony and Jerry Lee Lewis.

Earle and his band, The Dukes, will drop in to the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival in San Francisco on Oct. 2-3 (performing as Steve Earle and the Bluegrass Dukes for the occasion), where they'll join the like of Emmylou Harris, John Prine, Nick Lowe, Ollabelle and Gillian Welch. From there, the tour moves on to clubs and theatres through October, before heading to Europe for November and December.