The approach of B.B. King [ tickets ]'s 80th birthday--a milestone that the blues legend will celebrate Sept. 16--won't keep him from maintaining a rigorous tour schedule.

King wraps up a North American spring jaunt in the coming days, which he'll follow with appearances at the June 10-12 Mississippi Homecoming festivals in Indianola and Pickins. From there, he'll head overseas for nearly a month of European shows.

He'll return to Mississippi to headline a July 30 benefit concert at Biloxi's Mississippi Gulf Coast Coliseum, which will raise money for the planned B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center, set to be built in Indianola. Deborah Coleman, Bobby Blue Bland, Smokin' Joe Kubek, Jody Williams and Dickey Betts are also scheduled to perform.

Besides honoring King's legacy, the $10 million museum also aims to "preserve the Delta blues heritage and encourage and inspire young artists and musicians," according to a press release.

This summer, King will again roll out his annual B.B. King Blues Festival, a tour that will also feature Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Joe Bonamassa. Details are below.

During his 60-plus-year recording career, King--who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987--has released well over 50 albums.

His latest album of new material, "Reflections," hit stores in 2003. The set includes his renditions of three songs previously recorded by Louis Armstrong, as well as songs that have been recorded by Nat King Cole, Sam Cooke, Frank Sinatra, Willie Nelson and others.

In March, the best-of set "The Ultimate Collection" hit stores, featuring 21 tracks King originally released between 1951 and 2000.