Hot on the heels of the release of their first album in 20 years, venerable country/folk institution The Knitters [ tickets ] are whipping up a slew of dates over the next two months to celebrate their reemergence from the shadows of time.

Comprised of three-fourths of the original lineup of X (Exene Cervenka, John Doe and D.J. Bonebrake), guitarist Dave Alvin from The Blasters and bassist Jonny Ray Bartel, The Knitters first took shape in with their 1985 debut "Poor Little Critter in the Road".

Originally a somewhat tongue-in-cheek side project as members of the group worked and toured with their other, more "serious" bands, The Knitters grew over the years into a permanent unit that has continued to play live frequently, if not consistently, over the past two decades.

Their new album, "The Modern Sounds of The Knitters," picks up where the first left off, offering up a fresh helping of their distinctive, acoustic-driven interpretations of American roots music classics, covering songs by Flatt & Scruggs and Porter Waggoner, among others, as well as providing fresh takes on old X favorites like "Burning House of Love" and "In This House That I Call Home."

"We figured some people might know those songs from our 'electric period,'" Doe joked in a press release, "but we wanted to go back and re-cut them so that you could hear what they sounded like when we originally wrote them--just simple songs that tell a story."

The Knitters begin their tour on July 19 at San Francisco's Great American Music Hall, the first of 25 dates that will see them travel through most of the country, ending up in Austin, TX in late August.