British singer, songwriter and producer Nick Lowe [ tickets ] heads to the North America in September for a month-long round of acoustic shows.

Lowe and keyboardist/accordionist Geraint Watkins [ tickets ] will perform as a duo during the outing, with Watkins also serving as the opening act on most dates.

Lowe's professional music career dates back to the late '60s, when he was traversing the London pub-rock scene with Kippington Lodge and Brinsley Schwartz, two groups that failed to break big. Lowe focused on producing in the mid-'70s, and also co-founded Stiff Records, which became home to Elvis Costello, The Damned, and Ian Dury and The Blockheads, among many others.

In 1980, Lowe scored his lone American hit as a solo artist with "Cruel to be Kind," which was a revamped version of a Brinsley Schwartz song.

Lowe's most recent release was "The Convincer," the last album in a trilogy of "mood pieces" that began with 1993's "The Impossible Bird" and was followed with 1998's "Dig My Moon."

Watkins--who has toured and recorded with Paul McCartney, Van Morrison and Mark Knopfler, among others--issued his U.S. solo debut album, "Dial W for Watkins," earlier this week.