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Jack's Mannequin shuffles spring tour calendar

Alt-rockers Jack's Mannequin have rescheduled their upcoming spring US tour to pave the way for a summer support role with The Fray .

The band, led by pianist/vocalist/songwriter Andrew McMahon, has tossed out the initial set of dates it issued earlier this year for the outing, and now kicks off the headlining run April 7 in San Francisco. The revised schedule shows 16 dates in April and May, with more cities and venues planned.

In June, the band will set out on the road again, this time to offer opening support on The Fray's summer trek, which gets underway June 12 in Atlanta and runs through early August. Current dates for both outings are included below.

"The Glass Passenger," which surfaced in September, reached No. 8 on The Billboard 200 chart, paced by lead single "The Resolution," which worked its way into the Top 30 at modern-rock and Triple A radio. The video for the single (directed by "Twilight" author Stephanie Meyer) has remained a Top 20 fixture at MTV's website since September, according to a press release.

The set follows Jack's Mannequin's 2005 debut, "Everything In Transit," which was released just as singer/songwriter/pianist McMahon was diagnosed with leukemia.

The then-22-year-old was forced to postpone all music-related activities and immediately undergo chemotherapy, which led to a bout with pneumonia that nearly killed him. After going into remission following a stem-cell transplant from his sister, McMahon was able to make a full recovery.

The performer told LiveDaily late last year that "The Glass Passenger" deals with the process of recovery from his illness. "[The lyrics speak] to the subject matter of the record, which is: There is an impermanence to life and we don't always get to be the one steering our own ship," McMahon said.

The band is set to release a new iTunes-only digital EP. The five-track set, "Live From Soho," features material recorded at the group's performance at the Apple Soho Store in New York City last December. The EP goes on sale Tuesday (3/10).