Indigo Girls member Amy Ray tours behind 'Kinder' solo album

Though she's best known as one-half of the successful folk-rock group Indigo Girls, singer-songwriter Amy Ray is going solo for her upcoming North American tour. The 25-city trek kicks off October 19 at 3rd & Lindsley in Nashville, TN, and wraps November 22 at the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta, GA.

Highlights for the tour include an October 29 gig at The Metro in Chicago, IL, and a November 12 show at the Bowery Ballroom in New York, NY. A single performance in Canada is booked for November 4 at Mod Club in Toronto, ON. The four-man rock band Arizona and indie singer-songwriter Jennifer O'Connor are providing support for select dates throughout the tour.

Ray is supporting her third solo album, "Didn't It Feel Kinder," which debuted in August on her own independent label, Daemon Records. Most of the record was written while on the road with Indigo Girls, according to the multi-instrumentalist.

"I was huddled over my computer with my Garage Band turned on in some cold backstage area," Ray said in a statement on her label's Web site. "The opening band went on and the music was pounding through the walls, creating this montage of sounds and bass beats. I started playing the most strident thing I could to cut through it all and get my thoughts down."

In addition to her studio albums "Stag" (2001) and "Prom" (2005), Ray has released a live album of her solo material, titled "Live from Knoxville." Although Ray took a different musical approach for the new album, its recurring themes of politics, gender, and the environment link "Kinder" to its predecessors.

"What ties the record together for me is this human yearning to be understood and the yearning to become empathetic with other people -- how to love each other and be kind even when we're brutally angry," she explained in her statement.

The Indigo Girls, comprise of Ray and Emily Saliers, completed their 2008 tour season on October 5 with a show at Rialto Square Theatre in Joliet, IL. They had been on the road since mid-June in support of their tenth studio album "Despite Our Differences," released in 2006.

Amy Ray itinerary:
(Dates subject to change.)

* Arizona
+ Jennifer O'Conner