With her most recent studio album sitting atop the Billboard 200 for eight straight weeks, record industry darling Taylor Swift has announced details for her first headlining tour. The Fearless Tour 2009 will visit 52 cities in the United States and Canada over the course of six months.

The extensive outing will kick off after a string of special event appearances on April 23 in Evansville, IN, and is currently scheduled through an October 10 concert in Minneapolis, MN. Venue information for all dates will be announced in the coming weeks. American Idol finalist Kellie Pickler will support for the entire tour with Gloriana appearing as a special guest.

Swift is touring behind her sophomore album “Fearless,” which was released on November 11. In addition to its prized streak atop Billboard‘s album sales chart, the disc has also topped Nielsen SoundScan’s list as the best-seller so far for 2009, pushing 287,000 copies so far this year and 2.4 million since its release.

Though this is her first headlining tour, Swift has headlined individual shows before and has proven to be a hot selling point for festivals and special events. The nearly 71,000 tickets for her March 20 performance at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo sold out within the first 48 hours of public onsales, according to Swift’s publicist.

“Headlining my own tour is a dream come true! This way I can play more music every night than I ever have before,” Swift said in a statement about her upcoming tour. “Having written my own songs, they are all stories in my head, and my goal for this tour is to bring those stories to life.”

Full ticketing information will be announced in the future, but most markets are expected to offer tickets starting around $20 to encourage attendance despite worries about the economy. Swift noted, “I want to be sure that everyone has the opportunity to come see my show, so we have affordable tickets available for every date we do this year.”

The three-act show will feature graphics and sets designed by the 19-year-old musician, including a “fairy-tale castle” pinpointed with more than one million lights, as well as multiple costume changes. Swift will also showcase her instrumental talents on tour, switching off between five different guitars and a piano.

Swift explained, “My favorite thing when I go to a concert is having lots of changing things to look at, so I’ve been working really hard to make this show as multi-dimensional as possible.”


Taylor Swift itinerary:
(Dates are subject to change. Venues are TBA.)

February 10 San Antonio, TX San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo
March 1 Plant City, FL Florida Strawberry Festival
March 20 Houston, TX Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
April 23 Evansville, IN
April 24 Jonesboro, AR
April 25 St Louis, MO
April 30 Charleston, SC
May 1 Jacksonville, FL
May 2 Biloxi, MS
May 14 Spokane, WA
May 15 Seattle, WA
May 16 Portland, OR
May 17 Yakima, WA
May 21 Phoenix, AZ
May 22 Los Angeles, CA Staples Center
May 23 Las Vegas, NV
May 24 San Diego, CA
May 26 Salt Lake City, UT
June 4 Enterprise, AL BamaJam
June 11 Baltimore, MD
June 12 Greensboro, NC
June 24 Oshkosh, WI Country USA Festival
June 25 Caddott, WI Chippewa Valley – Country Fest
July 8 Calgary, AB Pengrowth Saddledome
July 9 Edmonton, AB
July 10 Craven, SK Craven Country Jamboree
July 11 Winnipeg, MB MTS Centre
July 16 Twin Lakes, WI Country Thunder Festival
July 17 Columbus, OH
July 18 Charleston, WV
July 23 Cheyenne, WY Cheyenne Frontier Days
July 24 Rapid City, SD
July 25 Minot, ND North Dakota State Fair
August 7 Detroit Lakes, MN We Fest
August 9 Omaha, NE
August 27 New York, NY
August 28 Uncasville, CT
August 29 University Park, PA
August 30 Louisville, KY
September 4 Greenville, SC
September 5 Charlotte, NC
September 10 Lafayette, LA
September 11 Bossier City, LA
September 12 Birmingham, AL
September 25 Dallas, TX
September 26 Little Rock, AR
September 27 Tulsa, OK
October 1 Cleveland, OH
October 3 Pittsburgh, PA
October 8 Indianapolis, IN
October 9 Chicago, IL
October 10 Minneapolis, MN