We were all kind of bummed a few months back when the Allman Brothers had to cancel their annual Beacon run due to Gregg Allman’s medical condition. Well, with Greggy all rested up, the Brothers are primed and ready to make their return to the road this August for a month long trek, along with some dates stretching into the fall. We’re extremely happy to see that Gregg will be back on-stage behind his trademark B-3 and ready to rock the masses.

If the idea of hearing a blistering version of Mountain Jam isn’t for you, then maybe one of these recently announced tours will be…

• Of Montreal bring their art-rock act to a town near you this fall (begins: 10/07)
• Liz Phair brings her Guyville tour to Philly, DC and Boston (begins: 08/27)
• Psychedelic, electro-rockers MGMT add fall dates in the US and abroad (begins: 07/23)
• The genius GZA will hit the road for a solo tour (begins: 07/26)
• Redheaded alt.country chanteuse Neko Case lines up a tour of the Mid-West (begins: 08/25)
• Shock-rocker and HT fan Alice Cooper puts together a massive North American tour (begins: 07/31)

Finally, the Seva Foundation will celebrate their 30th anniversary with a charity concert to take place on September 27 at Oakland’s Paramount Theatre. The all-star bill will feature performances from Jackson Browne, David Crosby and Graham Nash, Bonnie Raitt and Los Lobos. Tickets are on-sale now, along with a variety of VIP packages that include some great perks – with all the proceeds going back into the foundation. So go see some great music and support a worthy cause.

Last month we gave you the news that ATO Records would be releasing a deluxe 15th anniversary edition of Liz Phair’s seminal album Exile In Guyville this June. Since it’s sort of been the hot trend over the last couple of years Phair will be performing the album in its entirety with three special intimate acoustic shows – in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Tickets for her June 25 show at New York’s Hiro Ballroom go on sale this Wednesday, while details on the other shows are still forthcoming.

No, that headline isn’t an April Fools Day joke. The folks at Pitchfork have indeed heaped some praise on Dave Matthews after news surfaced yesterday that his label ATO Records had signed indie-rock pin-up girl Liz Phair. Along with releasing her new album in the fall, they will also reissue a deluxe edition of her seminal debut album Exile In Guyville. Here’s what the hyper-critical website had to say:

And who do we have to thank for all of this Liz Phair goodness? Why, Dave Matthews, of course! Matthews is one of the co-founders of ATO Records, which in addition to putting out the reissue has signed Phair for a new studio album due in the fall. (Yes, she is no longer on Capitol Records.) AND Dave introduces the Guyville Redux DVD.

So between this, My Morning Jacket, and Radiohead, is it finally time to stop hating Dave Matthews?

For those of you out there that only know Liz from her recent forays into mainstream pop, I highly suggest picking up this reissue when it hits stores on June 24th.

We’d have to agree with the Forksters on the point that Mr. Matthews has assembled quite the stellar roster of artists for his label, which also includes the likes of Gomez, Ben Kweller, The Whigs and Gov’t Mule.