THE BLACK CROWES will return to the road in 2013 with their "Lay Down With Number 13" world tour. The first leg will encompass dates in the U.K. March 24-30 and the U.S. April 2- May 4. Tickets for this first leg go on sale Friday, January 11 at 10:13 a.m. local time and ticket link information will be available on Tuesday, January 1 at BlackCrowes.com. Additional dates will be announced soon.

The iconic and influential band has also announced the March 19 vinyl release of the live "Wiser For The Time" album (Silver Arrow/Megaforce Records). Its mammoth eight sides on four vinyl albums will contain 26 songs — 15 acoustic and 11 electric — from the band’s five-night, sold-out New York City performances in the fall of 2010. These never-released-before versions will also be available as a double album digital download.

Chris Robinson (lead vocals, guitar), Rich Robinson (guitar, vocals), Steve Gorman (drums), Sven Pipien (bass) and Adam MacDougall (keyboardist) of THE BLACK CROWES "are thrilled to announce the addition of our good friend Jackie Greene" on guitar and vocals.

All this news was finally revealed by the band yesterday on Christmas Day after they began to tease it with a 13-day countdown of Merry Crowesmas on December 13. That's when their web site homepage began to change and evolve daily for the first time in two years.

As a Christmas gift to their fans, the band is offering via their web site a free mobile web app. It includes a free download of the acoustic version of "Under A Mountain" (the "Three Snakes And One Charm" song which contains the lyrics "Lay down with number 13") performed live in New York City in 2010. This offering is exclusive and not included on "Wiser For The Time". Click here to download.

The first leg of the "Lay Down With Number 13" tour begins March 24 in Manchester in the U.K. and will run through May 4 in New Orleans. Highlights of the itinerary include two-night stands in London (The Forum); Port Chester, New York (at the recently reopened historic venue the Capitol Theatre); New York City (Terminal 5); Chicago (The Vic); Washington, D.C. (9:30 Club); and Nashville (Ryman Auditorium); and a special late-night performance at The Historic Mahalia Jackson Theatre in the French Quarter following the Jazz Fest. Stay tuned for a VIP ticketing announcement.

The dates of the first leg of the "Lay Down With Number 13" tour can be found at BlackCrowes.com.

In a July 2010 interview with Billboard, THE BLACK CROWES frontman Chris Robinson said the band's decision to take a break wasn't the result of any internal strife, like was the case when they split in 2002.

"The real story is it's been five solid years of touring and three records and DVDs, and it's more about having a little bit of space and taking a breath away from the thing," he said.

"I think everyone's in a good space, and our hiatus is for nothing but health reasons, mental and physical, and to have the freedom to do some projects with other people, raise the kids and stuff like that."

When Rolling Stone asked Robinson how long the band will be away, he replied, "Two years, five years, 10 years — you never know when you jump into the void."

He added: "This cycle we've been on has been incredible. Since the summer of '07, when we made 'Warpaint', it's been the three most fulfilling years I've ever had with this band. But if we kept going, we might be playing with fate too much. It would be nice to have a 30th anniversary. But we should walk away from this while everyone's in a good mood."

"Plus, we all have babies," added his guitarist brother Rich. "I'm expecting one any day now. It seemed like a good time. To me, 'hiatus' means there is no plan. We haven't said, 'Let's get back together in 2012.' And we haven't said, 'Let's not.'"