Lynyrd Skynyrd tour plots summer dates with Bret Michaels

For the past two summers, Lynyrd Skynyrd infused their summer concerts with a touch of contemporary hard rock courtesy of tour partner Kid Rock.

The Southern rock veterans are continuing that trend this year and picking up a new hard-rocking concert collaborator in the form of Poison frontman Bret Michaels. Another veteran of Southern rock, .38 Special, has been tapped as the opening act for the tour.

Ticket sales started last week for the tour, which kicks off June 10 at Cruzan Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, FL. Lynyrd Skynyrd will hit a total of 17 markets over the course of four weeks, ending with a July 11 event at First Niagara Pavilion in Pittsburgh, PA.

Other confirmed stops for the tour with Michaels include dates on June 18 at Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion in Raleigh, NC; June 25 at First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre in Tinley Park, IL; July 1 at Comcast Center in Mansfield, MA; and July 9 at Jiffy Lube Live in Bristow, VA.

Lynyrd Skynyrd is on the road promoting the September 2009 release “Gods & Guns,” though the setlist will surely incorporate the band’s classics as well. Similarly, Michaels will rely on tracks from his past and present.

According to a statement from Michaels, he plans to play “all the Poison greatest hits, plus all the new solo hits including ‘Nothing to Lose’ (featuring Miley Cyrus), songs from ‘Rock of Love,’ ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ and the new solo CD ‘Custom Built.'”

With his spot on the summer 2010 tour, Michaels follows in the shows of Southern rock-rap artist Kid Rock. Lynyrd Skynyrd tapped the contemporary musician for its Rock and Rebels Tour in summer 2008, and the follow-up summer 2009 tour leg.

Lynyrd Skynyrd & Bret Michaels itinerary:
(Dates are subject to change.)