Iron and Wine Releasing Rarities, Embarking on Fan-Driven Tour

Iron and Wine (or rather, ahem, Sam Beam) has had a career trajectory that went from charming lo-fi basement recordings ('The Creek Drank the Cradle') to richly-arranged and produced folk-pop songs ('The Shepard's Dog'). A new compilation, entitled 'Around the Well,' will collect all the rare, previously unreleased, and/or out-of-print recordings from all points in between. The two-CD set will be released by Sub Pop on May 19.

Apart from the inclusion of his version of the Flaming Lips' 'Waitin' for a Superman,' the super-exciting part is that Beam (or rather, ahem, Iron and Wine) will set out on a unique fan-driven tour of five cities with two shows in each stop. These May gigs, scheduled at intimate venues including the Troubadour in L.A. and Schuba's in Chicago, are truly for the fans -- the setlist for each show will be entirely fan created. If that includes you, then visit Iron and Wine's website between March 6 and 30, to vote for specific songs on specific nights. No requests for 'Free Bird,' please.