Indigo Girls hit the road before the studio

(Launch) - Indigo Girls Amy Ray and Emily Saliers have set out on a tour. The duo is using the trek to tune up before hitting the studio in late summer to early fall. Ray said that the best clues as to the direction of the forthcoming collection is to look at "Leaving" and "Devotion," the new songs on the pair's 2000 best-of collection, "Retrospective."

The Indigo Girls are also road-testing several new songs earmarked for the next album, including "Yield," "She's Saving Me" and "Starkville." Here are Indigo Girls tour dates (subject to change):

- 7/26 Saratoga, Calif., Historic Mountain Winery.
- 7/27 Las Vegas, Mandalay Bay Hotel.
- 7/28 Anaheim, Calif., Sun Theatre.
- 7/30-31 San Diego, Humphrey's By The Bay.
- 8/4 Northampton, Mass., Calvin Theatre.
- 8/5 Newport, R.I., Newport Folk Festival.
- 8/6 Bethlehem, Pa., Bethlehem Musikfest.
- 8/7 Vienna, Va., Wolf Trap Filene Center.