With a sound that blends '90s grunge with polished pop, it's probably safe to assume that Nickelback spent their high school years listening to Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains. So, aside from the fact that they're now labelmates, it's easy to understand why Nickelback asked Alice in Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell to open a bunch of dates for them this summer.

The tour will kick off May 13 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the jaunt will pass through many major West Coast, Midwest and Southern cities. During the tour, Nickelback and Cantrell will perform at Country Jam USA on July 21 in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The following week Nickelback will be one of eight acts to play the Rolling Rock Town Fair July 27 in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. The last scheduled Nickelback date with Cantrell is September 20 in Louisville, Kentucky.

Nickelback are currently on the road with the MTV Campus Invasion tour, which also features Default and Injected (see [article id="1452672"]"Nickelback, Default, Injected Invading A College Near You"[/article]). Since the tour's launch, three dates have been added: April 29 at Western Connecticut University in Danbury, Connecticut; April 30 at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island; and May 1 at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia.

Cantrell will be touring behind his second solo album, Degradation Trip, which will be released June 25 (see [article id="1452982"]"Jerry Cantrell Conjures Ghost Of Alice In Chains On New LP"[/article]). His last disc was 1998's Boggy Depot. Nickelback continue to tour for their second album, Silver Side Up, which has sold more than 3.6 million copies, according to SoundScan.

Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger recently asked Cantrell to contribute to the supergroup track "Hero" for the upcoming "Spider-Man" soundtrack, but the guitarist was unable to make the recording session. So Kroeger, Saliva vocalist Josey Scott and Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron used Tyler Connolly from Theory of a Dead Man — whose debut album is being produced by Kroeger — instead (see [article id="1453119"]"Nickelback, Saliva, Pearl Jam Members Make 'Hero' Sandwich For Spidey"[/article]).

Nickelback and Jerry Cantrell tour dates, according to Roadrunner Records:

• 5/13 - Albuquerque, NM @ Albuquerque Convention Center