Chart-topping Canadian pop-rockers Barenaked Ladies and Minneapolis

guitar-pop trio Semisonic will play five dates together in August,

according to the Barenaked Ladies' official website.

Semisonic will open for the Ladies on Aug. 12 in Alabama at the Oak

Mountain Amphitheatre, Aug. 14 and 15 in Texas at the Cynthia Woods

Mitchell Pavilion and the Starplex Amphitheater, Aug. 18 in California

at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, and Aug. 21 in Washington state at

the Gorge.

The dates with Semisonic will come at the end of Barenaked Ladies' North

American tour, which begins July 25 in Toronto at the Molson Amphitheatre,

according to the Barenaked Ladies' site (barenakedladies.com.) After that

date, the Ladies will play several shows in the eastern U.S., before

heading south and then west.

Semisonic's touring plans for the rest of the summer are still undecided,

according to a spokesperson for their record label, MCA, who declined to

be named.

Both Semisonic and the Barenaked Ladies had recent breakthrough hits,

the former with "Closing Time"

(RealAudio excerpt) from last year's Feeling Strangely Fine,

while the latter scored with "One Week"

(RealAudio excerpt) from last year's Stunt, which adds hip-hop to

the band's pop sound.

"I could tell that something was going to happen with this one, but I

had no idea it would take off this much past the initial demand,"

Barenaked Ladies singer/bassist Jim Creeggan previously said about

Stunt.

Even before that album, the band had built a large grass-roots fanbase

with its energetic, often humorous live shows, which have included such

surprises as an impromptu cover of the Celine Dion hit "My Heart Will Go

On."

The Barenaked Ladies are currently in the midst of a European tour, while

Semisonic are touring the U.S. as an opening act for rocker Sheryl Crow.

The Ladies had their genesis in the songwriting team of singer/guitarists

Ed Robertson and Steven Page, who recruited Creeggan, drummer Tyler Stewart

and keyboardist Kevin Hearn to form the band in 1988.

Singer/guitarist Dan Wilson, bassist John Munson and drummer Jacob Slichter

formed Semisonic in 1995 in Minneapolis after Wilson's previous band,

Trip Shakespeare, broke up.

Barenaked Ladies Tour Dates:

July 25; Toronto, Ontario, Molson Amphitheatre

July 26; Canandaigua, N.Y., Finger Lakes PAC

July 27; Burgettstown, Pa., Star Lake Amphitheater

July 29-30; Mansfield, Mass., Tweeter Center

July 31; Holmdel, N.J., PNC-Bank Arts Center

Aug. 1; Hartford, Conn., Meadows Music Theatre

Aug. 4; Wantagh, N.Y., Jones Beach

Aug. 6; Columbia, Md., Merriweather Post Pavilion

Aug. 7; Raleigh, N.C., Alltel Pavilion at Walnut Creek

Aug. 8; Charlotte, N.C., Blockbuster Pavilion

Aug. 10; Atlanta, Ga., Lakewood Amphitheatre

Aug. 12; Pelham, Ala., Oak Mountain Amphitheatre

Aug. 14; Spring, Texas, Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion

Aug. 15; Dallas, Texas, Starplex Amphitheater

Aug. 18; Irvine, Calif., Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre

Aug. 21; George, Wash., The Gorge