Pioneering rave and rock artist Moby kicks off a North American tour July 23 at this year's Woodstock music festival in Rome, N.Y.

The outing supports Play, the genre-hopping 33-year-old's newest offering. The album marks a stylistic return for Moby (born Richard Melville Hall) to the electronic dance sound that made him famous.

The upcoming shows will mostly feature his new hip-hop and vintage blues-inflected songs typified by "Honey" (RealAudio excerpt), the first single off Play, according to his publicist, Janet McQueeney.

When asked about the infusion of urban sounds into his repertoire, the techno icon said it surprises him when people talk about electronic music and exclude hip-hop and R&B. "There's nothing organic about [them]," he said, "and I mean that in a positive way. Hip-hop and R&B are just as electronic as Aphex Twin."

A five-piece "full rock band" featuring two drummers will accompany him on the tour to perform songs from his guitar-heavy 1996 rock album Animal Rights.

The tour will cross North America before returning to New York for a Sept. 15 show at the Roseland Ballroom.

Besides Woodstock '99, where fellow rave luminaries the Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim are also on the bill, Moby will play a number of other festival shows. Among them are WBCN-FM's River Rave in Boston, as well as two back-to-back dates: Portland, Ore., station KNRK-FM's Big Stink on Aug. 7 and Seattle station KNDD-FM's End Fest the next day.

Moby Tour Dates:

July 23; Rome, N.Y.; Woodstock '99

July 25; New Haven, Conn.; Toad's Place

July 26; Lancaster, Pa.; Chameleon

July 28; Philadelphia, Pa.; Theater of Living Arts

July 29; New York, N.Y.; Bowery Ballroom

July 30; Boston, Mass.; Avalon

July 31; Plainview, N.Y.; Vanderbilt

Aug. 2; Albany, N.Y.; Northern Lights

Aug. 5; Vancouver, British Columbia; Richard's on Richards

Aug. 7; Portland, Ore.; Big Stink

Aug. 8; Seattle, Wash.; End Fest

Aug. 10; San Francisco, Calif.; Maritime Hall

Aug. 11; San Diego, Calif.; 'Canes Bar and Grill

Aug. 12; Los Angeles, Calif.; Mayan Theatre

Aug.13; Las Vegas, Nev.; The Joint/Hard Rock Hotel

Aug. 14; Mesa, Ariz.; Nile Theatre

Aug. 17; Salt Lake City, Utah; Bricks

Aug. 18; Denver, Colo.; TBA

Aug. 20; Austin, Texas; La Zona Rosa

Aug. 21; Dallas, Texas; Deep Ellum Live

Aug. 23; Minneapolis, Minn.; First Avenue

Aug. 24; Milwaukee, Wis.; Rave

Aug. 25; Chicago, Ill.; Metro/Smart Bar

Aug. 26; Boston, Mass.; River Rave

Aug. 28; Toronto, Ontario; Warehouse

Aug. 29; Buffalo, N.Y.; TBA

Aug. 31; Detroit, Mich.; St. Andrew's Hall

Sept. 2; Pittsburgh, Pa.; Metropol

Sept. 3; Norfolk, Va.; Boathouse

Sept. 4; Atlanta, Ga.; Cotton Club

Sept. 8; Carrboro, N.C.; Cat's Cradle

Sept. 11; Baltimore, Md.; Bohager's

Sept. 13; Washington, D.C.; 9:30 Club

Sept. 14; Philadelphia, Pa.; Electric Factory

Sept. 15; New York, N.Y.; Roseland Ballroom