R.E.M. has drafted Modest Mouse and the National as support acts for its upcoming tour of North American theaters and arenas, which begins May 23 in Vancouver. The outing comes on the heels of the April 1 release of R.E.M.'s new Warner Bros. album, "Accelerate."

Although an official announcement was made today (Jan. 28), the National frontman Matt Berninger spilled the beans during an interview last week with Australia's Triple J radio.

R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe has been a vocal admirer of the New York-by-way-of-Cincinnati band in recent months, and attended one of its shows in London last year.

Modest Mouse has been off the road since mid-December; the group's 2007 Epic album, "We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sunk," was its first to feature former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr.

Here are R.E.M.'s tour dates:

May 23: Vancouver (Deer Lake Park)
May 29: Los Angeles (Hollywood Bowl)
May 31: Berkeley, Calif. (Greek Theatre)
June 3: Morrison, Colo. (Red Rocks)
June 6: Chicago (United Center)
June 8: Toronto (Molson Amphitheatre)
June 10: Raleigh, N.C. (Walnut Creek)
June 11: Columbia, Md. (Merriweather Post Pavilion)
June 13: Mansfield, Mass. (Tweeter Center)
June 14: Wantagh, N.Y. (Jones Beach)
June 18: Philadelphia (Mann Center
June 19: New York (TBA)
June 21: Atlanta (Lakewood Amphitheatre)