Nikka Costa has set a May 24 release for her second Virgin album, "can'tneverdidnothin'," which was originally expected last year. In advance of the set she will join labelmate Lenny Kravitz's Electric Church: One Night Only! outing and playing solo headlining shows on some of the tour's off days.

"I know it has been quite sometime but things are movin' finally over here so keep the faith," Costa said last month in a post on her official Web site. "'can'tneverdidnothin'' is finally finished and I'm gettin' ready to get my serious groove on!"

The soulful singer/songwriter indulges her rock and funk influences on the set, which she wrote and co-produced. Led by first single "Till I Get To You," the album also features "Fatherless Child," a tribute to her father, noted arranger/producer Don Costa.

The set is the follow-up to 2001's "Everybody Got Their Something," which reached No. 63 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and No. 120 on The Billboard 200.

Costa's live work gets underway with a solo gig April 1 in Santa Ana, Calif., while dates on the Kravitz tour begin April 5 in Dallas. At deadline Costa's schedule featured confirmed shows through a Los Angeles gig at the Roxy on the day of the new disc's release and a performance the next night at Anaheim, Calif.'s House of Blues.

Here are Costa's tour dates:

April 1: Santa Ana, Calif. (Galaxy)
April 2: Tucson, Ariz. (City Limits)
April 4: San Antonio, Texas (Sanctuary at Sunset Station)
April 5: Dallas (Nokia Live; w/Kravitz)
April 6: Austin, Texas (La Zona Rosa)
April 7: Houston (Verizon Theater; w/Kravitz)
April 9: Atlanta (Tabernacle; w/Kravitz)
April 10: Charlotte, N.C. (Owens Auditorium; w/Kravitz)
April 12: Orlando, Fla. (The Social)
April 13: Miami (Jackie Gleason Theater; w/Kravitz)
April 16: Philadelphia (Electric Factory; w/Kravitz)
April 17: Atlantic City, N.J. (Borgata; w/Kravitz)
April 19: Baltimore (Fletcher's)
April 20: Washington, D.C. (DAR Constitution Hall; w/Kravitz)
April 21: New York (Beacon Theater; w/Kravitz)
April 23: Hartford, Conn. (Oakdale; w/Kravitz)
April 24: Boston (Orpheum; w/Kravitz)
April 26: Cleveland (Music Hall; w/Kravitz)
April 27: Toronto (Massey Hall; w/Kravitz)
April 29: Detroit (State Theater; w/Kravitz)
April 30: Indianapolis (Music Mill)
May 1: Chicago (Congress Theater; w/Kravitz)
May 3: Madison, Wis. (Luther's Blues)
May 4: Minneapolis (State Theater; w/Kravitz)
May 6: Milwaukee (Rave; w/Kravitz)
May 7: St. Louis (Pageant; w/Kravitz)
May 8: Columbia, Mo. (Blue Note)
May 9: Kansas City, Mo. (Memorial Hall; w/Kravitz)
May 11: Denver (Fillmore; w/Kravitz)
May 1: Portland, Ore. (Schnitzer Hall; w/Kravitz)
May 14: Vancouver (Orpheum; w/Kravitz)
May 16: Seattle (Paramount Theatre; w/Kravitz)
May 18: San Francisco (Bill Graham Civic Center; w/Kravitz)
May 19: San Diego (Copley Symphony; w/Kravitz)
May 21: Las Vegas (The Joint; w/Kravitz)
May 22: Los Angeles (Wiltern; w/Kravitz)
May 24: Los Angeles (Roxy)
May 25: Anaheim, Calif. (House of Blues)