The String Cheese Incident will headline the BIG Summer Classic 2005, a jam-band festival tour that will launch with a July 2-3 stand at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Col. The three-week tour will close July 24 at Yale Field in New Haven, Conn.

The BIG Summer Classic will feature a rotating cast of acts, including Keller Williams, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Yonder Mountain String Band, Umphrey's McGee and New Monsoon.

Beforehand, SCI will appear June 17-18 at the Wakarusa Festival in Lawrence, Kan., and will also bring the BIG trek to the All Good festival on July 16 in Masontown, W.Va.

The group has also completed recording its fifth studio album, "One Step Closer," which will be released June 28 via its own SCI Fidelity label. The 13-track set was produced by Malcolm Burn (Bob Dylan, Daniel Lanois) and features "several outside songwriting collaborations," according to String Cheese's official Web site.

Here are the BIG Summer Classic tour dates:

July 2-3: Morrison, Col. (Red Rocks)
July 6: Milwaukee (Summerfest)
July 7: Sauget, Mo. (GMC Stadium)
July 8-9: Schaumburg, Ill. (Alexian Field)
July 10: Indianapolis (White River Park)
July 13: Ottawa, Ont. (Cisco Systems Bluefest)
July 15: Richmond, Va. (Amphitheatre at Richmond Raceway)
July 16: Masontown, W.Va (All Good Festival)
July 17: Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio (Blossom Music Center)
July 19: Rochester, N.Y. (High Falls)
July 21: Brooklyn, N.Y. (Keyspan Park)
July 22: Philadelphia (Festival Pier at Penn's Landing)
July 23: Mansfield, Mass. (Tweeter Center)
July 24: New Haven, Conn. (Yale Field)