On February 28, Eric Clapton will be kicking off his North American tour’s second leg with a show in Dallas. He will appear in 11 West Coast Midwest and Southwest states, as well as three provinces of Canada. Once again Robert Cray is opening just as he did during the recent dates on the East Coast for Clapton.

It is expected that additional shows will be announced shortly.

Clapton is in the middle of his world tour that he kicked off on May 5. It will continue long into 2007. He appeared in over 30 European cities on the tour’s first leg. Since then Clapton has played in Canada and the US. He is currently in Japan. Slowhand also has dates scheduled for Australia, New Zealand, Korea, China, Thailand and Singapore through February. On his website, endorsed by Clapton, are listed all the international dates.

Recent shows of Clapton’s have featured set lists that have been quite varied, including Derek and the Dominos rarely played songs as well as Clapton classics and soulful, newer tunes from “Back Home,” the latest solo album from Clapton released in 2005.

“The Road to Escondido was released this month, a CD of 14 tracks that paired Clapton with J.J. Cale, his hero. The album runs a full spectrum ranging from folk to country to rock to blues.

In a statement Clapton said, I realized what might be my last ambition was to work with this man. His music has truly inspired me for longer than I can even remember. I don’t have words to describe what he means to me, personally and musically. Anyway I don’t want to end up embarrassing him and going too overboard. He really is a humble man. I just want to say we had a lot of fun and made a good record. I’m ready to make another one.

In Clapton’s 40 plus year career he has shared or won 18 Grammy Awards. He is also the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s only triple inductee.