While Ani DiFranco's last album, January's Educated Guess, was an utterly independent effort, the prolific folk singer has teamed up with a host of musicians for her latest, Knuckle Down, due January 25th on her Righteous Babe label.

DiFranco enlisted songwriter Joe Henry to co-produce, a collaboration she calls inspiring after working alone in her home studio on Educated Guess. "Educated Guess was an important endeavor for me, on a lot of levels," she says. "It did feel good to go back and interact, have a little give and take again."

While fans may have heard sneak previews of new material on her last tour -- including songs like "Manhole" and "Paradigm" -- in the studio, DiFranco's solo arrangements were fleshed out by upright bassist Todd Sickafoose, drummer Jay Bellerose and keyboardist Patrick Warren.

"The primary sound of the record is this relationship between me and the other musicians," DiFranco says. "And another factor that contributes hugely to the record is the engineer, Husky Huskolds, who has a total sound of his own -- actually, the sound of all Joe Henry's records. It was really cool collaborating with him."

Before releasing the album (her twenty-second), DiFranco is readying a live concert DVD, Trust, for November 9th. The DVD, directed by rock photographer Danny Clinch, captures DiFranco at Washington DC's 9:30 Club. "We thought we'd get people some live stuff," DiFranco says of the release's simple inspiration, "because that's what I do best."

Meanwhile, the perennially touring artist has lined up a spate of dates this month and invited musicians the Indigo Girls and Dan Bern, comedian Margaret Cho and politicians Dennis Kucinich and Howard Dean to join her. Like the larger-scale Vote for Change Tour -- which will feature Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam and the Dixie Chicks -- the Vote Dammit! Tour will visit swing states and help fans register to vote.

"The people who come to my shows are by and large progressive thinkers and active people, but they're not necessarily voting," DiFranco says. "I wouldn't underestimate the disillusionment with the political system . . . and the collective re-embracing of democracy is what can actually pull us out of this quagmire."

Vote Dammit! Tour dates:

9/17: Pompano Beach, FL, Pompano Beach Amphitheater (with Dan Bern)
9/18: Tampa, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center (with Dan Bern)
9/19: Atlanta, The Tabernacle (with Dan Bern)
9/21: New Orleans, House of Blues (Suzanne Westernhoefer, Indigo Girls)
9/22: Memphis, New Daisy Theater (Suzanne Westernhoefer, Indigo Girls)
9/23: Eureka Springs, AK, Auditoritum (Suzanne Westernhoefer, Indigo Girls)
9/25: Sioux City, IA, Orpheum Theater (with Suzanne Westernhoefer)
9/26: Minneapolis, Northrop Auditorium (with Margaret Cho)
9/28: Madison, WI, Overture Hall (with Margaret Cho)
9/29: East Lansing, MI, MSU Auditorium (with Margaret Cho)
10/1: Columbus, OH, PromoWest Pavilion (with Dan Bern)
10/2: Erie, PA, Warner Theater (with Dan Bern)

Ani DiFranco fall tour dates:

11/19-20: New York, Beacon Theater
11/30: Burlington, VT, Flynn Theater
12/1: Concord, NH, Capitol Center
12/3: Worcester, MA, Palladium
12/4: Providence, RI, Lupo's at the Strand
12/8: Morgantown, WV, WVU Performing Arts Series
12/9: Toledo, OH, Seagate Convention Center
12/11: Rochester, NY, Auditorium Center