R.E.M. tour will start in L.A.

R.E.M. will kick off a 29-date tour of North America on Oct. 13 in Los Angeles, after the band has finished its Vote for Change anti-Bush fundraising tour with Bruce Springsteen and Bright Eyes. The group’s 13th studio album, “Around the Sun,” will go on sale Oct. 5.

The politically active band has said that one of the songs on the album, “I’m Gonna DJ,” was inspired by the 1999 World Trade Organization riots in Seattle.

R.E.M.’s last album, “Reveal,” came out in 2001.