After leaving the tremendously successful and well-loved jam band Strangefolk, which he fronted for more than a decade, Reid Genauer took a couple of years off from music and earned an MBA from Cornell University. In 2003 he jumped back in and released a solo record called The Assembly of Dust that eventually morphed into a full band project of the same name. The band is now preparing to launch not only a new album, but also a two-month tour that includes a stop at The Music Hall in Portsmouth on April 13.

Though the tour will take Assembly of Dust all over the country, its roots are all in the Northeast. Drummer Andy Herrick lives in Portsmouth, keyboardist Nate Wilson calls Boston home, guitarist Adam Terrell lives in Durham, and Genauer and bassist John Leccese both currently reside in New York City.

Recollection, the bands first official studio album, will be released on March 6. As with 2004s live recording Honest Hour, Recollection will be released on Hybrid Recordings, also home to the Gin Blossoms and Vertical Horizon. The new album features songs co-written by Wilson (Percy Hill), as well as Herrick (Moon Boot Lover), Leccese (Groovechild) and Terrell (Percy Hill). The bands signature folky jazz-rock sound that Genauer calls hick rock is fleshed out even further on Recollection. A few sample cuts are available at www.myspace.com/assemblyofdust.

Over the past four years, Assembly of Dust has played with members of Phish, the Allman Brothers, the Grateful Dead, Talking Heads and String Cheese Incident. Genauer also opened for David Crosby on his 2004 Northeast tour. Theyve headlined festivals up and down the East Coast, and buzz around the band continues to grow. On New Years Eve weekend, the band played three sold-out shows at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston.

The new tour starts Feb. 2 in Baltimore and ends in Chicago on April 20. In between, Assembly of Dust will play every important room in the Northeast including the Bowery Ballroom in New York City, Pearl Street in Northampton, Mass., and Higher Ground in Burlington, Vermont. The band will also play extensively on the West Coast.

The show at The Music Hall, 28 Chestnut St. is open to all ages. Tickets are not on sale yet, but they will be $19 in advance and $22 at the door, according to AOD.