Aerosmith will hit the road in June for the first time in nearly two years. 40 North American dates with ZZ Top are currently planned with the possibility of also playing in South America and Japan.

The tour — presented by Guitar Hero: Aerosmith — kicks off June 10 in St. Louis. ZZ Top join the tour on June 16.

Tickets go on sale in select markets to the general public beginning Friday, April 17.

The dates are as follows:

Jun. 10 - St. Louis, MO*
Jun. 13 - East Troy, WI*
Jun. 16 - Boston, MA
Jun. 21 - Washington, DC
Jun. 24 - Pittsburgh, PA
Jun. 26 - Wantagh, NY
Jun. 28 - Uncasville, CT
Jul. 01 - Cincinnati, OH
Jul. 03 - Hershey, PA
Jul. 05 - Virginia Beach, VA+
Jul. 07 - Raleigh, NC
Jul. 09 - Charlotte, NC
Jul. 11 - Tampa, FL
Jul. 13 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Jul. 15 - Atlanta, GA
Jul. 17 - Houston, TX
Jul. 19 - Dallas, TX
Jul. 25 - Las Vegas, NV
Jul. 27 - Phoenix, AZ
Jul. 30 - Tulsa, OK
Aug. 01 - Denver, CO
Aug. 17 - Seattle, WA
Aug. 19 - Concord, CA
Aug. 23 - Irvine, CA
Aug. 28 - Chicago, IL+
Aug. 30 - Indianapolis, IN
Sep. 01 - Kansas City, MO
Sep. 03 - Toronto, ONT
Sep. 05 - Ottawa, ONT
Sep. 08 - St. Paul, MN
Sep. 10 - Cleveland, OH
Sep. 12 - Holmdel, NJ
Sep. 16 - Detroit, MI

A tour sponsored by a video game that is over a year old is kind of odd. But Activision's CEO Bobby Kotick, said "[Their] version of ‘Guitar Hero’ generated far more in revenues than any Aerosmith album ever has,” said Kotick. “Merchandising, concert sales, their ability to sign a new contract [have] all been unbelievably influenced by their participation in ‘Guitar Hero.’” Source

I have always been a big proponent of the Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises because they expose a generation of little gamers to kick ass, legendary rock artists and songs. For a while rock n' roll took a backseat to rap and now pop. I think you will see it coming back to the fore front as record companies see how profitable it is.

The game actually reintroduced me to the first track off Aerosmith's self titled first album. The song is called Make It.