LOS ANGELES (Reuters Life!) - Grammy-winning pop star Stevie Wonder will launch his first U.S. tour in more than 20 years on Aug. 23 in San Diego, the Motown icon said on Thursday.

He announced the details during a hastily convened news conference at a public park in the business district of Century City. To the delight of hundreds of office workers on their lunch break, he played several songs, including "Higher Ground" and "My Cherie Amour."

The "Wonder Summer's Night" tour of 13 cities will end in Boston on Sept. 20, but Wonder said more dates may be added.

Wonder last toured in 1986, according to trade publication Pollstar, although he has performed plenty of one-off dates since then.

The singer/songwriter, who has been blind since infancy, is slowly emerging from a lengthy period of relative inactivity.

In 2005, he released his first album in 10 years, "A Time to Love." It debuted at No. 5 on the U.S. pop charts and has sold 469,000 copies to date, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

He helped promote the album by appearing on an episode of the smash hit television talent contest "American Idol."