For a band that combines music from so many places across the world, Pittsburgh group Rusted Root sure know how to stay true to its, um, roots.

Over the course of its 20-year ca-reer, the band has played State Col-lege several times, including a 1996 show at the Bryce Jordan Center.

The band will be playing the much smaller State Theatre again at 7 p.m. Monday, marking its second show at the venue this year.

"The last show sold out well in advance and we had the opportunity to bring them back, so we did," said Mike Negra, executive director for The State Theatre. "It was such a high energy band in such an intimate place. If you get those two elements together, it's like chemistry class."

The band has been quite active this year, touring and releasing its first studio album in seven years, Stereo Rodeo.

"Everyone kind of had to go out and live life for a while," said Liz Berlin, singer/guitarist and founding member of Rusted Root. "We never really stopped, though -- just slowed down a little."

This decelerated pace helped the group out in the long run too, allowing the members to bring fresh perspectives, Berlin said.

"Michael came to this really open place with his songwriting," Berlin said of singer/guitarist Michael Glabicki. "We just got really excited to come back and play together."

Glabicki had been touring with the new songs before bringing them to the rest of the band, allowing some structure to exist before having the rest of the group add its parts.

Berlin said the jam band allows its songs to evolve over time before letting it fit into a specific place.

"We practice a lot to prepare our vision and try out so many different things," Berlin said. "When we play new music live, we see how people groove and react to it. You could see us play a song one night and the song might be a little different the next night."

Despite the band's new work and material, the shows on this tour have been integrating both new and old material, allowing for an effective balance and flow, Berlin said.

Unlike Rusted Root's expansive sound and veteran status, much younger opening band The Kin will be playing more straightforward songwriting from a four-piece ensemble.

While the core of the band is just two members -- brothers Isaac and Thorry Koren, who play almost all of the instruments on the band's recordings -- the duo enlisted a rhythm section to help them with their performance.

"Having two front men is an interesting twist for a band," singer and guitarist Isaac Koren said. "We write songs together and share the stage between the two of us."

Though the brothers are originally from Australia, they relocated to America separately, studying at different universities along the East Coast. They sort of stumbled upon making a living as musicians, they said.

"It wasn't like, 'Oh, we're going to come to America and make it and all that crap,' " Issac Koren said. "That was never our design."

Indeed, the band's design is actually much simpler, Isaac Koren said, because members never want to trade a small group of attentive listeners for a large, unresponsive audience.

"We never want to be a pop/rock band," he said.

Isaac Koren said the group aims to be in the vein of bands like Radiohead and The Beatles, who pushed music in new directions. The duo cites influences like Dead Can Dance, Pink Floyd and Sigur Rós.

"A lot of bands are throwback sorts of things, which is nice, but it's not what we are about," said Isaac Koren.

"We aren't jaded to that, though. We're happy just to be playing and making our daily bread."

Anyone afraid that the seated State Theatre may not be the most conducive venue to Rusted Root's danceable dynamic can rest assured that last May's show was a success.

"There was no wear and tear in our seats -- everyone was dancing the whole time," said Negra. "No doubt, they're geared toward a live show."