Merritt switches labels, records new music

Wednesday, June 20, 2012 – Tift Merritt is switching labels for her new CD. She is putting out "Traveling Alone" on Yep Roc on Oct. 2.

Merritt will tour North America throughout the summer and fall including dates with Mary Chapin Carpenter and Josh Ritter.

The album was recorded in Brooklyn with Tucker Martine (The Decemberists, My Morning Jacket, Spoon) and features a guest appearance by Andrew Bird, Marc Ribot, Rob Burger (Lucinda Williams, Iron & Wine, Rufus Wainwright), John Convertino (Calexico), Eric Heywood (The Jayhawks, Son Volt, Alejandro Escovedo) and Merritt's longtime collaborator Jay Brown.

"I really wanted to make a record that was real and raw," said Merritt. "I wanted to put together my dream cast and see if I could hold my own with them."

"To me, Traveling Alone is about the roads on the inside - those places that are hard to see and not easy to send postcards from."

Songs on the CD are:
1. Traveling Alone
2. Sweet Spot
3. Drifted Apart
4. Still Not Home
5. Feeling of Beauty
6. Too Soon to Go
7. Small Talk Relations
8. Spring
9. To Myself
10. In the Way
11. Marks

"Traveling Alone" follows 2010 album "See You on the Moon."

Tour dates are:

June 27 Asbury Park, NJ Stone Pony*

July 18 Pittsburgh, PA Carnegie Hall %

July 19 Kent, OH Kent Stage %

July 22 Wichita, KS Orpheum Theatre %

July 25 Denver, CO Botanic Gardens %

July 26 Layton, UT Davis Arts Council %

July 28 Calgary, AB Calgary Folk Festival

July 31 Fargo, ND Fargo Theatre %

Aug. 1 Minneapolis, MN Minnesota Zoo Ampitheater %

Aug. 3 Madison, WI Barrymore Theatre %

Aug. 4 Bayfield, WI Big Top Chatauqua %

Aug. 15 Englewood, NJ Bergen Performing Arts Center %

Aug. 22 Cincinnati, OH Taft Theater %

Aug. 23 Knoxville, TN Bijou %

Aug. 24 Atlanta, GA Atlanta Botanical Garden %

Sept. 4-16 Bristol, TN Rhythm & Roots

Sept. 22 Wilmington, NC Greenfield Lake Amphitheater

Sept. 23 New York, NY City Winery

* with Josh Ritter

% with Mary Chapin Carpenter

More news for Tift Merritt

CD reviews for Tift Merritt

Traveling Alone

On her first five studio albums, Tift Merritt has explored a wide stylistic range under the umbrella of folk rock. Out of the gate, "Bramble Rose" established Merritt as an artist of the first order, cracking the Top 50 on Billboard's Country chart and hitting a lot of critics' best-of-year lists. "Tambourine" found her working in a more soulful vein with a rockier beat, while its follow-up, "Another Country," was intimate, contemplative and powerful, and »»»

See You on the Moon

With each successive album, Tift Merritt has revealed more of her nuanced songwriting presence and considerable musical skills. On Merritt's almost universally acclaimed debut, 2002's "Bramble Rose," she introduced herself with songs that played to her folk/alt.country singer/songwriter strengths, while her sophomore album, 2004's "Tambourine," found her folding in more rock and soul influences, and with 2008's "Another Country," Merritt showed her »»»

Another Country

It isn't hard to figure out exactly why critics love Tift Merritt. Those reasons have been amply revealed in past work and continue to be expanded with this new offering. What seems a bit puzzling is that her talents haven't gotten even more exposure in mainstream media outlets. Merritt is really the entire package. Her vocals are expressive, rough-edged or hush-toned depending on the needs of the material. She starts with a pair of up-tempo tunes, "Something to Me" and »»»

Editorial: Walking the talk – When names like Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Waylon and the Hag are invoked, you're talking hard core country. These are the touchstones of country , the guys who made country music what it was and still is (or maybe can be). When these folks would sing about being down-and-out and the rough-and-tumble, they knew of what they were singing about. Fast forward a few years to the country singers of today. »»»

Concert Review: Steve Earle doesn't rest (on laurels) – If you didn't realize Steve Earle had a new disc out, "The Low Highway," it would have been no problem realizing that quite and quickly. That was because Earle started the two-hour show with three straight tracks from "The Low Highway," and he would not be done for the night. The title track of was a midtempo effort... »»»

Concert Review: The Howlin' Brothers leave the radar behind – The Howlin' Brothers - this trio, in reality, contains no brothers - are about eight years into their career and on their fifth album. To say they've been under the radar screen may be an understatement. You couldn't even say they've been flying under that screen because they have stuck very close to their Nashville environs.... »»»

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