Tift Merritt goes live

Stitch of the World

Tift Merritt's gets off to a rip-roaring start by opening "Stitch of the World" with a song called "Dusty Old Man." If you can imagine it, the song sounds like Emmylou Harris fronting John Mellencamp's "Uh-huh" band from 1983. The album gets a little softer after this, although it's no less passionate throughout. Merritt may sing like a gentle soul, but she's the dedicated, persistent sort. Merritt follow's the gospel-tinged "Heartache ...

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 ...