Grammy Award-nominated artist Tift Merritt's new album Stitch of the World will be released January 27 on Yep Roc Records. Listen to "Love Soldiers On," the second song from the album
"Dusty Old Man," the album's first single, recently premiered via Rolling Stone Country, who said, "Powered by guitars from
Marc Ribot and ped al-steel wiz
Eric Heywood over a bouncy shuffle rhythm from drummer Jay Bellerose and bassist Jennifer Condos, 'Dusty Old Man' has more of a bluesy, loose-limbed feel than anything Merritt has ever done." Listen
here.
Stitch of the World, Merritt's sixth studio album, was written on a friend's farm in Marfa, Texas, at Merritt's
California cabin and in New York City in the wake of several major changes in her life. Merritt workshopped the songs on Stitch of the World with longtime friend
Sam Beam of Iron & Wine after bumping in to him in an airport. The album was recorded in Los
Angeles while Merritt was six months pregnant, after which she relocated to her hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina.
The time since the release of Traveling Alone has also found Merritt recording and touring with
Andrew Bird in his Hands of Glory, MC Taylor's
Hiss Golden Messenger and classical pianist Simone Dinnerstein.
Merritt's tour this fall will include select dates on Hiss Golden Messenger's tour as both a special guest, and playing as a member of frontman MC Taylor's band. Taylor says, "Long before I knew
Tift Merritt as a friend, her voice and songs were a constant companion to me all over the world, in times of dark and light. Her songs are real and wide open and deep. Her voice is as heavy as any I've ever heard and I'm thankful it exists in this world." See full list of tour dates below.
Raised in North Carolina,
Tift Merritt has released five full-length albums and two live records, including a recent reissue of her debut album Bramble Rose earlier this year. The New Yorker has called
Tift Merritt "the bearer of a proud tradition of distaff country soul that reaches back to artists like Dusty Springfield and Bobbie Gentry."
Emmylou Harris calls her a diamond in a coal mine. She has performed with the NY Philharmonic and toured with artists as varied as Iron & Wine, Jason Isbell, Elvis Costello, and Gregg Allman. Her 2004 release Tambourine was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Album as well as three Americana Music Awards. In addition to recent recording and touring with Andrew Bird's Hands of Glory, MC Taylor's
Hiss Golden Messenger and Simone Dinnerstein,
Don Henley covered Merritt's song "Bramble Rose" to open up his first solo album in fifteen years, Cass County.
TIFT MERRITT LIVE
November 5 |
Minneapolis, MN
|
Turf Club*
|
November 6 |
Chicago, IL
|
Old Town School*
|
November 15 |
Brooklyn, NY
|
Music Hall of Williamsburg*
|
November 18 |
Carrboro, NC
|
Cat's Cradle†
|
December 4 |
Charleston, WV
|
Mountain Stage - Culture Center Theater
|
January 20 |
Raleigh, NC
|
Playmaker's Theater
|
January 21 |
Raleigh, NC
|
Playmaker's Theater
|
February 22 |
Baton Rouge, LA
|
Red Dragon Listening Room
|
February 23 |
Houston, TX
|
Dosey Doe
|
February 24 |
Austin, TX
|
3Ten
|
February 25 |
Dallas, TX
|
Three Links
|
February 27 |
Oklahoma City, OK
|
The Blue Door
|
March 1 |
St. Louis, MO
|
Blueberry Hill
|
March 3 |
Louisville, KY
|
KCD Theater
|
March 4 |
Nashville, TN
|
City Winery
|
March 5 |
Atlanta, GA
|
City Winery
|
March 28 |
Alexandria, VA
|
The Birchmere
|
March 29 |
Philadelphia, PA
|
World Cafe Live
|
March 31 |
New York, NY
|
City Winery
|
April 1 |
Albany, NY
|
Linda Theater
|
April 2 |
Cambridge, MA
|
Club Passim (Early & Late Show)
|
April 5 |
Ann Arbor, MI
|
The Ark
|
April 6 |
Evanston, IL
|
SPACE
|
April 7 |
Milwaukee, WI
|
Shank Hall
|
April 8 |
Minneapolis, MN
|
Cedar Cultural Club
|