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 (2012) 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 will join Hiss Golden Messenger’s on his US 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.”
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.
UK Dates:
Tuesday 31st January – London, The Lexington – Headline Show
Friday 3rd February – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Celtic Connections
Sunday 5th February – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Celtic Connections
Monday 6th February – London, Royal Festival Hall – Transatlantic Sessions Tour
Tuesday 7th February – Cambridge, Corn Exchange – Transatlantic Sessions Tour
Wednesday 8th February – Gateshead, The Sage – Transatlantic Sessions Tour
Thursday 9th February – Birmingham, Symphony Hall – Transatlantic Sessions Tour
Friday 10th February – Manchester, Bridgewater Hall – Transatlantic Sessions Tour
