Tift Merritt

Vocalist/songwriter Tift Merritt seemingly appeared out of nowhere in the springtime of 2002 with her acclaimed debut record, Bramble Rose, but seeing that is usually the case, this triple-threat musician — a gifted vocalist, superb songwriter, and skillful guitarist — actually provides plenty of knowledge under her belt. Delivered in Houston, Tx in 1975, Merritt’s family members moved to NEW YORK when she was youthful and she’s resided there since. Merritt initial developed a pastime in music when she was a kid and discovered to sing harmonies with her dad, who experienced dabbled in folk music in his more youthful times; in her early teenagers, she found a acoustic guitar and her father trained her her first four chords. While Merritt was attracted to the rebellious soul of punk and indie rock and roll, she felt a larger emotional reference to more acoustic-oriented performers, especially Joni Mitchell (Merritt once informed a reporter, “I experienced a Joni Mitchell stage — and everything girls proceed through a Joni Mitchell stage; if any lady lets you know she never do, don’t believe her.”). Hearing Emmylou Harris’ recording Quarter Moon inside a Ten Cent City opened up Merritt’s ears to origins music and she shortly begun to immerse herself in North Carolina’s energetic alt-country picture. Merritt began showing up on the semi-regular basis using the band both Dollar Pistols, performing duets with business lead vocalist John Howie and playing tempo guitar; she ultimately made an appearance on the seven-song EP of traditional country addresses the group released in nov 1999. Buying vehicle on her behalf very own songwriting, Merritt got formed a music group known as the Carbines in 1998 with drummer Zeke Hutchins, guitarist Greg Reading, and bassist Jay Dark brown; the band shortly became a fixture in the North Carolina membership picture and released a well-received 7″ one. Between your Carbines and both Money Pistols, Merritt was learning to be a well-known body in the NEW YORK root base music community, and in early 2000 Merritt as well as the Carbines appeared poised to indication a agreement with Glucose Hill Records. The offer fell through on the last minute, however when Merritt earned the Chris Austin Songwriting Competition on the annual 2000 Merlefest Music Celebration, it sparked a fresh round appealing in her function. Fellow NEW YORK indigenous Ryan Adams brought Merritt towards the interest of his supervisor, Frank Callari, and he started shopping an archive deal on her behalf; when he was employed as an A&R professional for the Universal-distributed origins music label Shed Highway, Merritt became one of is own first signings. (While Merritt was authorized as a single act, she’s continuing to utilize the Carbines as her support music group, both for concert events as well as for the documenting of Bramble Rose.) Her debut recording premiered to enthusiastic evaluations in June 2002. The George Drakoulias-produced Tambourine made an appearance two years later on, followed by A DIFFERENT COUNTRY in 2008, as well as the live Buckingham Single in ’09 2009, both on Dream Records. Traveling Only, documented in Brooklyn and offering guest places from Marc Ribot, Andrew Parrot, as well as others, made an appearance in nov 2012. Merritt teamed up with traditional pianist Simone Dinnerstein for a distinctive collaborative task, the 2013 recording Night, where they performed a number of pop, folk, jazz, and traditional items. Merritt also collaborated with Andrew Parrot in his group the Hands of Glory, showing up on the 2014 album, Points ARE ACTUALLY Great Here, TYPE OF…. In 2017 Merritt released her seventh studio room album, Stitch from the World, made by Sam Beam of Iron and Wines.