Ryan Adams' pal makes the sort of sharp, bittersweet alt-country that characterized his own stellar early work with Whiskeytown. Keening guitar melodies, humble verses, and wispy vocals merge terrifically: Merritt's music feels classic without feeling sentimental.
Tift Merritt is a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and recording artist. She has released two studio albums on the Lost Highway label--Bramble Rose (2002) and Tambourine (2004); and in 2005 she released Home Is Loud, a limited-edition live album recorded with her faithful touring band. Her third studio album, Another Country, was released February 26, 2008 on the Fantasy label.
Tift quickly garnered high critical acclaim from Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Time, The Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio and CNN. Her first two records landed on The New Yorker?s Top Ten List. Tift?s TV appearances include Austin City Limits, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Late Show with David Letterman. Tambourine was Grammy-nominated for Best Country Album, and the Americana Music Association nominated Tift for 2004 Album, Artist and Song of the Year. She and her band traveled 40,000 miles in 11 countries to support Tambourine.
Tift Merritt was born on 8 January 1975 in Houston. When she was two her family moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, where Tift grew up. Her father taught her ?the only chords you need to know,? and his Bob Dylan and Dolly Parton records were part of her childhood. After high school she waited tables, gigged around North Carolina, went to New York City, and at her mother?s urging came back to North Carolina to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While in college she met Zeke Hutchins, who encouraged her to start a band and has been her drummer ever since. Tift sent out demo 45s and press kits to every club she could from her P.O. box at the Bynum General Store, and she and the band drove all over North Carolina in their old van. With help from her friend and fellow North Carolina musician Ryan Adams, she got her first management deal and record contract, and her debut album Bramble Rose was released by Lost Highway on 4 June 2002.
Tift Merritt?s music defies categorization. Her uniquely satisfying stew of rock and roll, soul, and country has record stores scratching their heads and audiences dancing in the aisles. There?s food for thought there, too?Tift knew she wanted to be a writer before she knew she wanted to be a musician, and her lyrics are carefully and finely crafted.
Plans for 2008, along with touring in support of the new record, include the debut of The Spark with Tift Merritt, a radio show for Marfa Public Radio in Marfa, Texas.
