Natalie Merchant is the guest on the latest episode of Songcraft, the podcast “about the creators of lyrics and music that stand the test of time.” She joins hosts Scott B. Bomar and Paul Duncan for an extensive conversation about her new album, Keep Your Courage, and music from throughout her career with 10,000 Maniacs and as a solo artist. You can hear their conversation on Spotify, Apple Music, and Simplecast here:

Keep Your Courage is Natalie Merchant’s tenth solo studio album and the first of new material since her 2014 self-titled record. An eclectic album, produced by Merchant, it features lush orchestrations throughout, two duets sung with vocalist Abena Koomson-Davis of Resistance Revival Chorus, contributions from the Celtic folk group Lúnasa and Syrian virtuoso clarinetist Kinan Azmeh, and horn arrangements by jazz trombonist Steve Davis. There are nine original songs by Merchant and an interpretation of a song by Ian Lynch of the Irish band Lankum. The vinyl LP edition includes four bonus tracks from earlier albums, previously unreleased on vinyl. You can get it and hear the album here.

Natalie Merchant kicks off the European and UK legs of her Keep Your Courage tour in Berlin on Halloween, with shows in London, Glasgow, Manchester, Dublin, Bath, Amsterdam, Brussels, Milan, and Chiari. She recently announced the rescheduled US West Coast leg of her tour for May and June, including two additional nights in San Diego and Saratoga. You can find details and tickets at nonesuch.com/on-tour.