Natalie Merchant launches an extensive summer tour across the United States, performing songs from Leave Your Sleep and throughout her career. "At the root of her success are two qualities," says The Guardian, "an unwillingness to compromise, and total sincerity. In a world of glib, heavily produced pop stars, Merchant stands out."
Natalie Merchant returns to the road for an extensive summer tour across the United States, with a quick mid-tour trip to England for the Cambridge Folk Festival, performing songs from her debut Nonesuch album, Leave Your Sleep, along with favorite songs from throughout her storied career. Merchant and her eight-piece band kick things off tonight at The Wellmont Theatre in Montclair, New Jersey, touring non-stop through a September 1 closing performance at the Peace Center in Greenville, South Carolina. For tour dates, head to nonesuch.com/on-tour.
During Natalie Merchant's European tour earlier this year, she spoke with The Guardian about her career and the thread that has continued throughout: her "reputation for doing exactly what she wants—and somehow emerging triumphant. Leave Your Sleep is a case in point." The Guardian's Kira Cochrane says that, since it's release earlier this year, "people clearly responded" to the diverse array of songs on the album.
"At the root of her success are two qualities: an unwillingness to compromise, and total sincerity," Cochrane writes. "In a world of glib, heavily produced pop stars, Merchant stands out." Read the article at guardian.co.uk.
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Previewing tonight's tour-starting show in Montclair, the Montclair Times has a feature profile of Merchant and the new album. In the article and interview, writer Gene Myers looks at the extensive research Merchant undertook to uncover the poetry that would become the album's lyrics. "Musically, Leave Your Sleep is just as ambitious," Myers reports. "Music from around the world can be found on Merchant's palette. Over the album's 26 tracks, one can hear bluegrass, reggae and chamber music, as well as Celtic and Chinese folk music." Read the complete article at northjersey.com.
Up next on the tour is a show at The Calvin Theatre in Northampton, Massachusetts, tomorrow night. Prior to that show, Merchant spoke with The Republican, the daily newspaper of Western Massachusetts. The paper's Kevin O'Hare says that, even with various poets, musical styles, and musicians that went into the making of Leave Your Sleep, Merchant's latest "is a remarkably cohesive work that she can take justifiable pride in completing." Read the article at masslive.com.
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Earlier this year, Merchant performed at the West Chester University Poetry Conference, giving attendees a sneak peek of what was to come on tour. Also at the conference, Merchant participated in a panel discussion led by conference co-founders Dana Gioia, who has described Merchant as "the Franz Schuber of folk-rock," and Michael Peich, the director of the WCU Poetry Center. You can watch their conversation unfold on YouTube.
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To pick up a copy of Leave Your Sleep, with high-quality MP3s of the complete album included upon checkout at no additional cost, head to the Nonesuch Store.
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