To coincide with the release of her new self-titled album, multi-platinum singer Natalie Merchant will perform two concerts at Milton Court Concert Hall in London on May 10 & 11. Due for release on May 5 through Nonesuch Records, the new album is Merchant’s sixth solo collection, and her first of entirely original songs in 13 years. She describes it as informed “by experience and keen observation,” dealing with issues of “love gained and lost, regret, denial, surrender, greed, destructiveness, defeat, and occasional triumph.”  (The album is available to pre-order in the Nonesuch Store with an exclusive print autographed by Merchant.) During her 30-year career, Merchant has earned a place among America’s most respected recording artists with a reputation for being a songwriter of quality and a captivating performer. These concerts will showcase new songs as well as material drawn from her celebrated catalogue as a solo artist and with 10,000 Maniacs. For tickets, on sale now, visit barbican.co.uk.

These two concerts are part of a wider celebration at the Barbican of Nonesuch Records to mark the label’s 50th anniversary, which will include a marathon weekend entitled Explorations: The Sound of Nonesuch Records (May 17-18) and further one-off concerts and collaborations throughout May, featuring a breadth of artists associated with the label and in the spirit of it. On May 18, Merchant will join fellow Nonesuch artists Kronos Quartet, Rhiannon Giddens, Sam Amidon, and Olivia Chaney, as well as Crash Ensemble and Iarla O’Lionáird, for a unique concert of traditional and contemporary music collaborations. Tickets to that event are also available at barbican.co.uk.

Merchant’s career began when, as a college student, she joined the seminal alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs. Serving as lead vocalist, lyricist, and sometime pianist, Merchant released five critically acclaimed studio albums with the band, including the platinum-selling In My Tribe (1987), Blind Man’s Zoo (1989), Our Time in Eden (1992), and MTV Unplugged (1993). Merchant left the group in 1993, after 12 years, to record her first solo album. Tigerlily (1995) was certified five-times platinum, and was followed by the platinum Ophelia (1998), Natalie Merchant Live (1999), and Motherland (2001). She took an extended hiatus from pop music and major labels, independently releasing a collection of folk music, The House Carpenter's Daughter (Myth America, 2003), which also coincided with the birth of her first child. For the next seven years she lived quietly in New York's Hudson Valley devoting herself to family and community, whilst taking opportunities to collaborate with other musicians and strengthen her commitment to activism and philanthropy. In 2010, she returned with a thematic double album entitled Leave Your Sleep, her debut for Nonesuch Records.