Piece Description

Tift Merritt loves the sound of early Emmylou Harris and Bonnie Raitt -- you can hear it in the way she sings, and in the way she attacks her guitar. Her songwriting and stage presence helped land her a deal with Lucinda Williams's label. Her first CD, "Bramble Rose," is a blend of juke joint swagger, country laments, and Southern storytelling. Her just-released second CD, "Tambourine," blends in blues and soul stylings. People magazine's reviewer said, "Tift Merritt deserves to move from the fringes of stardom onto the A list of country-rockers thanks to this joy of an album." The New Yorker's Ben Greenman heard it this way: "To her credit, Merritt now has an excellent Southern-rock record under her belt; to her discredit, she now has a split personality." Worth a listen, either way. As in all the pieces in David Schulman's CPB-supported Musicians in their own words series, the story is told through a mix of the performer's voice and music. There is no reporter's voice heard, allowing the feature to be seamlessly incorporated into station news, talk, or music programming. Scripts for intro and outro are attached, and may be edited at will. This piece works well pegged to local performances. Merritt's tour schedule includes: Sep 30 2004 ARLINGTON, VA Iota Club and Cafe Oct 1 2004 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom Oct 3 2004 Brooklyn, NY SOUTHPAW Oct 4 2004 Northampton, MA Iron Horse Oct 5 2004 Cambridge, MA The Bear's Oct 7 2004 Toronto, ON Lee's Palace Oct 8 2004 Chicago, IL The Abbey Oct 9 2004 Louisville, KY The Mojo Music Fest This was the first piece produced for the series, and has aired on stations including KUOW, WFPK, Georgia Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Radio, KUT and WUNC.