Tift Merritt is making a name for herself

By Jeffrey Osborne

Cox News Service

Aside from a touch of homesickness, Tift Merritt has had a pretty satisfying year.

The gal who used to attend the University of North Carolina and practice her music in Raleigh now lives in New York and tours the world.

She'll kick off this year's Discovery Music Series at the Attucks Theatre in Norfolk on Friday.

Her latest album, "Another Country" (Fantasy Records), came out in February to rave reviews and Merritt's first-ever appearance on the Billboard 200 album-sales chart.

Since then, Merritt has performed as far away as Norway, made the television-talk-show rounds from Jay Leno and David Letterman on down, played the fabled Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, sung with legendary figures Emmylou Harris and Charlie Louvin, and taped a half dozen more interviews for her public-radio show, "The Spark" (www.marfaspark.com).

Indeed, Merritt has been working so hard that her only recent stretch of time off came when Emmylou Harris (for whom Merritt was opening) had to cancel some dates because of a death in the family. That gave Merritt a few precious free days at home in New York.

"I slept in, did some home repairs, got lost in the city, walked along the river. All those things I've not gotten to do since going on tour. So that getting canceled was a cloud, but there was a silver lining."

Even though "Another Country" has only been out since Feburary, Merritt already has more new music in the pipeline.

This fall will see the release of "Please Break the Stillness of the Middle of the Night," a digital-only minialbum with outtakes, covers and a few new originals.

One of those new originals, "Wayward and Weary," will also appear on the upcoming DVD version of "Gonzo," director Alex Gibney's documentary about Hunter S. Thompson (the late gonzo journalist who committed suicide in 2005).

"I saw the movie, which covers the span of his life and death, and this period of him aging and watching the world," Merritt said. "It really affected me. He'd become this old man who wanted to leave. So the song is about what he must have been feeling at the end of his life."

"Wayward and Weary" is one of Merritt's few recent compositions. With all the touring this year, she hasn't had much time for songwriting - or planning her wedding.

She and longtime boyfriend/drummer Zeke Hutchins got engaged in the spring but haven't set a date. So that will probably have to wait until next year.

"I think I'll have some time to write in the fall," Merritt said. "I'm gonna hibernate then, if I have to. Right now, we're just working like crazy. And the wedding, I've not had one minute to think about. We're thinking very small and quick and intimate. Just this morning, we were even discussing running away. It's hard - we just want to be married."

More Artists in the Discovery Music Series

By Ernie Smith

Link

THE DISCOVERY Music Series is back for its fifth - and arguably most ambitious - outing at the Attucks Theatre in Norfolk. Expanding to 10 bands this time out, the lineup is full of musical surprises (Otis Taylor Band, Bowerbirds), artists with siz able cults (Mark Kozelek, Billy Bragg) and musicians on the rise (Tift Merritt, Joe Bonamassa). Here are the highlights from this year's lineup, not including Tift Merritt, who is profiled in an article on Page 1:

 The indie acts

BOWERBIRDS

Oct. 11, 7:30 p.m.

Part of nearby Raleigh's music scene, this up-and-coming trio gets mentioned in the same breath as uber-hip neo-folk acts like Devendra Banhart and Bon Iver for good reason - their sound, unadorned and full of organic texture, leans on a variety of acoustic instruments and vocal harmonies rather than production tricks. Their album "Hymns for a Dark Horse" has earned raves from, among others, Pitchfork Media.

Fun fact Among their fans is John Darnielle, lead singer of influential indie band The Mountain Goats. He claims they're the best new band to come along in a decade.

Listen www.myspace.com/bowerbirds

 

ANE BRUN

Oct. 25, 7:30 p.m.

Brun has found a chilling halfway point between the thinly orchestrated folk of Nick Drake and Elliott Smith and the modest experimentalism of Feist or Bjork. She is a star in her native Norway but is just getting started here. Her latest album, "Changing of the Seasons," only recently got U.S. distribution (it will be out Oct. 14) and the Attucks is one of only seven dates on her American tour.

Fun fact Brun runs her own record label in Sweden called DetErMine records.

Listen www.myspace.com/anebrun

 

BILLY BRAGG

Oct. 30, 7:30 p.m.

In the Discovery Series, Bragg's probably the least in need of discovery. A star in his native England and fervently followed by a cult here, Bragg has legendary status as an originator of folk-punk and in continuing the traditions of protest music prototypes such as Woody Guthrie and Phil Ochs. In fact, he joined Wilco in reworking some of Guthrie's songs on the two-volume "Mermaid Avenue" series.

Fun fact In 2007, after writing his own lyrics for Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" to perform at the Royal Festival Hall in London, Bragg met the Queen of England.

Listen www.myspace.com/billybragg

 

MARK KOZELEK

Nov. 7, 7:30 p.m.

Since hitting the scene with The Red House Painters in the early 1990s and more recently with Sun Kil Moon, Kozelek has made music with a strongly poetic undertone and an acoustic sound akin to a misty Sunday morning. It translates to the songs of others as much as his own - over the years, he's covered AC/DC, Wings and Modest Mouse to the point of unrecognizability.

Fun fact Kozelek is a friend of director Cameron Crowe and played a member of the fictional band Stillwater in 2000's "Almost Famous."

Listen www.myspace.com/sunkilmoon

 

 The Blues acts

HENTRY BUTLER

Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

Butler, who considers himself an ambassador of New Orleans music, mixes a broad variety of influences into his piano-driven tunes. Blinded by glaucoma since birth, he mastered a variety of instruments and has played in a number of different styles over a 20-year career. He can win over an audience with his impressive ivory-tickling skills and his impassioned singing.

Fun fact Despite being blind, Butler is also a noted photographer who has had his work exhibited in galleries across the country.

Listen www.myspace.com/henrybutler

 

SHARRIE WILLIAMS

Oct. 4, 7:30 p.m.

If you dug Bettye LaVette during the last Discovery Music Series, Williams should be high on your list this time out. A blues singer of the first order, she hails from Saginaw, Mich., and has been drawing accolades since the late 1990s, culminating in a nomination for "Traditional Blues Female Artist of the Year" at the 2008 Blues Music Awards.

Fun fact Williams comes from a musical family: Both her mother and father were gospel singers, and her brother still is one.

Listen www.myspace.com/sharriewilliamsandthewiseguys

 

JOE BONAMASSA

Oct. 18, 7:30 p.m.

One of the most notable blues-rock guitarists around, Bonamassa sold out last time he was at the Attucks Theatre, and he's back this year. With a guitar phrasing all his own - influenced by the Delta just as much as British blues-rock - he handily won the honor of being named "Best Blues Guitarist" by the readership of Guitar Player magazine in 2007.

Fun fact He opened for B.B. King when he was 8 years old.

Listen www.myspace.com/jbonamassa

 

GUY DAVIS

Nov. 1, 7:30 p.m.

Growing up New York City as the child of famous parents - legendary actors Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee - may not seem like the traditional road to acoustic blues, but those family ties give gravity to Davis' work. Inspired by tales of his family's Southern roots and bluesmen Blind Willie McTell and Robert Johnson, his music balances the authentic with the contemporary.

Fun fact Davis knows his Google: He has a limited edition wine for sale at a California winery owned by another Guy Davis with the label art illustrated by a third Guy Davis - and all three Guys signed it, too.

Listen www.guydavis.com/guydavis/discography.htm

 

OTIS TAYLOR BAND

Nov. 8, 7:30 p.m.

Taylor's band - which includes his daughter, Cassie, on bass - specializes in "trance blues," which brings an intriguing jam-band aesthetic to their sound. Guitar plays a prominent part in the sound, but he's not afraid to stretch out to some fairly untraditional instruments for the blues - banjo, horns and cello in particular augment the socially conscious lyrics.

Fun fact Taylor retired from making music for 18 years, during which time he was an antiques dealer in Colorado.

Listen www.myspace.com/tranceblues

 

More information www.discoverymusicseries.com, (757) 664-6464