Singer/songwriter Natalie Merchant returns to stages this summer in support of her new poetry-themed album, "Leave Your Sleep," the singer's first studio release in seven years.Merchant's career spans three decades -- as the leader of 10,000 Maniacs and in her own solo work -- of making warmly personal music. In the 1980s, Natalie Merchant led the great folk-rock band 10,000 Maniacs. She went solo in the '90s, and to maintain creative control over her music, she self-funded her debut album, "Tigerlily", which had chart-toppers like "Jealousy," "Carnival" and "Wonder." She recorded her sophomore album, "Ophelia", at her home studio; the album went platinum, and she headlined at Lilith Fair and joined the American Folk Music Tour before releasing "Motherland", which paired her rich voice with more strings.
Merchant independently released her 2003 album, "The House Carpenter's Daughter", which veers back toward classic folk; she covers traditional songs such as "House Carpenter" and "Weeping Pilgrim," an 18th-century hymnal she found in the NY Public Library archives. Merchant is dedicated to supporting a wide array of nonprofits and social justice groups.
Released on April 13th, Merchant's ambitious new album, "Leave Your Sleep," sets poems by such artists as Gerard Manley Hopkins, Edward Lear, Nathalia Crane and others to music.
"Leave Your Sleep' is the most elaborate project I have ever completed or even imagined," Merchant said on her website. "Nearly seven years ago I set out to create a piece of work I hoped could capture the universal experience of childhood through poetry and music."
Merchant collaborated with 130 musicians on the album, according to USA Today, including Medeski, Martin and Wood and the New York Philharmonic. Lyrics from the album's songs are posted at the singer's website.
Natalie Merchant will be at the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Wednesday August 25, 2010.
