Tift Merritt Announces TRAVELING ALONE Album, New Tour

Tift Merritt's highly anticipated Yep Roc Records label debut Traveling Alone is due October 2. The album was recorded in Brooklyn with Tucker Martine (The Decemberists, My Morning Jacket, Spoon) and features a guest appearance by Andrew Bird as well as performances by Marc Ribot, Rob Burger (Lucinda Williams, Iron & Wine, Rufus Wainwright), John Convertino (Calexico), Eric Heywood (The Jayhawks, Son Volt, Alejandro Escovedo) and Merritt's longtime collaborator Jay Brown. "I really wanted to make a record that was real and raw," notes Merritt. "I wanted to put together my dream cast and see if I could hold my own with them." She goes on, "To me, Traveling Alone is about the roads on the inside-those places that are hard to see and not easy to send postcards from." Tift will be touring North America throughout the summer and fall including dates with Mary Chapin Carpenter and Josh Ritter; please see a list of dates and track list below.

Traveling Alone follows Tift's critically lauded 2010 album See You on the Moon, which NPR Music called "beautiful and aching" and People Magazine hailed as "a most important step forward in a remarkable artistic journey that continues to search, penetrate, and surprise." New York Magazine raved that the record was "brilliant" and The Wall Street Journal declared that Merritt is "working in the tradition of Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and Leonard Cohen."

Tift Merritt lives in New York City with her husband and longtime collaborator Zeke Hutchins. Her debut album Bramble Rose came out in 2002 and she has since released three full-length albums and two live records. Merritt has toured throughout the United States and Europe, performing with artists including Iron & Wine, Elvis Costello and Emmylou Harris. Her 2004 release Tambourine was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Album as well as three Americana Music Awards. Tift is also beginning her fifth year as the host of monthly interview show "The Spark" for NPR/KRTS Marfa, TX Public Radio; guests on the show have included Emmylou Harris, writer Nick Hornby, artist Kiki Smith and singer-songwriter Roseanne Cash.