Tift Merritt
Merritt on stage in Silk Hope, NC in 2007.
Background information
Birth name	Catherine Tift Merritt[1]
Born	(1975-01-08)January 8, 1975 (age 50)[2] Houston, Texas
Origin	Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
Genres	Country folk Americana alternative country
Occupations	Musician songwriter
Instruments	Vocals guitar keyboards piano harmonica
Years active	1998–present
Labels	Lost Highway Fantasy Yep Roc
Website	tiftmerritt.com

Catherine Tift Merritt (born January 8, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She has released seven studio albums, two forLost Highway Records, two forFantasy Records, and three forYep Roc Records.

Merritt was born in Houston and grew up inRaleigh.^[2] She credits her father's eclectic taste in music as a major influence.^[3] At the age of 20, Merritt enrolled at theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to study creative writing.^[4]

Merritt joined a band called the Carbines and played small clubs in the cities of Chapel Hill and Raleigh.^[5] In 1998, the band released a 7-inch single, "Jukejoint Girl," and in 1999 the albumThe Two Dollar Pistols with Tift Merritt onYep Roc Records.^[6]

In 2000, Merritt won theMerleFest's Chris Austin Songwriting Contest^[7] and in 2002 released her debut album,Bramble Rose. The record landed on the top ten lists for bothTime andThe New Yorker, and was called the best debut of the year by theAssociated Press.^[8] While touring to promoteBramble Rose, Merritt opened for fellow North CarolinianRyan Adams, who had helped her secure her first management and record contracts.^[9]

Her follow-up release, 2004'sTambourine, was produced byGeorge Drakoulias and featured backing byBenmont Tench,Mike Campbell,Neal Casal and Don Heffington.^{[citation needed]} The album was nominated for a best country albumGrammy Award in 2004.^[10] She was nominated forAmericana Music Association: Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, and Song of the Year in 2005^[11] Merritt's performance onAustin City Limits was released as a DVD onNew West Records.^[12] A sold-out concert at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, North Carolina, was released under the titleHome Is Loud that same year.^[13]

Released onFantasy Records in 2008,Another Country featured guitaristCharlie Sexton. Merritt wrote the album in a Paris apartment.^[14][15]Paste magazine gave the album a four-star review.^[16] The song "Broken" was nominated for an Americana Music Award for Song of the Year.^[17][18][19] While touring England, Merritt recorded the albumBuckingham Solo, which was released on Fantasy Records in April 2009.^{[citation needed]}

Her EP,Please Break the Silence of the Middle of the Night, was released later in 2008.^{[citation needed]}

Merritt has been the opening act forJoan Baez,^[20]Kris Kristofferson,^[21] and sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" for then-SenatorBarack Obama at his last campaign rally.^[22]

Merritt's album,See You on the Moon, was released in June 2010 onFantasy Records.^[23][24]

Traveling Alone, Merritt's first album onYep Roc Records, was released in October 2012.^{[citation needed]}

Merrit's sound has been described as "sonic short stories and poignant performances."^[25] She has been compared to artists likeJoni Mitchell^[26] andEmmylou Harris.^[27]

A review inThe New Yorker praised her^[27] andThe Wall Street Journal included her in a weekend feature on singer-songwriters, describing her as "in the tradition ofJoni Mitchell,James Taylor andLeonard Cohen".^[26]

In 2009, Merritt married Zeke Hutchins.^[28] They separated in late 2013.^[29] In 2016, she and Eric Heywood had a daughter named Jean.^[30]

• 2003:Chatham County Line –Chatham County Line (Bonfire)
• 2003:John Eddie –Who The Hell Is John Eddie? (Lost Highway
• 2003:Portastatic –Autumn Was a Lark (Merge)
• 2004:Chris Stamey –Travels in the South (Yep Roc)
• 2006: Sally Spring –Mockingbird (Sniffinpup)
• 2007:Charlie Louvin –Charlie Louvin (Tompkins Square)
• 2007:Teddy Thompson –Upfront & Down Low (Verve Forecast)
• 2010: Reto Burrell –Go (Echopark)
• 2014:Andrew Bird –Things Are Really Great Here, Sort Of… (Wegawam Music)
• 2016:Andrew Bird –Are You Serious (Loma Vista)
• 2016:Hiss Golden Messenger –Heart Like A Levee (Merge)

• Official website
• Tift Merritt atAllMusic
• Tift Merritt discography atDiscogs

• 1975 births
• Living people
• American rock musicians
• American alternative country singers
• American women country singers
• American country singer-songwriters
• Musicians from Raleigh, North Carolina
• Lost Highway Records artists
• Fantasy Records artists
• Musicians from Houston
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni
• Singer-songwriters from North Carolina
• Singer-songwriters from Texas
• 21st-century American singer-songwriters
• 21st-century American women singers
• Country musicians from Texas
• Country musicians from North Carolina
• Yep Roc Records artists

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