New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Natalie Merchant is the guest on the latest episode of the Song Exploder podcast. She talks with host Hrishikesh Hirway about "Sister Tilly," breaking down the song from her new album, Keep Your Courage. The song was arranged by Gabriel Kahane.
Keep Your Courage is
Natalie Merchant's tenth solo studio album and the first of new material since her 2014 self-titled record. An eclectic album, produced by Merchant, it features lush orchestrations throughout, two duets sung with vocalist Abena Koomson-Davis of Resistance Revival Chorus, contributions from the Celtic folk group Lúnasa and Syrian virtuoso clarinetist Kinan Azmeh, and horn arrangements by jazz trombonist Steve Davis. There are nine original songs by Merchant and an interpretation of a song by Ian Lynch of the Irish band Lankum. The vinyl LP edition includes four bonus tracks from earlier albums, previously unreleased on vinyl. You can pick up a copy and hear it here.
Merchant concludes the current leg of her Keep Your Courage tour joined by orchestras for performances at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Providence, The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and Chautauqua Institution Amphitheater in upstate New York. She resumes the tour on the West Coast in the autumn before heading to European, starting with a newly announced Berlin show, and the UK. See below for details and tickets.
NATALIE MERCHANT ON TOUR:
Jun 28 Veterans Memorial Auditorium* Providence, RI
Jun 30, Jul 1 The Kennedy Center* Washington, DC
Jul 8 Chautauqua Institution Amphitheater* Chautauqua, NY
Sep 20 Martin Woldson Theatre at The Fox Spokane, WA
Sep 22 Chateau Ste Michelle Amphitheatre Woodinvale, WA
Sep 23 Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall Portland, OR
Sep 26 The Masonic San Francisco, CA
Sep 27 Mountain Winery Amphitheater Saratoga, CA
Sep 29 Humphrey's (Sold Out) San Diego, CA
Sep 30 Walt Disney Concert Hall Los Angeles, CA
Oct 31 Theater des Westens Berlin, GERMANY
Nov 2 London Palladium London, UK
Nov 3 London Palladium London, UK
Nov 5 Glasgow Royal Concert Hall Glasgow, UK
Nov 6 O2 Apollo Manchester Manchester, UK
Nov 8 Olympia (Sold Out) Dublin, IRELAND
Nov 9 Olympia Dublin, IRELAND
Nov 11 The Forum Bath, UK
Nov 13 Carré Theatre (Sold Out) Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS
Nov 14 Cirque Royal Brussels, BELGIUM
