Natalie Merchant has announced a special acoustic three-week tour of sixteen shows in November. She is joined by her guitarist of twenty-five years, Erik Della Penna—co-writer of the seven-time Tony-nominated musical Dead Outlaw—to share intimate evenings at venues throughout the US Northeast. The tour begins at Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, on November 4, with stops in Tarrytown, Provincetown, Stowe, Portsmouth, Hudson, Philadelphia, and more, culminating at the New York Society for Ethical Culture’s Adler Hall in New York City on November 24. Tickets go on sale this Friday, June 6, at 10am local time. See below for details and visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.
Over her forty-year career, Natalie Merchant has earned recognition among America’s most respected recording artists, drawing audiences with her captivating performances and intentional songwriting. “Natalie Merchant is a rare breed,” says the Daily Telegraph. “An artist who has never compromised, but instead evolved with integrity, thought, and meaning.” Her music blends folk, rock, and world music influences, and she continues to be regarded as a pioneering figure in alternative music. Her latest record, Keep Your Courage, released on Nonesuch Records in 2023, dives into love and human connection in its many forms, with Mojo calling it “her most beautiful [material] in decades.”
Merchant has also distinguished herself as a social justice and environmental activist through her work with a wide variety of non-profit organizations, and by creating documentary films and large-scale community arts projects. The National Head Start Association recently made Merchant its national artist-in-residence.
