Tift Merritt facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tift Merritt
Merritt on stage in Silk Hope, NC in 2005.
Background information
Birth name	Catherine Tift Merritt
Born	(1975-01-08) January 8, 1975 (age 50) Houston, Texas
Origin	Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
Genres	Country folk Americana alternative country
Occupation(s)	Musician songwriter
Instruments	Vocals guitar keyboards piano harmonica
Years active	1998–present
Labels	Lost Highway Fantasy Yep Roc
Associated acts	The Two Dollar Pistols with Tift Merritt

Catherine Tift Merritt (born January 8, 1975) is an American singer and songwriter. She is also a talented musician. Tift has released seven studio albums during her career. She has worked with different record labels like Lost Highway Records, Fantasy Records, and Yep Roc Records.

Early Life and Learning

Tift Merritt was born in Houston, Texas. She grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. Tift says her father's wide range of music tastes really influenced her. When she was 20, Tift went to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. There, she studied creative writing.

Music Career Highlights

Tift Merritt joined a band called the Carbines. They played music in small clubs around Chapel Hill and Raleigh. In 1998, the band released a song called "Jukejoint Girl." The next year, they released an album titled The Two Dollar Pistols with Tift Merritt.

First Albums and Awards

In 2000, Tift won a songwriting contest at MerleFest. In 2002, she released her first album, Bramble Rose. This album was very popular. It made it onto the top ten lists for Time and The New Yorker magazines. The Associated Press called it the best first album of the year. While touring for Bramble Rose, Tift opened shows for Ryan Adams. He helped her get her first music deals.

Her next album, Tambourine, came out in 2004. It was produced by George Drakoulias. Famous musicians like Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell played on it. This album was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2004. It was nominated for Best Country Album. Tift also received nominations from the Americana Music Association in 2005. She was nominated for Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, and Song of the Year. Her live performance on Austin City Limits was released as a DVD. A concert in Raleigh, North Carolina, was also released as an album called Home Is Loud.

Later Albums and Performances

Merritt on stage in Seattle in 2010

In 2008, Tift released the album Another Country. Guitarist Charlie Sexton played on this album. Tift wrote many of the songs for this album while in Paris. Paste magazine gave the album a great review. The song "Broken" was nominated for an Americana Music Award. While touring in England, Tift recorded another album called Buckingham Solo. It was released in 2009.

She also released an EP (a shorter album) in 2008. It was called Please Break the Silence of the Middle of the Night. Tift has opened concerts for famous artists like Joan Baez and Kris Kristofferson. She even sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" for then-Senator Barack Obama at a campaign event.

Tift's album, See You on the Moon, was released in June 2010. Her album Traveling Alone came out in October 2012. This was her first album with Yep Roc Records.

Personal Life

Tift Merritt married Zeke Hutchins in 2009. They separated in late 2013. In 2016, Tift and Eric Heywood had a daughter named Jean.

Music Albums

Studio Albums

• Bramble Rose (2002)
• Tambourine (2004)
• Another Country (2008)
• See You on the Moon (2010)
• Traveling Alone (2012)
• Night (with Simone Dinnerstein) (2013)
• Traveling Companion (Traveling Alone expanded version) (2013)
• Stitch of the World (2017)

Live Albums

• Home Is Loud (2005)
• Buckingham Solo (2009)
• Love Soldiers On (Concert at the Historic Playmakers Theatre) (2020)

Extended Plays (EPs)

• The Two Dollar Pistols with Tift Merritt (1999)
• Please Break the Silence of the Middle of the Night (2008)
• Sweet Spot (2012)

Singles

• "Neighborhood" (2002)
• "Good Hearted Man" (2004)
• "Stray Paper" (2004)
• "Broken" (2008)
• "Mixtape" (2010)
• "To Myself" (2012)
• "Dusty Old Man" (2016)
• "Proclamation Bones" (2017)

Awards and Nominations

Tift Merritt has been recognized for her music:

• In 2004, her album Tambourine was nominated for a Grammy Award for Country Album of the Year.
• In 2005, she received three nominations from the Americana Music Association: Album of the Year for Tambourine, Artist of the Year, and Song of the Year for "Good Hearted Man".
• In 2008, her song "Broken" was nominated for Song of the Year by the Americana Music Association.

See also

In Spanish: Tift Merritt para niños