Tift Merritt covered Big Star w/ Norman Blake, Michael Stipe & more (MP3 & belated pics), touring (playing free NYC show)
photos by Lori Baily & Ted Barron
DOWNLOAD: Tift Merritt & Norman Blake – Thirteen (Big Star) (MP3)
Tift Merritt w/ Matthew Sweet & friends @ the Big Star Tribute in March (by Lori)
Tift Merritt‘s is now on tour with Stephen Kellogg, and though tickets are unfotunately sold-out for their show at City Winery (May 6th), she has added another NYC show and this time it’s FREE. Tift Merritt will play Madison Square Park on June 22nd at 6PM after her tour with Kellogg, but before she heads out on a string of UK dates with Greg Allman. All tour dates are below.
Add the June 22nd free show to the growing list of free shows happening Madison Square Park this summer. Another is the music portion of the Big Apple BBQ.
Tift Merritt joined an all-star cast that stood up in praise of the late great Alex Chilton (of Big Star) at Baruch College on March 26th, a shade more than one year after he suffered a fatal heart attack. Big Star’s Third was the focus of the show, and it featured a revolving cast of musicians on vocals….
“Stipe’s performance of “Kanga Roo” was at once fragile and unbowed, while his R.E.M. cohort, singer-bassist Mike Mills, found the holiday in the Christmas song “Jesus Christ.” Alternative-country singer Tift Merritt was a vital female addition, showing that the vengeful kick of “You Can’t Have Me” could go both ways. Other voices included Ira Kaplan of Yo La Tengo (“O, Dana,” “Take Care”), Norman Blake of the Scottish band Teenage Fanclub (“Nightime”), Matthew Sweet (“Big Black Car”) and Django Haskins of the group The Old Ceremony, who carried the bleak weight of “Holocaust” with a wise plain poise.” [Rolling Stone]
During the encore Tift performed “Thirteen” with Norman Blake. A recording of that cover from the show is avaialble for download above. A set of pictures from the show are in this post. More of them, with all of Tift’s tour dates, are below…
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photos by Lori Baily:
Lost In The Trees
Ivan Julian and Richard Barone
Django Haskins
Matt McMichaels
Ira Kaplan
Mike Mills
Matthew Sweet
Norman Blake
Brett Harris
Tift Merritt
Michael Stipe
Jody Stephens
Mitch Easter
photos by Ted Barron:
Chris Stamey
Mill Stephens
Tift Merritt
TIFT MERRITT – 2011 TOUR DATES
04-29-11 Chicago, IL SPACE*
04-30-11 Minneapolis, MN Cedar Cultural Center*
05-01-11 Des Moines, IA Flying Mango*
05-03-11 Indianapollis, IN Radio Radio*
05-04-11 Cleveland, OH Winchester*
05-05-11 Pittsburgh, PA Club Café*
05-06-11 New York, NY City Winery*
05-12-11 Seattle, WA Triple Door*
05-13-11 Portland, OR Mississippi Studios*
05-14-11 San Francisco, CA Swedish Hall*
05-16-11 Los Angeles, CA Bootleg Theatre*
05-17-11 San Diego, CA Anthology*
05-19-11 Denver, CO Walnut Room*
05-28-11 Knoxville, TN Bijou Theater**
06-22-11 New York, NY Madison Square Park
06-29-11 Paris, France Le Grand Rex^
07-01-11 London, UK Barbican^
07-02-11 Birmingham, UK Symphony Hall^
07-04-11 London, UK The Borderline
07-06-11 Edinburgh, UK Usher Hall^
07-07-11 Kinross, Scotland, UK Backstage at the Green Hotel
* w/Stephen Kellogg
** w/The Black Lilies
^ w/Gregg Allman
