To coincide with the release of her new self-titled album, Natalie Merchant will perform two concerts at Milton Court Concert Hall in London on May 10 & 11, showcasing new songs as well as material drawn from her catalogue as a solo artist and with 10,000 Maniacs. These two concerts are part of a wider celebration at the Barbican to mark Nonesuch Records’ 50th anniversary, including a marathon weekend entitled Explorations: The Sound of Nonesuch Records (May 17-18), during which Merchant will join fellow Nonesuch artists Kronos Quartet, Rhiannon Giddens, Sam Amidon, and Olivia Chaney, and others for a unique concert of traditional and contemporary music collaborations. Tickets are on sale now.

Nonesuch Records will release Natalie Merchant’s new self-titled album on May 6, 2014. The recording is the multi-platinum singer’s sixth solo collection, and her first of entirely original songs in 13 years; she describes the new release as informed "by experience and keen observation," dealing with issues of "love gained and lost, regret, denial, surrender, greed, destructiveness, defeat, and occasional triumph." Natalie Merchant is available for pre-order in the Nonesuch Store. International tour dates will be announced shortly.

Musician-activist Natalie Merchant has directed a short documentary film titled SHELTER: A Concert Film to Benefit Victims of Domestic Violence that shines light on a group of women living in the Mid-Hudson region of New York State responding to the crisis of domestic violence in their community with compassion and creativity. Musicians, advocates, criminal prosecutors, victims and survivors all take to the stage, illuminating the darkness surrounding this public health epidemic. Shelter was inspired by One Billion Rising, a global campaign calling for an end to violence against women. Watch the film here.

The Barbican's 2014 marathon weekend, May 17 and 18, will celebrate Nonesuch Records in the label's 50th anniversary year. Entitled Explorations: The Sound of Nonesuch Records, this curated weekend of events includes five concerts taking place in LSO St Luke's, Guildhall School's new Milton Court Concert Hall, and the Barbican Hall, with performances from Jonny Greenwood, Kronos Quartet, Brad Mehldau, Timo Andres, Sam Amidon, Natalie Merchant, Rhiannon Giddens, Olivia Chaney, and others performing works by Greenwood, Mehldau, Andres, Steve Reich, John Adams, Philip Glass, Frederic Rzewski, Henryk Górecki, Donnacha Dennehy, and more. Satellite events will include Kronos at 40 (May 13) and Jeremy Denk (May 24) with further events to be announced.

The new picture book from Natalie Merchant and award-winning children's book illustrator Barbara McClintock based on Leave Your Sleep, Merchant's double-album of classic children's poetry adapted to music, is out today. Frances Foster Books, an imprint of Farrar Straus Giroux and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, has published this beautiful hard-cover, 48-page, full-color book including a CD with 19 songs. It is now available in the Nonesuch Store.

Natalie Merchant has teamed up with award-winning children's book illustrator Barbara McClintock for a new picture book based on Leave Your Sleep, Merchant's album of classic children's poetry adapted to music. Frances Foster Books will publish this beautiful hard cover, 48-page, full-color book including a CD with 19 songs, available November 13, 2012. It is now available to pre-order in the Nonesuch Store. Watch a video preview of the book here.

Natalie Merchant and a group of fellow New York–based artists will participate in a rally and concert event in Albany on Tuesday, May 15, regarding the dangers of hydraulic fracturing and to call on Governor Cuomo to ban the controversial natural gas drilling process in New York State. Also participating are Medeski Martin & Wood, Citizen Cope, The Felice Brothers, Joan Osborne, Tracy Bonham, Toshi Reagon, Dan Zanes, Ida, The Horse Flies, and The Ahkwesasne Women Singers. Actors Mark Ruffalo and Melissa Leo will host. The rally will take place on The West Capitol Lawn, followed by the concert at The Egg.

Natalie Merchant's 2010 Nonesuch debut album, Leave Your Sleep, will be the basis for a curriculum unit taught to 3,500 New York City public school children in grades K-3 this fall. On the album, Merchant adapts the works of such poets as Edward Lear, Ogden Nash, and Robert Graves into a musically kaleidoscopic set of new songs. She joins the Nashville Symphony in concert on November 13 and joins Levon Helm and others on November 18 in upstate New York for a concert to benefit those hit by Tropical Storm Irene.

Natalie Merchant will perform two shows in upstate New York next month as part of Radio Woodstock's 13th annual Pink October Fundraiser, benefiting breast cancer research at the Dyson Center for Cancer Care at Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie. Merchant will also join the Nashville Symphony in concert in November and will be honored as a 2011 New York Public Library Lion, along with Jonathan Franzen, Ian McEwan, Tony Kushner, Stacy Schiff, and Isabel Wilkerson.

Natalie Merchant and Carolina Chocolate Drops performed at the 45th annual Cambridge Folk Festival in England last summer to great acclaim. The Guardian said "Merchant was on classic form." The Daily Telegraph described the Carolina Chocolate Drops as "Cambridge naturals, playing their banjo and jug-band music with such irrepressible joy you can well imagine they’ve arrived on the main stage direct from last night’s camp fire." Now, a two-hour DVD of the 2010 festival has been released, capturing songs from these performances.

Natalie Merchant performs a benefit concert for the Bard College Conservatory of Music Saturday night. She will be joined by the conservatory orchestra in performing songs from her latest album, Leave Your Sleep, and throughout her career. Merchant will preview the event with an intimate, live "Parlour Session," broadcast on WKZE today at noon. She recently spoke about the Bard event with WAMC, which calls Leave Your Sleep "just plain beautiful."

Natalie Merchant's Leave Your Sleep has won the 2010 fRoots Critics Poll for Best Packaged Album of the Year. "Artistic skill can produce a must-have artefact of beauty, along with enhancing the listening pleasure by providing ambience and information," says fRoots, calling Leave Your Sleep "a classic example of how to do things well." Merchant also made the poll's list of the Top 20 New Albums of 2010, along with Carolina Chocolate Drops, Ali Farka Touré, Toumani Diabaté, AfroCubism, and Cheikh Lô.