Natalie Merchant begins her sold-out A Summer Evening With... tour of intimate and historic venues across the UK with a performance at Guildhall in St Ives tonight. The tour comprises eleven concerts and is her most far-reaching tour of the country to date. More than three decades after her first UK concert with 10,000 Maniacs, and two years after her sold-out Royal Albert Hall show marking the twentieth anniversary of her solo debut Tigerlily, this will be a unique opportunity to see the celebrated singer play towns and cities chosen by Merchant herself and not usually included on her tours. She will be joined by her longtime guitarist Erik Della Penna, who has been playing with her for twenty years, performing material from the past 35 years of Merchant's career.

"I have always enjoyed performing in the UK but have rarely played outside of the major cities. There's so much of Britain I've never seen; I expect this summer's tour will satisfy my desire to explore those historic and scenic regions while meeting up with my fans who live there."

Following her UK tour, Merchant will head to Ireland for a four-city tour as special guest of Lúnasa. Those dates are listed below as well.

In 2017 Nonesuch Records released The Natalie Merchant Collection, a deluxe, ten-CD box set compiled by Merchant, comprising all eight of her solo studio albums from the past three decades, as well as a new studio set, Butterfly; a disc of rare and previously unreleased tracks, Rarities; and a 100-page lyric book and pictorial history of her solo career. In a five-star review, Mojo described it as "Magnificent. This is a definitive and absorbing celebration of an artist with a singular voice and vision." The Times of London proclaimed: "A welcome re-evaluation of the folk singer's impressive catalogue." To pick up a copy, head to your local music shop, Amazon, or the Nonesuch Store, where orders include a download of the complete album at checkout.

NATALIE MERCHANT ON TOUR