Natalie Merchant's US tour, featuring music from her recent Nonesuch debut album, Leave Your Sleep, has made its way to the Midwest, where Merchant and her eight-piece band performed songs from the new album and favorites from earlier solo albums and 10,000 Maniacs at the Chicago Theatre last night. The Chicago Tribune says it was an "uplifting show," in which Merchant's "multimedia presentation enchanted with childlike wonder and wide-eyed imagination."

Reviewing the concert for the Tribune, Bob Gendron further describes that multimedia presentation, in which Merchant introduces the audience to the poets whose words she set to music to create the songs of Leave Your Sleep, as part of a joyful exchange with the receptive audience. "Merchant's refreshing enthusiasm and approachable demeanor carried over to her informed introductions of poets ranging from the familiar (e.e. cummings) to the obscure (Arthur Macy)," he writes. "Yet the folk-based music—and Merchant's tender, intimate voice—did the heavy lifting."

For further evidence of "the evening's cheerful vibes" and that of the songs on the new album, Gendron cites the singer-songwriter herself: "'Who said poetry isn't fun?,' asked Merchant, having seemingly stumbled across a secret that's eluded English teachers for decades."

Read the complete concert review at chicagotribune.com.

Merchant continues to perform in the Midwest into next week, before she heads to the UK for a set at the Cambridge Folk Festival. For more information, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.

To pick up a copy of Leave Your Sleep on CD with the complete album included as high-quality MP3s at checkout, head to the Nonesuch Store.