Natalie Merchant, whose new, self-titled album was released to critical acclaim this spring, begins a three-week tour of the United States close to home at the Ulster Performing Arts Center in Kingston, New York, this Thursday, followed by stops in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington, DC, Vermont, Maine, New York, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Merchant helps kick things off as a guest on public radio's The Diane Rehm Show on Wednesday and the CBC's Q with Gian Ghomeshi Thursday morning. She will perform two New York City shows this fall, at the Beacon Theater and the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the latter as part of a multi-artist celebration of Nonesuch Records at 50. See below for all of the currently scheduled show; for all the latest details, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.

"The collective feel of the music on the album still leaves room for Merchant’s trademark intimacy and honesty: no small feat," writes Hudson Valley Almanac Weekly's Crispin Kott in advance of Thursday's show. "Expect similar wire-walking brilliance when Merchant takes the show on the road." 

Natalie Merchant's self-titled album is her sixth solo work and her first collection of entirely original songs in 13 years. Merchant describes the self-produced release as informed "by decades of experience and keen observation," dealing with issues of "damage, love gained and lost, regret, denial, surrender, greed, destructiveness, defeat, and occasional triumph." The AP calls it a "rich musical tapestry." The Telegraph lauds her "quietly magnificent" voice. Merchant "is in terrific form," says the Times of London. "It is Merchant’s mature, versatile voice that steals the show."

To pick up a copy of Natalie Merchant, head to iTunes or the Nonesuch Store, where CD orders include a download of the complete album at checkout.

NATALIE MERCHANT ON TOUR

* Nonesuch Records at BAM; w/ Kronos Quartet, Rhiannon Giddens, Sam Amidon, Olivia Chaney