Tift

Folk/Americana singer Tift Merritt was born in Houston, Texas, but was raised in Raleigh, NC. She's multi-talented - - writes songs, sings them, plays guitar, electric guitar, and keyboards. She's sexy and cute, rather than sexy and beautiful, if you can discern the difference, with a breathy voice and a feminine vulnerability that is endearing. She spent a bunch of years living in NYC, until she became pregnant with a daughter; after the birth she returned to NC, desiring to raise the little girl in a more relaxed atmosphere. Currently Tift is a single mom, raising the little girl by herself and taking her along to the occasional live music gigs - - Tift's touring schedule has been curtailed by motherhood, to a large degree.

Here's a few of my favorite Tift Merritt songs. We'll lead off with a paean to a mill town that died when a highway bypassed it:



Next, "All the Reasons We Don't Have To Fight." A bittersweet relationship song.



Next, the very first Tift Merritt song I ever heard, and instantly fell in love with: Trouble Over Me, from her breakthrough album Bramble Rose:

Here's one from 2017, Heartache Is An Uphill Climb, filmed in Wilson, NC, during a parade, Tift seemingly frightened by the climbing of the water tower - - I'd have been scared shitless, myself:



Tift also has a fondness for Motown-style soul, shown here in Good Hearted Man:



Finally, Tift doing her trademark song Bramble Rose, her sweet vulnerability on full display as she sings the song solo. The guitar, a Martin parlor guitar - - OOO-series, I'd guess - - is capoed up to sound almost like a mandolin. Tift has said that this song is a favorite with Eagles member Don Henley, who has played it in concert.