Today it has been announced that artist and former lead singer of 10,000 Maniacs Natalie Merchant will drop her first album of new songs in nearly a decade called Keep Your Courage which will be released on April 14, 2023 via by Nonesuch Records.
An eclectic album produced by Merchant, it features two duets sung with vocalist Abena Koomson-Davis (Resistance Revival Chorus), contributions from the Celtic folk group Lúnasa and Syrian virtuoso clarinetist Kinan Azmeh and horn arrangements by jazz trombonist Steve Davis. There are lush orchestrations throughout by seven composers including: Gabriel Kahane, Stephen Barber, Colin Jacobson, and Megan Gould.
Keep Your Courage comprises nine original songs by Merchant as well as an interpretation of “Hunting the Wren” by Ian Lynch of the Irish band Lankum. The vinyl LP edition of Keep Your Courage includes four bonus tracks from earlier albums, previously unreleased on vinyl.
In celebration of the release, Merchant will embark upon a US tour this spring, going into the fall and European dates will be announced shortly.
Keep Your Courage Tracklist
- Big Girls
- Come on, Aphrodite
- Sister Tilly
- Narcissus
- Hunting the Wren
- Guardian Angel
- Eye of the Storm
- Tower of Babel
- Song of Himself
- The Feast of Saint Valentine
Bonus Content
- Spring and Fall: To a Young Child (from 2010’s Leave Your Sleep)
- Butterfly (from 2017’s Butterfly)
- Giving up Everything (from 2014’s Natalie Merchant)
- Frozen Charlotte (from 2017’s Butterfly; original version on 1998’s Ophelia)
Natalie Merchant US Tour
4/15—Poughkeepsie, NY—Bardavon, 1869 Opera House
4/18—Pittsburgh, PA—Byham Theater
4/19—Charlottesville, VA—The Paramount Theater
4/21—Philadelphia, PA—Kimmel Cultural Campus
4/22—Hershey, PA—The Hershey Theatre
4/24—Greenville, SC—Peace Center Concert Hall*
4/26—Clearwater, FL—Ruth Eckerd Hall
4/27—Fort Lauderdale, FL—Au—Rene Theater – Broward
Center for the Performing Arts**
4/28—St. Augustine, FL—The Saint Augustine Amphitheatre
4/30—Atlanta, GA—Atlanta Symphony Hall**
5/9—Portland, ME—Merrill Auditorium
5/10—Boston, MA—Emerson Colonial Theatre
5/13—Cleveland, OH—Keybank State Theatre
5/14—Cincinnati, OH—Taft Theatre
5/16—Carmel, IN—The Palladium at the Center for the Performing Arts
5/17—Ann Arbor, MI—Michigan Theater
5/19—Chicago, IL—Chicago Theatre
5/20—Milwaukee, WI—The Pabst Theater
6/2–6/3—New York, NY—Lincoln Center for the
Performing Arts — Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center**
6/28—Providence, RI—Veterans Memorial Auditorium**
6/30–7/1—Washington, DC—John F. Kennedy
7/8—Chautauqua, NY—Chautauqua Institution Amphitheater* **
9/20—Spokane, WA—Martin Woldson Theatre at The Fox
9/22—Seattle, WA—Venue TBA*
9/23—Portland, OR—Keller Auditorium
9/26—San Francisco, CA—The Masonic
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