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From The Desk Of Tift Merritt: Marfa, Texas

Tift Merritt is about as approachable as they come. An email inquiry to her press rep prompts an almost immediate response from the artist herself. “I’m happy to catch you up on what we’ve been up to lately and the like … just let me know if phone or email is better for you.” Merritt’s only stipulation: that any interview happen after 11 a.m., so she can get in her daily practice session on a piano she’s been using at a club not far from her Manhattan apartment. You could argue that, with a voice like hers, Merritt should be able to afford her dream piano by now. But while she may not be a household name (yet), she’s on a trajectory not unlike a few of her singer/songwriter luminaries (Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams), stockpiling critical plaudits and fan adoration for the four studio albums she’s released since 2002. Her most recent, See You On The Moon (Fantasy), is the scaled-back, introverted antithesis of what may be her only bid for a wider audience, 2004’s polished roots-rock zinger Tambourine. That’s the one that earned her a Grammy nod for best country album. (Guess no one bothered to tell the academy it wasn’t country.) Merritt will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new Q&A with her.

Merritt: I love a little respite in this far West Texas art outpost. Not far from Big Bend, Marfa is where Giant was filmed and James Dean learned to drive fast. Cowboys, campfires, characters—Cormac McCarthy country. My friend Liz started taking me out there about five years ago, and I always mean to spend some time writing out there. We stay on her family’s ranch in the bunkhouse. The wind rips through, and cows are rounded up via horse and pickup. Bohemian paradise El Cosmico‘s beautifully remodeled airstream trailers with outdoor bathtubs are amazing. The Trans-Pecos Festival Of Music And Love is my favorite party going. Padre’s is a great bar with shuffleboard. And don’t forget the ranch report and much else on Marfa Public Radio, KRTS.

Video after the jump.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIxdqGc6kAk