I just saw this advertised in the N&O (News & Observer for those not in or near Raleigh), Tift is scheduled to play at PineCone's Winter Festival on January 30, 2010 at the Maymandi Concert Hall at the Progress Energy Center.  She is part pf a group of performers.  The headliner is Kris Kristofferson.  The others are the Tony Rice Unit and Bearfoot.  Tift is listed as "Tift Merritt (with special appearance by Raleigh's own Community Music School Choir)".  I'm not sure what that is all about.  The tickets go on sale on August 17 (earlier for PineCone members).  They range from $45-$55 (less for PineCone members).  I wish I knew how much of this will be Tift - never been a big Kris Kristofferson fan.

Hub, I can't tell you how long Tift is supposed to play, but I think I can shed some light on the special appearance of the Community Music School group.

Last October Tift emceed Raleigh's Medal of Arts ceremony. Her one musical performance was a version of "Another Country" that featured backing vocals from the Community Music School kids.

Among the folks in the crowd who saw that performance were the people of Pine Cone, which is the sponsoring group for the January concert. One of the Pine Coners told me that they were interested in bringing those kids (the same group, if not the same kids) back for another performance.

So perhaps we might see a peformance like the one captured below.

Mitch,

I should have known you would have the skinny on this.

My question is:  Why does the kid on the left look like he wishes he was anywhere but there?

I think I know were I'll be on my birthday this winter. Thanks for the headsup.

Here's more detail from WRAL. It looks like a 60- to 75-minute set for T.

Here's more information about Tift's next Raleigh show.

In case you haven't seen this information about Jan. 30:

8:15 p.m.—9:15 p.m. North Carolina's own Tift Merritt is also part of Saturday's festivities. Singing a blend of country, rock and Southern rhythm and blues, Tift Merritt returns to the city where she grew up to join in a night of musical celebration. Also, Raleigh's own Community Music School Vocal Ensemble will make a special appearance as part of Merritt's set. Raleigh-born Merritt is the Honorary Chair of City of Raleigh Arts Commission's "Artist of Tomorrow Scholarship," which is awarded to a student pursuing a career in the arts.

It's time to do your anti-snow dance. (At least we would like to avoid the debilitating snow that would mess with Saturday's show.)

In the meantime, here's some additional information:

8:15 P.M. Triangle-based rootsy singer/ songwriter aficionados had the pleasure of watching Tift Merritt evolve from promising open-mic fixture to bandleader to genuine recording artist, migrating from Humble Pie to Austin City Limits to Paris. [WRAL's Bill] Leslie was paying attention. "[She's] charmingly beautiful and richly talented as both a wordsmith and melody crafter," he says. "Tift has graced the airwaves of WRAL numerous times, including an unforgettable performance with the North Carolina Symphony in our annual Pops in the Park concert series." For this performance, the Community Music School Choir will handle the support role.

The news says it is snowing and sleeting in Raleigh and is supposed to drop down to ta-ta-twelve degrees this evening. I hope the weather warms up a bit more than forecast changing the sleet to rain.  I trust Phillip and Andie's snow mobile is tuned up and runnin' tops  and Mitch's ice skate blades are still sharp.  Careful driving y'all.   Peter

As I start this entry, Kris Kristofferson is likely wrapping up his show. I left a bit early to avoid sharing the crappy snow-and-ice-slicked roads with the bulk of the crowd.

If you've read an entry in another thread about this show, you know that we dodged a bullet. All four artists scheduled for tonight's bill were in town today, so the show went on as scheduled. (Tomorrow's show with four different artists has been canceled.) Tony Rice was missing half of his six-piece band, but he plugged away with a replacement bassist. Tift also didn't have the chance to reprise her performance with the Community Music School group.

Nonetheless, Tift's voice was in fine form, and she played many selections from her upcoming album, including three songs never mentioned here before. Here's a set list (Forrest grabbed the actual set list) with some notes. Unless otherwise noted, Tift performed solo:

• The Things That Everybody Does
• Broken (which was followed by the comment: "I should have said, 'Gather me in like a snowstorm'")
• Something To Me
• All The Reasons We Don't Have To Fight (w/Jay Brown's backing vocals)
• Another Country
• After Today (brand new song, a sad piano piece inspired by an old friend's stories about his work as a public defender)
• Evel Knievel (Zeke sings lead and plays ukulele, while Tift and Jay sing backing vocals and Tift does her best backing vocalist shimmy)
• Mixtape
• Keep You Happy
• Engine To Turn (brand new rocking song, w/Jay on backing vocals and tambourine)
• Danny's Song (yes, it's THAT song by Kenny Loggins, featuring Jay's backing vocals and Tift playing a guitar that's even smaller than Little Red)
• Good Hearted Man
• See You On The Moon (w/Jay's backing vocals)

Tift also mentioned that she expects to play the N.C. Museum of Art June 1. Yea!

NOTE: I've corrected the title of "Engine To Turn."

I'm glad this was captured for posterity:

I captured this one. I had seen him play it a little over a month earlier at the Pour House while sitting in with Chatham County Line. You can hear the full song here:

http://www.archive.org/details/ccl2009-12-19

Thanks, dschram! That was a great CCL show.

We'll have the full Pine Cone version of "Evel Knievel" as a future 96-proof bootleg.