The Musical Box

tift merritt headlined the original highlands art and music festival last night in louisville. photo by mark borthwick.

“Well, I’m glad it’s still summertime in Louisville,” remarked Tift Merritt as her headlining set last night at the Original Highlands Art and Music Festival got underway. To be sure, with an outdoor stage set up where Bardstown Rd. gave way to Baxter Ave. and evening temps still hanging in the mid ‘80s, it could have been mid July. But then again, there was already a hearty, summery vibe in the songs the Americana songstress served up.

The show opening Morning is My Destination, one of six tunes performed from Merritt’s recent Another Country album, set the performance tone. The song was fueled by a percussive, keyboard driven melody that hinted at gospel and soul and a lyric that served as an unassuming affirmation. Merritt’s vocals, which never seemed weighty throughout the performance, colored the music with knowing country intent.

And then there was the foot. Pity the poor keyboard pedal, because Merritt slammed her heel down on it like a jackhammer during the tune. Ditto for When I Cross Over, another Another Country gem where the footstomping moved to the stage floor to enhance the tune’s makeshift spiritual fervor.

The show nicely slimmed down to essentials at times, as when two acoustic guitars and three voices dressed up Supposed to Make You Happy. It also hushed enough during the more bittersweet Hopes Too High that a neighboring chorus of cicadas, not doubt in the midst of their own street festival, could be heard chirping along as dusk set in.

Merritt’s secret weapon in this homey mix was guitarist Scott McCall, a sharp, understated support player that helped flesh out the wistful contours of Stray Paper on slide guitar. He similarly fortified the soul/funk jubilance of Merritt’s take on James Carr’s Your Love Made a U Turn and the jangly electric pop of Broken.

Late in the set, when Merritt doubled McCall on electric guitar, the show blew wide open with My Heart is Free. It hardly broke down into a punkish brawl, mind you. But the sheer exuberance of Merritt’s performance drive gave the show a fun hullabaloo attitude as it headed into the home stretch.

The best, not surprisingly, was served last. With her band’s work done and the early evening sun having given way to a lustrous full moon that hung over the stage, Merritt returned to the keyboard to sing one final gospel-soul testimonial, Good Hearted Man, without accompaniment.

The band was dynamite. But when Merritt took to the stage on her own, the rootsy fervor of her singing was as big as… well… all outdoors.