Page "Tift Merritt" Paragraph 6

Her follow-up release, 2004's Tambourine, was produced by George Drakoulias and featured backing by Benmont Tench, Mike Campbell ( of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers ), Neal Casal and Don Heffington ( of Emmylou Harris's Hot Band and Lone Justice ).

Tambourine was honored with a 2004 Grammy Award for Best Country Album nomination, though its sound was frequently described in quite different terms, such as " rock-soul throwdown ".

In 2005, Merritt and Tambourine were also nominated for three Americana Music Awards by the Americana Music Association: Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, and Song of the Year for " Good Hearted Man ".

During the tour to promote Tambourine, Merritt opened for Elvis Costello and recorded Austin City Limits — a performance later released as a DVD by New West Records.

The sold-out homecoming concert for the tour — at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, North Carolina — was recorded for a live album release ; Home Is Loud was released in 2005 and re-released by the German label Blue Rose Records with bonus tracks in November 2009.