Catherine Tift Merritt (born January 8, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She has released seven studio albums, two for Lost Highway Records, two for Fantasy Records, and three for Yep Roc Records.

Merritt was born in Houston and grew up in Raleigh.^[2] She credits her father's eclectic taste in music as a major influence.^[3] At the age of 20, Merritt enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to study creative writing.^[4]

Merritt joined a band called the Carbines and played small clubs in the cities of Raleigh and Chapel Hill, North Carolina.^[5] In 1998, the band released a 7-inch single, "Jukejoint Girl"; in 1999 they released an album, The Two Dollar Pistols with Tift Merritt on Yep Roc.^[6]

In 2000, Merritt won the MerleFest's Chris Austin Songwriting Contest^[7] and in 2002 released her debut album, Bramble Rose. The record was in the top ten lists for both Time and The New Yorker; it was called the best debut of the year by the Associated Press.^[8] While touring to promote Bramble Rose, she opened for fellow North Carolinian Ryan Adams, who had helped her secure her first management and record contracts.^[9]

Her follow-up release, 2004's Tambourine, was produced by George Drakoulias; Benmont Tench, Mike Campbell, Neal Casal, and Don Heffington were in her backing band on the album.^{[citation needed]} The album was nominated for a best country album Grammy Award in 2004.^[10] She was nominated for Americana Music Association: Album of the Year, Artist of the Year, and Song of the Year in 2005^[11] Her performance on Austin City Limits was released as a DVD on New West Records.^[12] A sold-out concert at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh was released under the title Home Is Loud in the same year.^[13]

Merrit's sound has been described as "sonic short stories and poignant performances."^[25] She has been compared to artists like Joni Mitchell^[26] and Emmylou Harris.^[27]

A review in The New Yorker lauded her^[27] and The Wall Street Journal included her in a weekend feature on singer-songwriters, describing her as being "in the tradition of Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and Leonard Cohen".^[26]

In 2009, Merritt married Zeke Hutchins;^[28] they separated in late 2013.^[29] In 2016, she and Eric Heywood had a daughter named Jean.^[30]