Seems like all the greats are gearing up for the imminent return of Lilith Fair. Not only are there rumors that Sarah McLachlan is hard at work trying to release her next album, but Natalie Merchant, one of our all time favorites, have officially announced that she is working full-time on her next studio album 8 years after her previous offering Motherland.

This is a great sigh of relief as Natalie Merchant has been only appearing charity functions and was rumored to be doing a nursery rhyme album much like the monstrously horrid Lullaby by Jewel. However, Natalie Merchant has chosen to go back to her roots and give us yet another chunk of folk balladry and rocks gems.

Here’s the press release statement on the commencement of her album from her website:

“I’ve never had such a massive amount of material to draw from before, I’ve been writing continuously for the past seven years. I’ve wanted to make another album but knew that it’s a full-immersion process and I didn’t want to sacrifice the time and attention that my child deserved. Now that she is older the time feels right.”

Merchant is collaborating with many musicians on this project and experimenting with new styles of music.

“I have extremely varied interests when it comes to music and have barely touched upon these in my own songwriting or performing, this project is going to be my opportunity to do some exploring.”

She’s working with Venezuelan producer Andres Levin and British soundtrack recordist Nick Wollage. Musical collaborators will include Wynton Marsalis, Medeski Martin & Wood, Lúnasa, The Fairfield Four, The Klezmatics, Hazmat Modine and Cardamon Quartet, Stephen Barber, The Meridian Arts Ensemble, The Ditty Bops, Katell Keineg and more.

“I’ve met so many talented musicians over the years and have wanted to play music with them and still even more I’ve admired from a distance and wanted to approach about collaborating. I’ve been inviting people from all over the musical map to come to Upstate New York and spend a brief time making music with me. The results have been magical, some of the best musical experiences of my life.”