Natalie Merchant

After making widely loved music as a solo artist and, beforehand, with 10,000 Maniacs, Natalie Merchant is focusing on children for her latest project, Cabinet of Wonder. Spurred by her work with Head Start preschoolers in upstate New York, Merchant set Mother Goose verses to music and collaborated with members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chicago Children’s Theatre to bring the recordings and videos (starring her as Mother Goose) to life. In this wide-ranging conversation, Merchant speaks of the allure and legend of Mother Goose; describes why working with children is bringing her more joy than pursuing another solo project; and reflects on joining 10,000 Maniacs at age 17, co-writing with band members, working with various producers and feeling compelled to leave after 1992’s hit-filled Our Time in Eden. Did she have any inkling that her first solo album, Tigerlily (1997), would propel her to new artistic and commercial heights? (Photo by Joe Mazza)