Best? Maybe not, but she's definitely a great female vocalist.
Natalie Merchant lives local to me, in Ulster Co.NY. A few years back I was playing at a pancake breakfast (I play in a Americana/folk band) at a Maple Sugar Shack. We were playing on a flat bed trailer and saw a couple women and kids dancing. After the song the woman walked by our "stage" and gave us two thumbs up. It was Natalie Merchant. We saw her a year and a half ago at a local hotel/retreat called the Mohonk Mountain House. I enjoy her music and she does a nice solo show. Her politics however - - - - .
