Natalie Merchant, probably the world’s best female singer, will sing in Northampton on July 13. It will be her first concert in the Valley in at least a decade. Her lyrics, and the music on her albums, are often – but not always – excellent. But Merchant’s concerts are always great, thanks to her incomparable voice.

In the song “Motherland," Merchant sings:

Where in hell can you go
Far from the things that you know
Far from the sprawl of concrete
That keeps crawling its way
About 1,000 miles a day?

Except for a year in Detroit, Merchant grew up in two small New York towns, both near Ohio. She attended public schools. Her father was a jazz musician, her mother a secretary. They divorced when Natalie was in elementary school. Her mother then married a college professor. Natalie Merchant graduated from Jamestown Community College.

Her first solo album, "Tigerlilly," sold more than 4 million copies. Merchant has performed hundreds of concerts at large theaters in New York City, London, Tokyo, Paris, and many other cities. She owns homes in Spain, Hawaii, upstate New York, and Japan.

For many years, her web site www.NatalieMerchant.com contained a link to the web site of the nation’s oldest and best progressive magazine, www.TheNation.com

She will sing at the Calvin Theater on July 13 at 8 p.m. Tickets for the best seats cost $55, the cheapest are $45. Details are at www.iheg.com

A music video by Merchant is at www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-HLxpWGCzc