Natalie Merchant is winding down her two month Lilith Fair stint over the next few days, including shows slated for today and tomorrow in Milwaukee.

Merchant started Lilith barely a month after releasing her second solo effort, "Ophelia," and as she recently told MTV News, singing unfamiliar songs can be a challenge for both the audience -- and the performer.

The exciting thing of going on tour when you haven't had the record out too long," she explained, "and you haven't burned out on performing the songs is that you're still discovering what they mean to you live and how to convey them to the audience.

Especially in our set during the song 'Life is Sweet,'" Merchant said. "It was kind of lengthy and the arrangement is a bit unorthodox, so it demands attention from the audience, especially when your record has only been out for a month. But there are different techniques and gestures for pulling an audience into a song that might confound them a little at first.

Many of Merchant's friends come out for guest spots on "Ophelia," including Karen Peris of Innocence Mission and N'Dea Davenport, formerly of the Brand New Heavies, who has just wrapped a video with the former 10,000 Maniacs singer for her next single, "Break Your Heart.