Since the release of her self-titled, critically acclaimed 1985 debut album, she has given sold-out concerts in many of the world’s best-known venues. Vega emerged as a leading figure of the folk-music revival of the early 1980s when, accompanying herself on acoustic guitar, she sang what has been called contemporary folk or neo-folk songs of her own creation in Greenwich Village clubs. Produced by Leonard, mixed by Grammy Award-winning engineer Kevin Killen and mastered by Grammy Award winner Bob Ludwig, the album was recorded in early 2019 and includes familiar songs like “Luka” and “Tom’s Diner” and deep cuts from Vega’s catalog including “Frank and Ava” and “Ludlow Street.” The mix of repertoire also features “New York Is My Destination” from Lover, Beloved: Songs from an Evening with Carson McCullers, Vega’s 2016 album from her one-woman play about the Southern gothic novelist Carson McCullers. I love it for its bohemian old-world glamour! I included songs that were inspired by New York City or for which New York provided the backdrop, including “Walk on the Wild Side” by my late, great friend, Lou Reed-a song I rarely heard him sing himself.”Īn Evening of New York Songs and Stories finds Vega backed by longtime guitarist and musical director Gerry Leonard, bassist Jeff Allen and keyboardist Jamie Edwards.

“It’s a small, exclusive club that has hosted legends from Eartha Kitt to Judy Collins, and is also known to be the place where Jackie Kennedy met Audrey Hepburn. “I recorded these songs at the Café Carlyle in New York City,” Vega says of the album. Widely regarded as one of the foremost songwriters of her generation, Suzanne Vega released her latest album, An Evening of New York Songs and Stories, on Septem(Amanuensis/Cooking Vinyl).

Susan hayden santa monica ca writer