Suzanne Vega will release her new album, of An Evening of New York Songs and Stories (Cooking Vinyl) on May 1 2020. In celebration of the release, she will play a series of UK and European dates and festivals.
Listen to first single, Suzanne’s striking cover of Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side”, out February 21, HERE
On An Evening of New York Songs and Stories, Vega revisits some of the most iconic songs in her repertoire as well as more hidden gems in a stunning live recording on which she is backed by longtime guitarist, Gerry Leonard, bassist Jeff Allen and keyboardist Jamie Edwards. The album was produced by Gerry Leonard, mixed by Grammy Award winning engineer Kevin Killen and mastered by Grammy Award winner, Bob Ludwig.
Recorded at New York City’s famed Café Carlyle in early 2019, An Evening of New York Songs and Stories includes both familiar songs like “Luka” and “Tom’s Diner” and deep cuts from her catalogue like “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 one woman play about the Southern gothic novelist Carson McCullers, and a cover of her late friend Lou Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side.”
Of the album, Vega commented, “It is always a pleasure to play at the Café Carlyle in New York City, where this album was recorded. It is 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 love it for its bohemian old-world glamour! I decided it would be fun to perform a New York-themed show there. I included songs that were inspired by New York City or for which New York provided the backdrop, and also one by my late, great friend, Lou Reed, - “Walk on the Wild Side” - a song I rarely heard him sing himself.
Suzanne Vega, joined by the band with which she recorded An Evening of New York Songs and Stories, will take to the road over the coming months for a lengthy European tour, including the following UK dates:
Sat May 2nd Luxembourg, Beaufort, Chateaux du Beaufort
Sun May 3rd Belgium, Ghent, Minard Theatre
Wed May 6th Paris Le Cigale
Fri May 8th Berlin Metropol
Sat May 9th Amsterdam, De Waalse Kerk
Tues May 12th UK, London EartH
Fri July 3rd Netherlands, Eindhoven, DOMUSDELA
Mon 13th July Denmark, Arhus, Aarhus Jazz Festival
15th July, Germany, Freiburg, ZMF festival
Wed 22nd July France, Nimes, Les Arena De Nimes
Fri 24th July Spain, Porta Ferrada, El Festival de Porta Ferrada
Sun 2nd Aug UK, Cawthorne Underneath the Stars Festival - main stage
Tues 4th Aug Belgium, Brugge, Moods! Festival
Widely regarded as one of the foremost songwriters of her generation, Suzanne Vega emerged as a leading figure of the folk-music revival of the early 1980s. Since the release of her self-titled, critically acclaimed 1985 debut album, she has written and recorded numerous songs that have become part of the contemporary music vernacular, including “Luka”, certainly the only hit song ever written from the perspective of an abused boy, “Marlene on the Wall”, a surprise hit in the UK and “Tom’s Diner”, a strange little a cappella piece that was remixed by U.K. electronic dance duo “DNA” and became a major club hit. Her albums, including her self-titled debut, the follow up, Solitude Standing and 99.9F have sold millions of copies.
Bearing the stamp of a masterful storyteller who "observes the world with a clinically poetic eye," Suzanne’s songs have always tended to focus on city life, ordinary people and real world subjects. Notably succinct and understated, Suzanne Vega’s work is immediately recognizable, as utterly distinct and thoughtful as it was when her voice was first heard on the radio over 30 years ago.
