LITTLE ROCK — Singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega is no stranger to Arkansas, but she will find her way to central Arkansas for the first time this weekend.
“I have played Fayetteville a few times now as I recall,” Vega says. “Life is still hectic.”
Known for her Top 5 hit songs “Luka” and “Tom’s Diner,” Vega, 53, burst on the folk/ jazz/rock scene in New York in 1985, when she released a debut, self-titled album. In the next dozen years, she released six more studio albums and is now re-releasing her music in a different format.
“I’m re-recording my past catalog so fans can hear the songs without the production of the ’80s and ’90s,” she says, which is “also a way of owning a physical copy of my life’s work.”
She is referring to her Close-Up series, which began in 2010 with Vol. 1 Love Songs and Vol. 2 People & Places. She released Vol. 3 States of Being in 2011 andVol. 4 Songs of Family in 2012.
In 1999, Vega’s book, The Passionate Eye: The Collected Writings of Suzanne Vega, a collection of her poems, essays, lyrics and other writing, was published by Avon Books. Her songs have been used on the soundtracks of several movies: The Truth About Cats & Dogs (“Caramel”), Dead Man Walking (“Woman on the Tier”) and Pretty in Pink (“Left of Center”).
Her live show will feature her playing solo and with another musician, Gerry Leonard, who also serves as David Bowie’s music director. Vega will play what she describes as “just my handmade acoustic Furch guitar. We’ll be promoting Close-Up, Vol. 4 and trying out new material.”
Besides her music, Vega has raised an 18-year-old daughter, Ruby Froom, who is pursuing a music career, Vega says, and in college studying music and neuroscience.
Vega maintains her interest in human rights, and The London Times has published her book reviews.
“I’ve acted in a play I wrote, based on the life and work of Carson McCullers,” she adds. Vega co-wrote the play, Carson McCullers Talks About Love, with fellow singer-songwriter Duncan Sheik. The play premiered in 2011 and was a nominee for Outstanding Music in a Play at the 57th annual Drama Desk awards.
As to which of her songs best describes her nowadays, she passes on “Left of Center,” and nominates two others: “[It] depends on the day. ‘Cracking’ on some days, other days ‘Caramel.’”Suzanne Vega
Opening act: Treva Blomquist
8 p.m. Sunday (doors open
at 7 p.m.), Juanita’s, 614
President Clinton Ave., Lit
tle Rock
Admission: $25 advance,
$30 day of show (Standing
room only general admis
sion tickets)
(501) 372-1228
Weekend, Pages 34 on 02/14/2013