Suzanne Vega Playing Stephen Talkhouse June 13

Craft. If’s a word tossed around loosely, yet an effective descriptor when it comes to the defining factor shaping the creative journey Suzanne Vega has been on throughout her career. It’s a voyage that’s taken her from storied Greenwich Village venues like the late, lamented Folk City to creating a critically acclaimed canon that kicked off with her self-titled 1985 debut album. Vega’s experiences have found her dabbling in theater (more on that later), reshaping her live approach through a cabaret prism and now returning with Flying With Angels, the sexuagenarian singer-songwriter’s tenth studio album. Produced by longtime collaborator and guitarist Gerry Leonard, this collection 10 songs finds Vega offering hope in an increasingly hostile world.

“Each song on the album takes place in an atmosphere of struggle,” Vega said. “Struggle to survive, to speak, to dominate, to win, to escape, to help someone else, or just live.”

While this album heralds Vega’s return to the studio to record original material for the first time since 2014’s Tales From the Realm of the Queen of Pentacles, the former Spanish Harlem resident spent the past 11 years honing her live game and flexing other creative muscles. The aforementioned foray into theater found her building off Carson McCullers Talks About Love, a play she co-wrote with fellow songwriter Duncan Sheik that premiered in 2011. And while that project yielded 2016’s Lover, Beloved: Songs from an Evening with Carson McCullers, an album based on the play, it also whetted Vega’s appetite for more theatrical experiences. It came in the form of her playing the role of “Band Leader” in a 2020 off-Broadway musical based on the 1969 movie Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice. It’s an experience Vega loved but was unfortunately cut short by the pandemic.

“I played 10 different characters,” she explained. “I was the narrator and all the characters who were not Bob, Carol, Ted or Alice. I loved it. I had fun. I played me. I played women. I played old people. I played young people. It was great fun and I had a great time. I also got a really good write-up in the New York Times, which was really nice. And then we had to cut it short because of COVID-19. It’s not on the agenda now because of all this other stuff that I’m doing. But I would never say no.”

Vega further left her comfort zone when she led a trio in 2019 at the Café Carlyle, an iconic venue located on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. And while that yielded 2020’s An Evening of New York Songs and Stories, there was a definite learning curve for someone whose normal live spaces are along the lines of folk clubs and theaters.

“I’m not really a jazz singer and I haven’t been trained in theatrical singing, [so] I had to alter my approach,” she admitted. “We decided to do a lot of songs that bordered on lounge music. And we changed our usual line-up. I don’t think we had a drummer—we just had an upright bass, keyboards and Gerry Leonard on guitar. That was interesting to have to change my vocal approach. In spite of the fact that the Carlyle is this tiny venue that holds about 70 people, I had to really project a big personality because that’s what they’re used to. They’re used to icons. The Carlyle is a place where someone like Eartha Kitt played.”

Aesthetics were also addressed with Vega treating those recorded dates like a theater piece, where she kept a consistent look be it her wardrobe, hair, make-up or speech patter. Stories were prepared, audience interaction was at a premium and as she pointed out, “You have to play as hard as are if you’re playing to a room of 1,000.”

From a performer’s perspective, Vega admits that hitting the stage fronting a band versus being part of a dramatic ensemble is an adjustment that finds her using different creative muscles.

“I love them both, but they’re both very different,” she said. “The theater is all about creating a character, which is honestly something I sometimes do with my own writing. ‘Tom’s Diner’ is a kind of dramatic dialogue and so is ‘Luka.’ There are some songs that are dramatic dialogues. Songwriting is something I’ve done so long and I think I do it more naturally. I can really play around. The theater is a world that I’ve loved. I’ve had training in it. I’ve had training as a dancer. I’ve had all kinds of theatrical training to be on stage, but it’s a lot more work for me. But it’s also very rewarding when I can pull it off.”

With a new record to promote, music is once again Suzanne Vega’s full focus as further touring is on the slate for the rest of 2025. In the meantime, she’s continuing to challenge herself creatively.

“Peter Gabriel once told me that as an artist, it’s good to blow up your idiosyncrasies,” she explained. “He said that to me in the late ‘80s, right after ‘Luka’ had been this big success. Sometimes when you’re successful, you feel that everybody wants you to iron out your idiosyncrasies. You’re asked why you don’t do this or that. This was a great relief when he said that to me. I love that idea. I still believe it and have concluded that your limits and quirks are your style. That’s what I’ve distilled from that bit of advice that he gave me.”

Suzanne Vega will be appearing on June 13 at Stephen Talkhouse, 61 Main Street, Amagansett. For more information, visit  stephentalkhouse.com or call 631-267-3117.