A few months ago, I wrote an Alternative Number Ones column about Suzanne Vega's "Blood Makes Noise." That wasn't exactly a huge song in the grander context of the veteran New York singer-songwriter's long career, but it's a really good one nevertheless. It also made a fun excuse to do a Suzanne Vega deep-dive, and that's always something worth doing. Vega has a tremendous catalog, and it's about to get another entry. This spring, Vega will release her first new studio album in eleven years.
Suzanne Vega has worked on a lot of things since her last all-new album, 2014's Tales From The Realm Of The Queen Of Pentacles, but she hasn't released an all-new LP of new material since then. Last year, she dropped the Fontaines D.C.-inspired "Rats," her first new song in eight years. This spring, she'll release a new one called Flying With Angels. Her guitarist and longtime collaborator Gerry Leonard produced the record. Vega says, "Each song on the album takes place in an atmosphere of struggle. Struggle to survive, to speak, to dominate, to win, to escape, to help someone else, or just live."
Today, Vega has shared "Speakers' Corner," an ode to the traditional public space where anyone can preach about anything. The people who actually take advantage of that are often disturbed and fringey types, but they don't have power and they aren't trying to sell you anything. Vega sings, "The Speakers' Corner, there it stands, in politics and song/ I guess we better use it now, before we find it gone." In a press release, she has this to say:
That’s something you don’t want in democracy: the shutting down of the Speakers’ Corner where people get a say. This is a moment in time when people are saying a lot, but sometimes they’re not making sense or not telling the truth. People should be accountable for what they say. They can’t just lie. One would think that that would be self-evident.
This year, Suzanne Vega will tour North America and Europe, playing new songs and classics. Below, check out the animated "Speakers' Corner" video from director Michael Arthur, as well as Vega's Flying With Angels tracklist and her upcoming tour dates.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Speakers’ Corner"
02 "Flying With Angels"
03 "Witch"
04 "Chambermaid"
05 "Love Thief"
06 "Lucinda"
07 "Last Train From Mariupol"
08 "Alley"
09 "Rats"
10 "Galway"
TOUR DATES:
3/06 - East Greenwich, RI @ Greenwich Odeum
3/07 - Turners Falls, MA @ The Shea Theater
3/08 - Homer, NY @ Center for the Arts of Homer
3/10 - Buffalo, NY @ Asbury Hall
3/11-12 - Toronto, ON @ Lula Lounge
3/15-16 - Minneapolis, MN @ Dakota
3/19 - Chicago, IL @ Old Town School of Folk Music
3/20 - Bloomington, IL @ Castle Theatre
3/21 - St. Louis, MO @ The Sheldon Concert Hall
3/23 - Chicago, IL @ Old Town School of Folk Music
3/24 - Indianapolis, IN @ The Tobias Theater
6/08 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Three Rivers Arts Festival
6/10 - Washington, DC @ Lincoln Theatre
6/11 - Philadelphia, PA @ World Café Live
6/13 - Amagansett, NY @ The Stephen Talkhouse
6/14 - New York, NY @ Town Hall *
6/15 - Ridgefield, CT @ Ridgefield Playhouse
9/30 - Amsterdam, NL @ Royal Theater Carré
10/02 - Rotterdam, Netherlands @ Nieuwe Luxor
10/04 - Munich, Germany @ Isarphilharmonie
10/06 - Hamburg, Germany @ CCH Saal Z
10/08 - Berlin, Germany @ Kammermusiksaal Philharmonie
10/10 - Brussels, Belgium @ Bozar
10/12 - Antwerp, Belgium @ Queen Elisabeth Hall
10/13 - Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg @ Rockhal Club
10/15 - Offenbach, Germany @ Capitol
10/16 - Koln, Germany @ Theater am Tansbrunnen
10/19 - Gateshead, UK @ Sage Gateshead (The Glasshouse Int’l Centre for Music)
10/20 - Manchester, UK @ Bridgewater Hall
10/21 - Glasgow, UK @ Royal Concert Hall
10/23 - Edinburgh, UK @ Usher Hall
10/25 - Liverpool, UK @ Royal Liverpool Philharmonic
10/27 - Cambridge, UK @ Corn Exchange
10/28 - Brighton, UK @ Dome
10/30 - Bristol, UK @ Bristol Beacon
10/31 - Birmingham, UK @ Symphony Hall
11/01 - Stoke, UK @ Regent Theatre
11/03 - London, UK @ Royal Albert Hall
* with Suzzy Roche & Lucy Wainwright Roche
Flying With Angels is out 5/2 on Cooking Vinyl.
