Folk Mistress: Suzanne Vega

Suzanne Vega has been a music icon for 30 years. Ahead of this month’s Surrey gig she talks to Fiona Adams about self-belief, touring and the English summer

Back in 1986, as a student in my first year of university, I started listening to an American neo-folk singer called Suzanne Vega. I was 19, living away from home for the first time and liked listening to her narrative-rich melodies in the dark. 

I’d had earlier teenage flirtations with ABBA and Madonna, but Suzanne was my first serious, grown-up musical love. Today, 30 years on, I remain as devoted as ever. Songs of such originality as Marlene on the Wall and – my all-time favourite – The Queen and The Soldier retain the power to stop me in my tracks and still whatever I’m doing.

So imagine my excitement at the news that this summer Suzanne is returning to the UK, her second visit in two years, with a stop at GLive in Guildford. On the menu are two of her early albums in their entirety: Solitude Standing and 99.9F, both of which celebrated milestone birthdays last year – 30 and 25 respectively. With each song Suzanne delivers a story or explanation behind the track’s provenance, conjuring a vivid biography of her early life and career. 

“Both albums were very successful in their own ways,” she explains over the phone from her home in New York. “Solitude Standing is the classic and with 99.9F the evening gets more out there, as that’s the edgier one. Some of the songs are so dark and yet people love that. Also, back in the day there were songs we never played live, so it feels a bit as if we’re playing them for the first time, which is fun. Of course, there are some I don’t love, but I won’t tell you which ones in case you like them!”

The 2018 tour takes in Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Dubai, as well as several European venues, but the UK is a special destination for the singer.

“I go to wherever the promoters think I’m wanted, but I do love the UK, especially in the summer with all those pots of tea and English gardens! I know it pretty well, as I’ve been touring it since the 80s. Two nights I played at the Royal Albert Hall in 1986 will always stand out for me.”

Suzanne Vega was born in California in 1959, but grew up in Spanish Harlem and the Upper West Side of New York City with her computer analyst mother and her Puerto Rican stepfather, writer Edgardo Vega Yunqué. Music filled the home and Suzanne played guitar from age 11, moving on to write her own songs as a teenager. 

In the late 70s she fell for the sound of Lou Reed and began to find her own musical voice with contemporary folk. However, despite her popularity as a performer, her demo tape was initially rejected by every major record company – twice by A&M Records, which did eventually sign her. Good call too: the debut album, released in 1985, sold a million copies. 

But while the record execs may have had their doubts, their wavering left Suzanne unfazed. With regard to her music and musical identity, her self-belief was total. 

“Back in the day, it was seen as some kind of miracle that you could be a female and play the guitar and write lyrics. It was crazy. Also, because I’m an introspective person, a lot of people said: ‘There’s no way she’s ever going to make it.’ But I felt differently. I thought that if you could stand on a stage and connect with an audience, you could make a living at it. Even if only one or two people said that they loved my lyrics, that they really meant something to them, it gave me enough to go on. And now here I am, all these years later, still doing it.”

Her advice to younger, would-be musicians?  

“Believe in yourself! Figure out what you have to say that is different from everyone else and then get out there and say it. And keep on saying it too!”

Unsurprisingly, Suzanne is a fan of many of the young artists performing today.

“I admire Taylor Swift as a great songwriter; Lana Del Rey has created an interesting character for herself as a poetic, sad girl on the tough side of life; Ed Sheeran is a classic folk singer who can really craft a song. And I like Rihanna – she’s so cool!”

Aside from her nine studio albums, Suzanne has auditioned for films (narrowly missing out to Madonna for Desperately Seeking Susan), was the first major recording artist to appear in avatar form (within the virtual world, Second Life) and has written poetry, essays and a play about the alcoholic and disabled writer, Carson McCullers. So, what next?

“Next year I’m planning to take some time off!” she laughs. “I am going to work on some new songs, tighten up the play and do some prose writing to see where that will take me. I’m also playing the narrator in a version of Einstein on the Beach, the Philip Glass opera, which I’m really excited about.”

And then there’s quality time with Molly, her Yorkie.

“I really look forward to our walk every day. I take her to Central Park with my husband and she is so full of fire; she makes everybody smile.”

In the meantime, Suzanne is anything but tired of her calling; of getting out there to say what she has to say. 

“I still love touring. It’s still a thrill to start the day knowing that there’s a show: picking out my outfit, putting on my make-up, transforming myself. There’s really nothing like it.”

And for one night only, I’ll be 19 again.

Suzanne Vega is at GLive on Aug 18, 8pm; glive.co.uk

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