(Suzanne
Vega)
The National Arts Festival has announced that
it will be welcoming acclaimed singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega to Grahamstown,
to present a series of ‘up close and personal’ concerts in July.
Vega is, according to Biography Magazine
"widely regarded as one of the most brilliant songwriters of her
generation." Her debut record, Marlene
on the Wall, was included in Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Recordings of the 1980’s, while her follow-up, Solitude Standing, was nominated for
three Grammys including Record of the Year and went platinum.
“Suzanne’s music is timeless. She has a
deep talent that speaks to all generations and is as relevant, poignant and
important now as she has ever been,” Festival CEO Tony Lankester said.
Vega emerged as a leading figure of the
folk-music revival of the early 1980s when, accompanying herself on acoustic
guitar, she sang in Greenwich Village clubs. After her early commercial success,
she has consistently and quietly continued performing, recording, exploring and
innovating, becoming in 2006 the first major recording artist to perform live
in avatar form within the virtual world Second Life. Her 2008 album, Beauty and Crime, was awarded a Grammy
for Best Engineered Album – a category that has been won over the years by Eric
Clapton, David Bowie, Bruno Mars, Bonnie Raitt, Radiohead and Michael Jackson.
“We know she has thousands of dedicated
fans in South Africa and this is a rare opportunity for them to see her on our
doorstep. If ever there was a moment to move the Festival from your bucket list
to your “things I am definitely going to do this year” list, this is it.”
Vega has given sold-out concerts in many of
the world’s best-known halls and festivals. In performances devoid of outward
drama that nevertheless convey deep emotion, she sings in a distinctive, clear
vibrato-less voice that has been described as “a cool, dry sandpaper- brushed
near-whisper” and as “plaintive but disarmingly powerful.”
This is not her first visit to South Africa,
but it is her first to the National Arts Festival, an experience that she says
she is looking forward to.
Vega will performing just two shows on this
tour of South Africa – wrapping up the Festival on July 7 and 8 in Grahamstown.
A limited number of early bird tickets are on sale with full sales opening on May
7 at www.nationalartsfestival.co.za
For more information about the National
Arts Festival 2018 and for all the latest news on the programme click on the
banner advert at the top of this page.
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