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"Widely regarded as one of the most brilliant songwriters of her generation," (Biography Magazine) Suzanne Vega emerged as a leading figure of the folk-music revival of the early 1980s. Her self-titled debut album is included in Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Recordings of the 1980's." Her 1987 follow up, Solitude Standing hit #2 in the UK and #11 in the States, was nominated for three Grammys including Record of the Year and went platinum. "Luka" is a song that has entered the cultural vernacular; certainly the only hit song ever written from the perspective of an abused boy.

With her sultry voice, Suzanne Vega seamlessly joins her poetry and contemporary folk song with a sound that is utterly unique and identifiable to her alone. A pioneer among singer-songwriters, Suzanne has embarked on a project to re-imagine her own songbook in a stripped down and intimate manner. Don't miss your chance to experience a Suzanne Vega concert in the most intimate, acoustically stellar listening Room north of Boston.

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SUZANNE VEGA

"Widely regarded as one of the most brilliant songwriters of her generation," (Biography Magazine) Suzanne Vega emerged as a leading figure of the folk-music revival of the early 1980s when, accompanying herself on acoustic guitar, she sang what has been labeled contemporary folk or neo-folk songs of her own creation in Greenwich Village clubs. Since the release of her self-titled, critically acclaimed 1985 debut album, she has given sold-out concerts in many of the world's best-known halls. In performances devoid of outward drama that nevertheless convey deep emotion, Vega 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."

Bearing the stamp of a masterful storyteller who “observed the world with a clinically poetic eye,” Suzanne's songs have always tended to focus on city life, ordinary people and real world subjects. Notably succinct and understated, often cerebral but also streetwise, her lyrics invite multiple interpretations. In short, Suzanne Vega's work is immediately recognizable, as utterly distinct and thoughtful, and as creative and musical now, as it was when her voice was first heard on the radio over 20 years ago.

Suzanne was born in Santa Monica, CA, but grew up in Spanish Harlem and the Upper West Side of New York City. She was influenced by her mother, a computer systems analyst and her stepfather, the Puerto Rican writer Egardo Vega Yunque. There was a heady mix of multicultural music playing at home: Motown, bossa nova, jazz and folk. At age 11 she picked up a guitar and as a teenager she started to write songs.

Suzanne studied dance at the High School for the Performing Arts and later attended Barnard College where she majored in English Literature. It was in 1979 when Suzanne attended a concert by Lou Reed and began to find her true artistic voice and distinctive vision for contemporary folk. Receptionist by day, Suzanne was hanging out at the Greenwich Village Songwriter's Exchange by night. Soon she was playing iconic venues like The Bottom Line and Folk City. The word was out and audiences were catching on.

At first, record companies saw little prospect of commercial success. Suzanne's demo tape was rejected by every major record company—and twice by the very label that eventually signed her: A&M Records. Her self-titled debut album was finally released in 1985, co-produced by Steve Addabbo and Lenny Kaye, the former guitarist for Patti Smith. The skeptical executives at A & M were expecting to sell 30,000 LP's. 1,000,000 records later, it was clear that Suzanne's voice was resonating around the world. Marlene on the Wall was a surprise hit in the U.K and Rolling Stone eventually included the record in their "100 Greatest Recordings of the 1980's." 1987's follow up, Solitude Standing, again co-produced by Addabbo and Kaye, elevated her to star status. The album hit #2 in the UK and #11 in the States, was nominated for three Grammys including Record of the Year and went platinum. "Luka" is a song that has entered the cultural vernacular; certainly the only hit song ever written from the perspective of an abused boy.

The opening song on Solitude Standing was a strange little a cappella piece, "Tom's Diner" about a non-descript restaurant near Columbia University uptown. Without Suzanne's permission, it was remixed by U.K. electronic dance duo "DNA" and bootlegged as "Oh Susanne." Suddenly her voice on this obscure tune was showing up in the most unlikely setting of all: the club. Suzanne permitted an official release of the remix of "Tom's Diner" under its original title which reached #5 on the Billboard pop chart and went gold. In 1991 a compilation, Tom's Album, brought together the remix and other unsolicited versions of the song. Meanwhile, Karlheinz Brandenburg, the German computer programmer was busy developing the technology that would come to be known as the MP3. He found that Vega's voice was the perfect template with which to test the purity of the audio compression that he was aiming to perfect. Thus Suzanne earned the nickname "The Mother of the MP3."

Suzanne co-produced the follow-up album with Anton Sanko, 1990's Days Of Open Hand, which won a Grammy for Best Album Package. The album also featured a string arrangement by minimalist composer Philip Glass. Years earlier she had penned lyrics for his song cycle "Songs From Liquid Days." Continuing to battle preconceptions, she teamed with producer Mitchell Froom for 1992's 99.9F. The album's sound instigated descriptions such as "industrial folk" and "technofolk." Certified gold, 99.9F won a New York Music Award as Best Rock Album. Suzanne's neo-folk style has ushered in a new female, acoustic, folk-pop singer-songwriter movement that would include the likes of Tracy Chapman, Shawn Colvin, and Indigo Girls. In 1997, Suzanne joined Sarah McLachlan on her Lilith Fair tour which celebrated the female voice in rock and pop. She was one of the few artists invited back every year. Suzanne was also the host of the public radio series "American Mavericks," thirteen hour-long programs featuring the histories and the music of the iconoclastic, contemporary classical composers who revolutionized the possibilities of new music. The show won the Peabody Award for Excellence in Broadcasting.

In 1996, Vega returned with the similarly audacious Nine Objects Of Desire, also produced by Mitchell Froom, who by then was her husband.  "Woman On The Tier (I'll See You Through)" was released on the Dead Man Walking soundtrack.  Over the years, she has also been heard on the soundtracks to Pretty In Pink ("Left Of Center" with Joe Jackson) and The Truth About Cats & Dogs, and contributed to such diverse projects as the Disney compilation Stay Awake, Grateful Dead tribute Deadicated, Leonard Cohen tribute Tower Of Song, and Pavarotti & Friends. In 1999, The Passionate Eye: The Collected Writings Of Suzanne Vega, a volume of poems, lyrics, essays and journalistic pieces was published by Spike/ Avon Books.  In 2001, she returned to her acoustic roots for her first new album in five years, the critics favorite, Songs In Red And Gray.

In 2007, Suzanne released Beauty & Crime on Blue Note Records, a deeply personal reflection of her native New York City in the wake of the loss of her brother Tim and the tragedy of 9/11. But the record is not a sad one, per se, as her love for the city shines through as both its subject and its setting. In it, Suzanne mixes the past and present, the public with the private, and familiar sounds with the utterly new, just like the city itself. "Anniversary," which concludes Beauty & Crime, is an understated evocation of that time in the fall of 2002, when New Yorkers first commemorated the Twin Towers tragedy and when Suzanne recalls her brother's passing. It's more inspiration than elegy, though: "Make time for all your possibilities," Vega sings at the end in that beautiful, hushed voice. "They live on every street." Produced by the Scotsman, Jimmy Hogarth and featuring songs such as "New York is a Woman" and "Ludlow Street," Beauty & Crime is that rare album by an artist in her third decade; an album that is as original and startling as her first. Beauty & Crime won a Grammy for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.

In 2006, she became the first major recording artist to perform live in avatar form within the virtual world Second Life. She has dedicated much of her time and energy to charitable causes, notably Amnesty International, Casa Alianza, and the Save Darfur Coalition. Suzanne has a daughter, Ruby, by first husband Mitchell Froom. Ruby, like Suzanne before her, attends the High School for the Performing Arts. Suzanne is married to lawyer/poet Paul Mills who proposed to her originally in 1983. Suzanne accepted his proposal on Christmas Day 2005, twenty two years later.

Suzanne Vega is an artist that continues to surprise. In 2011 in New York City she premiered Carson McCullers Talks About Love, an original play written and performed by Ms. Vega with songs she wrote with Tony Award-winner Duncan Sheik (Spring Awakening) A pioneer among singer-songwriters. Suzanne has also embarked on a project to re-imagine her own songbook in a stripped down and intimate manner, creating 4 new thematic albums that will be released over the course of 2010-2012 called the Close-Up series.

Ms. Vega continues to tour constantly, having just played dates with artists as diverse as Moby and Bob Dylan. Suzanne is planning US and European dates this spring and summer.

SARAH BLACKER

Boston's "Sundress Rocker," Sarah Blacker's music will make you "feel it all, In Waves." Taken from the title track of her latest release, this lyric immediately informs the listener as to the emotional content of her songs. The record is filled with skillful rhythm guitar, piano and ukulele, and sung with a uniquely soulful voice which is much bigger than the size of the artist it comes from.

Blacker grew up listening to her parents' record collection which now sits stacked lovingly in her apartment. Paul Simon, The Beatles, America, and CSNY all formed the foundation of her musical consciousness. Teenage rebellion and discovery led to her love of alternative rock and the prominent and powerful singer/songwriters of the the nineties. Seeking to expand her abilities as a performer and songwriter, Sarah attended Boston's acclaimed Berklee College of Music. She graduated as a Board-Certified as Music Therapist with a vision to save the world one song at a time.

Blacker's catch-phrase, "songs save lives," speaks to their role in her own life. She is grateful that her wayward journey through life has led up to making her edgiest record to date. Fueled by the desire to evolve, grow, and that anything is possible, Sarah Blacker has pushed and challenged herself to bring In Waves to the world.

In Waves, features Blacker's strongest songwriting and playing (guitar, ukulele, and piano) so far. The songs artfully span rock, pop, indie folk, and Americana fused together with her signature vocal sound and stacked vocal harmonies. Recorded and produced by Sean McLaughlin (Elliot Smith, Rush), at 37' Productions, In Waves also features prominent friends and musicians like Mike Levesque (Letters to Cleo, Seven Mary Three) and Elliot Jacobson (Ingrid Michelson).

The vision and spirit of the album is uninhibited authenticity, honesty and fearlessness. So with her daring new release, In Waves, and electric guitar in hand, Blacker is has just returned from her first national tour this spring, and is currently touring New England and the Midwest this summer and fall.

Sarah Blacker was named 'Female Performer of the Year' at the New England Music Awards, 2013, and nominated for 'Songwriter of the Year' in the Boston Music Awards the same year. In 2014 she was nominated for song, and songwriter of the year at the New England Music Awards. She has toured extensively and shared stages with dozens of internationally renowned artists including Mishka, The B-52s, Sara Bareilles, Leon Russell, Rusted Root, Carbon Leaf, America, Eddie Money, Richard Thompson, 10,000 Maniacs, Loudon Wainwright III, Paula Cole and many others.

History of the Larcom Theatre - 13 Wallis Street, Beverly MA, USA

Shows at Beverly's Larcom Theatre 2013 - 2017
photos by Sheila Roberts Orlando unless otherwise noted

The Larcom Theatre was built in 1912 (the same year as Boston's Fenway Park) by brothers Harris and Glover Ware (vaudeville musicians from Marblehead, MA) on the birth site of their favorite poet, Lucy Larcom.

The Larcom Theatre's grand opening advertised that its interior was lit completely by electricity.

During its 112 year history, The Larcom Theatre has presented stage, screen and musical entertainment. In 1984 the Larcom's elegant horseshoe balcony, hand-painted antique pressed tin ceilings and original silk wall coverings were restored to their original glory by Le Grand David Magic Company, who presented their award-winning magic show there until the company's founder, Cesareo Pelaez, died in 2012.

In April 2013, after the Larcom Theatre had been dark for about a year, Vickie and Peter Van Ness of gimmeLIVE produced a sold-out Mardi Gras Benefit Concert that filled the Larcom Theatre with music for the first time since the days of Vaudeville.

In 2014, gimmeLIVE began bringing Grammy-winning national touring and recording artists and Rock & Roll Hall of Famers to the Larcom, which ushered in a new era of top quality entertainment in the heart of downtown Beverly, MA. GIMMELIVE concerts at the Larcom Theatre received stellar reviews for the quality of both the music and the sound system installed by gimmeLIVE.

Later in 2014, Peter and Vickie co-produced That's When I Know It's Mardi Gras, a live CD recorded in front of a sold-out audience at the Larcom Theatre featuring New Orleans vocalist Henri Smith with Grammy Award-winners Charles Neville and Amadee Castenell.

In 2015, gimmeLIVE once again recorded a live CD featuring the James Montgomery Band, which was released in November of that year. GIMMELIVE also hosted James Montgomery's "Live at the Larcom" CD Release Benefit Concert, which raised money for veterans organizations. (Many gimmeLIVE shows raise money for charity. Click here if you'd like gimmeLIVE to produce a concert or festival to raise money for your organization.)

In early 2017, gimmeLIVE took over the building adjoining the Larcom Theatre (at 9 Wallis Street), formerly owned by members of Le Grand David Magic Company and known as the Grand Salon. GIMMELIVE transformed this venue into 9 Wallis, which became the North Shore's most intimate, elegant listening room offering comfortable show seating at tables with food & beverage service, including fine wines, local craft beers, specialty cocktails (featuring local distilleries and all-natural juices) and top-shelf spirits.

Donnie & Lisa Crowell purchased The Larcom Theatre in September 2016 and renamed it The Larcom Performing Arts Theatre or "The Larcom" for short. Tickets to shows at The Larcom can be purchased here.

CLICK HERE to see upcoming shows nearby.