The SXSW Festival just keeps getting bigger and bigger. The newest name to sign on the line that is dotted is Suzanne Vega. The folk-rock veteran shows in support of her first new material in seven years.
As if the first wave of artists wasn’t enough. Way back in October, SXSW dropped their first lineup announcement, unveiling a list of rising stars and established acts. The second announcement hit in November, when we learned we could expect acts like Gary Numan and the Black Lips, and in January yet another wave was announced – this one containing Priscilla Ahn, the Dum Dum Girls, and Charli XCX, among others.
And now we get Suzanne Vega, who will be making an appearance on March 15 at the Central Presbyterian Church. As mentioned before, she’ll be riding the wave from her upcoming album, Tales from the Realm of the Queen of Pentacles, set to drop this month, and already drawing critical acclaim. Vega has been around since the 1950’s, and has always managed to stay balanced on the cutting edge of music. She’s more of a name in the UK than in the US, but that’s not for lack of innovation. One of her songs was used during trials of the mp3 format, and she was the first musician to ever perform live in the MMO Second Life. A true renaissance woman if there ever was one, Vega is also an author, and has worked with fellow singer Duncan Sheik to write and perform a play.