Suzanne Vega Coming to Eccles Center, 3/21

"One of the most brilliant songwriters of her generation," (Biography Magazine) folk-pop singer and guitarist Suzanne Vega performs at The Eccles Center on Saturday, March 21. Concert starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available by calling 435-655-3114 or online at EcclesCenter.org.

Though perhaps best known for her smash hits "Luka" (about an abused child) and "Tom's Diner" (which was remixed and pumped through dance clubs for years), the folk singer with a talent for riddle and metaphor has steadily created relevant and original music. According to NPR, Vega has been "making vital, inventive music the entire time...[and her] songwriting gifts haven't waned at any point." Vega's tours have taken her from Lincoln Center to residencies at prestigious universities and the long-running "Lilith Fair" tour; she was also the host of the public radio series "American Mavericks," which won the Peabody Award for Excellence in Broadcasting.

Vega's distinctive, clear vibrato-less voice has graced several albums, the most recent of which was released last year. Her music has also accompanied film (such as "Pretty In Pink" and "The Truth About Cats & Dogs"). With poetic skills that RollingStone calls "sphinxlike," Vega is at once a pioneer and retro-folk artist. She is often credited with being a leading figure in the singer-songwriter, folk-revival of the early 1990s, paving the road for the likes of Tracy Chapman, Shawn Colvin and the Indigo Girls. Though she has carried an acoustic guitar ever since she taught herself how to play at age eleven, her folk-Americana influences are more of the Lou Reed and Leonard Cohen variety than 1960s icons, such as Bob Dylan.

Vega's live shows continue to deliver solid musicianship and clever folk songs. According to The New York Time's Paul Krugman's blog, "If you saw Suzanne Vega years ago, as I did, and wondered if she's still as good in live performance, she isn't - she's better."

Park City Institute presents Suzanne Vega on Saturday, March 21 at The George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Center for the Performing Arts (1750 Kearns Blvd., Park City). Concert starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets range from $20 to $69* (20-percent discount for seniors, ½ price tickets for children ages 16 and under; $5 seats are available in the Copper Section for Summit County students (K-12). Tickets and information are available at The Eccles Center box office, 435-655-3114 or www.ecclescenter.org.