Last Thursday, The Cabot, a beautifully restored theater in Beverly, Massachusetts played host to folk icon Suzanne Vega. Despite the venue’s grand scale, the show was a near sell-out and Vega managed to make it feel personal. She performed on a sparsely decorated stage (just a few Persian rugs and a mic stand topped with a black bowler hat) that complemented her low-key, neo-folk aesthetic. While one might imagine her nuanced songs thriving in a smaller club, Vega established an “immediate, intimate engagement” with the audience from the start. The crowd was attentive and respectful, hanging on her every word as if in a much tinier room.

She opened the set with “Marlene on the Wall,” reaching back to her 1985 debut, and proceeded to span her catalog with fan favorites like “Luka” and “Tom’s Diner” alongside deeper cuts such as “The Queen and the Soldier” and “Small Blue Thing”. Longtime listeners were rewarded with these classics, but Vega also showcased five songs from the brand-new Flying With Angels album. The atmospheric title track “Flying With Angels” appeared mid-set, as did other new tunes like “Speakers’ Corner,” “Chambermaid,” “Alley,” and “Love Thief”.

Vega’s live sound was deliberately stripped-down, with just two backing musicians on stage – but the trio deftly filled the room. She was joined by her longtime guitarist, Gerry Leonard , and later cellist Stephanie Winters joined her. Leonard’s electric guitar work added a lush, ambient layer to the music, often using effects to loop subtle rhythms or even mimic bass lines in the absence of a bassist..

When all was sung and done, Vega’s understated performance succeeded in captivating a packed house, even if I couldn’t help imagining how much better an experience it would be to experience her up close in a smaller venue.

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