Suzanne Vega was the first major figure in the bumper crop of female singer/songwriters who rose to prominence during the late 80s and 90s. Her hushed, restrained folk-pop and highly literate lyrics (inspired chiefly by Leonard Cohen, as well as Lou Reed and Bob Dylan) laid the initial musical groundwork for what later became the trademark sound of Lilith Fair (a tour on which she was a regular).
Vega's early commercial success helped open doors for a wealth of talent, and with "Luka" and the platinum "Solitude Standing", she maintained a strong and dedicated cult following. Vega returned in 2001 with her first album in five years, "Songs in Red and Gray", which was greeted with her strongest reviews in a decade.
