Suzanne Vega + Christina Courtin

Don’t let Suzanne Vega’s affiliation with the legendary Blue Note label make you think she’s gone jazz on us: Last year’s Beauty & Crime, an album-length love song to New York City features her characteristically cool, clear-eyed observations, set within rich but uncluttered arrangements by multi-instrumentalist Jimmy Hogarth. Christina Courtin is a young Juilliard grad whose nervy voice undulates with the inconstancy of a theremin. Recently signed to Nonesuch, she’s been selling out clubs on the strength of her fine old-fashioned pop songs and fearless performance style.