Singer-songwriter Lucy Kaplansky to perform Dec. 4

Lucy Kaplansky, whose musical career has spanned some 40 years, will be performing live at Northwest Park in Windsor, on Dec. 4.

Kaplansky began singing in Chicago as a teenager, has released eight albums, and notable credits include performing with artists such as Bryan Ferry, Suzanne Vega, and Shawn Colvin, and teamed with Dar Williams and Richard Shindell to form the group, Cry Cry Cry.

In 1983, she had quit music to become a psychologist, earning her PhD from Yeshiva University, and then opening her own practice, playing music very seldom, but still maintaining and making musical connections. By the early 1990s, she decided that psychology wasn’t her calling.

“The whole psychology thing for me was me running away from what I really wanted,” she said.

Since 1994, she’s been a full-time singer-songwriter, and has enjoyed much commercial success.

Telling stories about life and love, Kaplansky said her show in Windsor will be simply “me and guitar, me and mandolin,” and will include many of her new songs, written during the pandemic.

“I didn’t have a whole lot to do during these last 20 months,” she said. “I got pretty creative. I’ll do the new songs and definitely some old songs. I’ll even take requests.”

She added that she’ll also play something to honor the holidays, but is keeping that a surprise until the show.

This performance will be just Kaplansky’s fourth since the pandemic started. She said it’s been great to get out again, but does insist on COVID protocols at her shows.

A new album, The Last Days of Summer, is going to be released in early 2022, only via her website. She said the songs are “stripped down and very acoustic.”

The concert is part of the Friends of Northwest Park’s Coffeehouse Concert Series, and coincides with the 40th anniversary of the Friends of Northwest Park.

For tickets and more information, visit https://www.northwestpark.org or www.lucykaplansky.com.