SUSANNA HOFFS – LIVE AT THE RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE
Photo Taylor Hill/Getty Images
By Marisa Torrieri Bloom
Susanna Hoffs at Ridgefield Playhouse Theatre: 12/20/25
Armed with just a microphone and music stand, Susanna Hoffs – the musician best known as the lead vocalist of ’80s all-girl pop-rock band The Bangles – played an intimate, sold-out solo show in Ridgefield that was as emotive as it was messy.
The 90-minute, pre-holiday set started on a high note.
Flanked by longtime collaborators Ryan Lerman on acoustic guitar and CJ Camerieri on piano and horns, Hoffs launched into two Bangles bangers, “Manic Monday” and “In Your Room” to the delight of an eager, seated, and heavily Gen X crowd. The weathered, gravely undertones only made 67-year-old Hoffs’ voice sultrier as she segued through familiar verses and refrains of those two hits before taking the first of
many breaks to share a story that inspired her third song, “Casablanca.”
Notably, that first story she told – of when Hoffs met the Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir while The Bangles were on tour in 1988 with George Michael, inevitably developing a crush on him – was the most memorable. The payoff was worth it, and “Casablanca,” instantly became my favorite of Hoff’s solo singles. I loved its seductive, playful cadence, and nuanced, lyrical comparisons between the classic film and Hoffs’ almost-romance with Weir.
But the constant pausing and false starts became a bit tiresome after a while, at least from my perspective as a working mom trying to make music in the tiny slivers of time that I’m not making income to feed my kids.
I don’t envy that Susanna Hoffs is blessed with the privilege of having been able to parlay her vocal prowess into a lucrative career as a fulltime artist. She’s as skillful as she is lucky and deserves all the praise in the world for her music. What annoys me is that someone with her artistic privilege didn’t prepare more for the Ridgefield concert.
When she told the audience, “I’m sorta not prepared,” while trying to recall how to play a simple, four-chord progression on her acoustic guitar (after re-starting three or four songs earlier in the night), I oozed with rage. Paying $60+ for a concert filled with multiple apologies by the artist for not knowing her own material is unfair in this economy.
Yes, age makes people forget things, but I’ve never seen Mick Jagger, Axl Rose, or Lita Ford relying on sheet music or iPhones to get through their sets. When playing music is your fulltime job and you make millions doing it, it’s courteous to your hardworking fans to memorize lyrics.
Admittedly, most of the audience didn’t seem to mind as much as I did, instead relishing the vintage tunes led by a singer whose voice still sounds otherworldly, and whose stories of tour life, literary life, and enjoying coffee while co-writing felt cozy on the eve of Winter Solstice.
Speaking of winter, Hoffs’ solo acoustic rendition of “Hazy Shade of Winter” – my favorite Bangles song, and a better version than the Simon & Garfunkel’s original – was awesome. I loved Camerieri’s horns (in lieu of the Vicki Peterson’s signature guitar riff). And, of course, no one sings “Eternal Flame” like Hoffs, even if she could no longer hit the epic song’s high notes.
But I left the concert feeling slightly unsatisfied, and wishing she’d played “Walk Like an Egyptian,” as my friends and I exited the theater. One can only hope this Bangles favorite resurfaces if I ever catch Susanna Hoffs solo again. And if I do catch her again, I hope she puts a bit more effort in planning her performance and doing her music justice.
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