Preview: Joan Baez [Tonight at the Paramount]

For such an iconic folk veteran as Joan Baez, it is refreshing that her last decade of work does not rehash the first. No longer a pristine soprano touting traditional numbers and topical Dylan, Baez has found a new home in more crimson, robust modern folk-tales from the likes of Tom Waits and Steve Earle. The latter produced Baez’s most recent album, Day After Tomorrow, which posits her as a still masterful interpreter. To be fair, Baez is not the first or the last Sixties legend to put some more blues in her sound and get in touch with her inner Nick Cave. Yet one cannot deny what she brings to new standards like “Scarlet Tide"; her songs teem with empathy, and her phrasing lends a new sheen to the lyrics and a new personality to each piece.

Baez’s current tour brings her to the Paramount tonight. Tickets are still available here.