PORTLAND – Three-time Grammy nominee Suzanne Vega – who has been called the savior of folk music by Rolling Stone magazine, will appear at the State Street Church Sunday, Dec. 9.

Opening the 7:30 p.m. show will be Maine native and Boston-based singer/songwriter Audrey Ryan.

Vega is touring with her longtime band in support of her critically acclaimed new release, “Beauty & Crime,” on the Blue Note label.

When Vega started to emerge on music scenes in the Village and in Cambridge in the ’80s, the day of the singer-songwriter was almost gone. Disco and metal ruled the airwaves. Out of nowhere, her unlikely eclectic hit, “Luka,” surfaced, and once again there was an interest in artists able to present music in a simple manner accenting musical and lyrical content rather than glitz and heavy production.

Vega’s success with “Luka” was followed by the equally sucessful “Tom’s Diner” from the same album. That tune became a famous remix by DNA in the early ’90s. In 1996, Vega once again found commercial success with the release of “99.9F.”

Ryan just completed a seven-week tour of Europe in support of her new self-released album, “Dishes & Pills.”

Concert tickets, $35, are available online at MKTix.com/heptunes; by calling 1-978-462-9630; or at all Bull Moose music store locations. The church is at 179 State St.