Lisa Loeb has done it all. Since her 1994 hit “Stay (I Missed You)” became a pop culture phenomenon, the bespectacled performer has perfected her eyewear collection, written children’s books, starred in television shows, but most of all, became a mom to two children.
She was in her late 20s when she scored the ubiquitous hit—which, incidentally, was the first No.1 by an unsigned artist—but the success was a learning experience for her.
“I think I just try to follow my heart and do things that I’m interested in doing,” she says.
“Luckily now, as an artist and a business person, there is a lot of flexibility and a lot of opportunities.”
Visiting Arizona is one of her interests. When Loeb brings her family-friendly show to the Scottsdale Civic Center Amphitheatre on Saturday, April 25, she is planning on reconnecting with old friend Mark Tarbell, the mastermind behind Tarbell’s restaurant in Phoenix, hiking up Camelback Mountain and—if she can persuade her—bring her mom so she can visit the Grand Canyon.
“When you’re working, it does take up a lot of time and energy, so you want to do things that you love doing—as much as you can,” she says.
These days she is directing her energy toward a new proper album, the premier of “Camp Kappawanna,” a kids musical opening in New York with the Atlantic Theater Company, and her eyewear line, which is now available at Costco. Her most recent album, No Fairy Tale, was co-produced by Loeb and New Found Glory’s Chad Gilbert, in what seems to be an odd pairing.
“New Found Glory covered ‘Stay’ and asked me to sing harmony on it, which I did,” Loeb says. “He contacted me to see if he could produce a record for me. I thought it was a great idea. It’s a little more rock and much higher energy. He was wonderful to work with.”
She owes it all to the staying power—no pun intended—of “Stay,” which played key roles in “Hot Tub Time Machine 2” and “Orange is the New Black.”
“What I love is that people have that sentimental connection to it that can bring out all different emotions—everything from heartfelt love and loss,” she says. “There is a humorous side to it, too, when all your girlfriends sang along to it, which we saw in ‘Orange is the New Black.’ It’s become such an icon on its own that you can put it in those situations poking fun. It just has its own life.”
Lisa Loeb, Scottsdale Civic Center Amphitheatre, 7380 E. Second Street, Scottsdale, 480.874.4615, scottsdaleperformingarts.org, Saturday, April 25, 7:30 p.m., $19-$149
