by But you can still see her around the city. The owner of a bookstore where she sometimes shops posted in X after her Grammy performance that she was “down to earth in real life” when she was seen buying food for her dog at a store. local pets. (The post was later deleted.) Others have observed her waiting in line at a popular bakery. Before the pandemic, she served as a judge for a high school scholarship program run by the founders of Beach Blanket Babylon, a now-defunct cabaret.
Lee Houskeeper, a public relations executive and music promoter in San Francisco, said he had met with Chapman several times at his studio and rehearsal space. He said she was very friendly and they had talked about artists they both knew.
One state Assemblyman, Matt Haney, said he only saw her once, at a school board meeting in 2018, when he was on that board. She was there to support the school district that named a theater on her property after her friend Sydney Goldstein. It now hosts San Francisco’s popular City Arts & Lectures program.
“She didn’t make a big deal out of being there,” Haney recalled in an interview. “I don’t think she even went up to the microphone.”
Could I go back?
The Grammy performance instantly became a highlight of Chapman’s career, and could well stoke demand for her return to recording and touring. This year she is also nominated for Songwriters Hall of Fame. If she’s admitted (a good bet), that could give her another opportunity for a public appearance.
“There has always been demand for Tracy Chapman to perform again,” Rich McLaughlin, program director of WFUV, a New York radio station that celebrates songwriters, said in an email. “However, it is difficult to predict whether or not this will increase the chances of her doing so.”
Longtime fans of Chapman may have their fingers crossed, but they’ve also learned patience.
“Tracy Chapman is an artist who follows her muse, not market demand,” McLaughlin added. “If she had based her decision solely on the lawsuit, she would have been back to touring years ago.”
