VersoFest Storytellers: Susanna Hoffs, in Conversation and Song, with Alisyn Camerota

Event Details

Susanna Hoffs, co-founder of the Bangles, will be one of the lead acts for VersoFest 2026, appearing alongside award-winning journalist and rock memoirist Alisyn Camerota.

This event is presented by the Lance Lundberg Family Foundation.

VersoFest is The Westport Library’s annual music and media conference and festival where knowledge is shared and inspiration is discovered. Hoffs’ appearance is one of two events being held in advance of the main VersoFest weekend, March 26-29, along with a February 27 concert by the rising rock band The Thing.

This year’s festival includes a conversation with folk-rock legend Ani DiFranco (March 26), a concert performance by Wyclef Jean (March 27), a VersoFest book talk with actress/performer Gina Gershon (March 28), and much, much more.

Why You Should Come

An international icon, Hoffs has written and performed hits with the Bangles, the multi-platinum band that ruled MTV and the airwaves. She has since excelled in a multi-faceted career with a string of solo albums and collaborations, most notably with Matthew Sweet, Elvis Costello, and Rufus Wainwright.

Hoffs also published a novel, The Bird Has Flown, in 2023, that was hailed by The New York Times and praised as a “valentine to music” by NPR. And she has become a sensation on Instagram, garnering 866,000 followers.

For her evening at the Library, Hoffs will discuss all this and more with Camerota, in addition to playing songs from the varied points of her career.

Copies of The Bird Has Flown will be available for sale at the event.

And this is your opportunity to see Hoffs in an intimate venue, as one of just 450 attendees in the Library’s unique Trefz Forum space.

About Susanna Hoffs

Boasting one of pop’s most beloved voices, Susanna Hoffs was born and raised in Los Angeles with an ever-present soundtrack of 1960s music. She loved to sing and play guitar, going on to study dance and art in college. Stirred by punk and new wave, Susanna started her first band with David Roback (Mazzy Star) while at UC Berkeley, and co-founded The Bangles, a seminal band of the ’80s with a string of hits from three platinum-selling albums, including “Eternal Flame” and “In Your Room,” both co-written by Hoffs.

Susanna’s debut novel This Bird Has Flown (Little, Brown) has been hailed by The New York Times as the “smart, ferocious rock-star redemption romance you didn’t know you needed.”

Her solo career began in 1991, and she has released Under the Covers, her acclaimed three-volume album series with Matthew Sweet. Her on screen credits include Austin Powers, in the band Ming Tea. Susanna’s latest albums include the archival release The Lost Record, The Deep End produced by Peter Asher, and Bright Lights. Her next solo album will be released in 2026.

About Alisyn Camerota

Alisyn Camerota is a journalist, author, anchor, and correspondent for CNN. In her three decades in journalism, Camerota has covered stories nationally and internationally, earning two Emmy Awards for her breaking news coverage of the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder and the on-air arrest of Roger Stone. She has also received the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award for her breaking news coverage of Hurricane Maria’s impact on Puerto Rico, and a duPont-Columbia Award for her coverage of Jamal Khashoggi’s murder.

Camerota’s debut novel, Amanda Wakes Up, was selected by National Public Radio as one of the best books of 2017, and by Oprah Magazine as “a must read.” Her 2024 memoir Combat Love instantly became an Amazon best-seller. She is on the national advisory council of The News Literacy Project, which works to teach middle and high school students how to spot misinformation and fake news.

About VersoFest

VersoFest is The Westport Library’s annual music and media conference and festival where knowledge is shared and inspiration is discovered — a forum for media creators, artists, and fans to converge. VersoFest includes conversations where experts share their perspective and vision. Intimate workshops provide creators the opportunity to deconstruct, improve, and hone their craft. Performances entertain and inspire.

This year’s festival, our fifth, is shaping up to be the best yet, headlined by a February 27 kickoff concert by rising rock band The Thing, our March 26 Verso Visionary conversation with folk-rock legend Ani DiFranco, and a special March 27 Friday night performance featuring Grammy Award-winning artist, producer, composer and Fugees co-founder Wyclef Jean. Our weekend guests include actress, author, and performer Gina Gershon; David J (Bauhaus, Love and Rockets); Adria Petty on the legacy of her dad, Tom Petty, and the legendary Heartbreakers; a VersoFest author talk with Claire Dederer on her book, Monster; a conversation with renowned music promoter Peter Shapiro (Capitol Theare, Brooklyn Bowl); an appearance by the African dance and music troupe Cumbe Dance; an interactive art installation exhibited by award-winning, video-based artist Holly Danger; and a screening of the film Baristas vs. Billionaires, directed by Academy Award nominee Mark Mori.

Past VersoFest guests include hip hop legend Chuck D; established hit-makers the Wallflowers, Spin Doctors, and the Smithereens; up-and-coming bands Sunflower Bean and the Lemon Twigs; the Roots lead emcee Black Thought; hardcore punk pioneer Henry Rollins; rockers Lez Zeppelin; famed producers Steve Lillywhite (U2, Dave Matthews Band) and Tony Visconti (David Bowie, T. Rex); Psychedelic Furs frontman Richard Butler; the Doors drummer John Densmore; Cramps drummer Miriam Linna; Alice Cooper Group bassist Dennis Dunaway; hip-hop originators Tony Crush and Grand Wizzard Theodore; David Letterman music director Paul Shaffer; SNL Beehive Queen Christine Ohlman; and a wide array of authors, photographers, artists, and thought leaders.

Visit our VersoFest website to see the lineup and schedule for 2026 (with announcements on all guests coming throughout January and into February).

Refund Policy

Programs, prices, and dates are subject to change. Tickets are transferable. There are no refunds unless The Westport Library cancels an event. If you are unable to use your tickets, please notify us more than three hours prior to the start of the event; in that case, the cost of the tickets can be considered a tax-deductible contribution supporting the Library. In the case of a postponed or rescheduled event, the Library is not obligated to offer refunds if the event is rescheduled within 12 months of the original date. No cash refunds.