Janis Ian Friday at opera house

Award-winning songwriter Janis Ian will perform at the Mauch Chunk Opera House this Friday.

The stop in Carbon County is part of a 10-day tour throughout the northeast.

"It's a solo show, just me and the guitar," said Ian. "We just finished two sold-out crowds in Providence, where I've never played before. I think people have a better time than they expect."

Ian will be performing a mix of songs from her initial rise to the top, including Grammy Hall of Fame songs "At Seventeen" (1975) and "Society's Child" (1967), as well as new music and a newly released song. She also tries to accommodate audience requests.

"There's something that happens to songs live, that just doesn't happen in the recording studio," she said, noting that while the lyrics and melodies of a song stay the same, the intensity of a song can change as she reacts to the crowd.

While Ian never really left the music industry after her duo hits, and continued to write songs for other performers throughout the '80s, she re-emerged in 1993 with the release of "Breaking Silence."

"I had a couple of songs that I really wanted people to hear, that no one was recording. I thought if no one was going to record them, I wanted to record them and hope that someone would hear them," she said.

The album would go on to receive a Grammy nomination for best contemporary folk album. Individual songs left their mark as well. "Some People's Lives" became the title song of a double-platinum album for Bette Midler, and "Tattoo" (with its Holocaust-rooted lyrics) was chosen by the government of Holland to help celebrate the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II.

"I think that if I hadn't recorded 'Breaking Silence,' nobody would have heard them," she said.

Likewise, this year's tour is Ian's way of sharing her newest songs and reconnecting with fans. Her newest single, "I'm Still Standing," which is sold exclusively on tour, speaks of the marks and lines of aging and the way that these marks record our lives.

"It's been said that in this industry, you have 10 years to produce your first album. For your second album, you have about two weeks," she said, noting that there is extreme pressure to produce material quickly. "I'm taking the 10 years this time around."

Ian thanked her fans who have continued to support her and those who have traveled near and far to attend her latest performances.

"I've heard from people who have flown in from Europe to see these shows, and people who have traveled from Oregon to the East Coast," she said. "It's amazing to me. I have been doing this since I was 14 when I first went on the road. It's amazing that I still get to do this. It's a testament to the songs, really."

Ian will be available after Friday night's performance to meet fans and sign her books, albums and photographs.

While copies of her music will be for sale, it's not necessary to purchase a new album to have something signed. With several decades in the music industry, she often gets requests to sign old vinyl records and pictures from 30 years ago.

Doors will open at the Mauch Chunk Opera House at 7 p.m. on Friday. The performance will begin at 8 p.m.