 |
 |
|||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tour Schedule | Appearances
Here's the track listing for In the Time of Gods, which will be released on April 17.
-
1. I Am The One Who Will Remember Everything
2. This Earth
3. I Have Been Around The World
4. The Light And The Sea
5. You Will Ride With Me Tonight
6. Crystal Creek
7. Summer Child
8. I Will Free Myself
9. Write This Number Down
10. Storm King - It is Dar’s first album of original material in four years
and is produced by Kevin Killen (who has worked with
such giants as U2, Elvis Costello, and Peter Gabriel), and
features special guests Shawn Colvin and Larry Campbell,
and musicians including Charley Drayton, Gerry
Leonard, and Rob Hyman.
Dar's new CD will be called In the Time of Gods and will be released in the Spring.
April 25, 2011
On July 17, a children's musical Dar has written called The Island Musical will be workshopped at Vassar College's 2011 Powerhouse Theater season. The show is a musical fable about a faraway island whose inhabitants must confront the forces which threaten their magical home, and come together to protect their beloved island.
December 2, 2010
- Announcement: Dar has a new management team. They are Jessica Weitz and Barry Taylor at MCT Management in New York City.
12:00 - 15:00
More
info Don’t miss Dar Williams performing a 3 song
acoustic set and volunteering at Housing Works Bookstore
Café in
October 11, 2010
Note from Dar on the release of Many Great Companions
On Tuesday I’ll wake up with that somewhat birthday feeling of record release day. This one has been a special one, because I’ve been looking back over 20 years as a touring musician (17 years fulltime) in every state but North Dakota and Hawaii, answering journalists’ questions about two decades instead of two years, and drilling lyrics--as I walk to the post office and train-- of songs I haven’t performed in thirteen or fourteen years.
We didn’t know the album would be called Many Great Companions when I recorded it. So there is not a cast of thousands on the revisited material. But Sara and Sean Watkins, Patty Larkin, Gary Louris, Mary Chapin Carpenter and MotherLode Trio are right up there!
The concerts have been more Great Companion populated. Passim couldn’t have been more fun or meaningful to me. I remembered so many concerts I saw, and then did, at Passim when I was still in Massachusetts. And old friends Jim Infantino, Melissa Ferrick, Alan Williams, and Darleen Wilson joined me there. Wonderful. I’m going to see some other friends along the way this fall, including at the City Winery this weekend…
For audience friends over the big tour of time, we’ve reprinted our greatest merch hits. There are, actually, just two t-shirts but there are also We Find Magic Everywhere bags (of ancient bumper sticker fame) that I’ve been calling my Samhain Treats and Blessings bag. You get a free one if you tell me (finally!) how to pronounce Samhain.
And for all, I’m extremely excited to be doing a green guest blog for Huffington Post. I just finished my second one, and I’ll be focusing on businesses and renewable energy tech that I’ve been learning about over the last decade (just waiting for someone to invite me to blog about it), following the theme of my first entry, “Blow Your Own Green Bubble.” Sustainable Business is big business, but not business as usual!
But back to release week, many thanks to everyone who’s been a part of this album. Which is, I’d say, everyone. See you on the leaf-strewn road.
Dar
July 28, 2010
Dar will be releasing a releasing a retrospective album (with newly recorded acoustic versions of 12 songs, produced by Gary Louris, and 21 previously released ones). Here is the track listing:
| Already done (21) |
Acoustic recordings of classics and old
favourites (12) |
| Are You Out There As Cool As I Am It's Alright Mercy of the Fallen Teen for God When I Was a Boy Book Of Love February After All Echoes If I Wrote You The Easy Way The Beauty of the Rain Spring Street The Babysitter's Here The End of the Summer The Ocean The One Who Knows Closer to me Empire Better Things |
Calling
the Moon Christians and Pagans Cool As I Am If I Wrote You I'll Miss You Iowa The Babysitter's Here The One Who Knows What Do You Hear In These Sounds When I Was a Boy You Rise and Meet the Day Spring Street |
July 27, 2010
Greetings!
Dar Williams is
busy touring for her upcoming release, Many Great
Companions, and we need volunteers to help make her shows
a success. If you are
interested in being a street team member to help
distribute posters and fliers in your hometown, please
email darontour@gmail.com.
Here are the
details:
1.
We will give all volunteers a free pair of tickets
and a meet and greet with Dar.
2.
If you are interested, please notify us as soon as
possible.
3.
The subject line must start with YOUR specific city
(very important) and please only select from cities noted
below.
4.
Please provide us with your mailing address.
5.
You will be notified ASAP, if you are selected to
join.
Thank you very
much for your support and your help in getting the word
out!
Best Regards,
Russell Carter
Russell Carter
Artist Management
|
|
|
The State Room |
|
|
|
Freight and Salvage Coffeehouse |
|
|
Winters, CA |
The Palms Playhouse |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tower Theatre |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Keswick Theatre |
|
|
|
Cold
Spring Waterfront Gazebo |
July 6, 2009
The first, on July 8th, is a solo concert for Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater (W.H.A.T.), a first rate regional theater on Cape Cod. In the eighties, a friend predicted the rise of all sorts of regional excellence, and W.H.A.T. is a sign of the times (along with the local food movement and many new and great concert venues). They bring everything from local to international theater to all ages here in the far reaches of Cape Cod.
The second concert, July 18th, is for the renovation of Preservation Hall, which will become an arts and community center in downtown Wellfleet. I'm doing a guest appearance with the Ibis Chamber Music group; they have arranged a few of my songs that we'll perform during their concert. It's always an honor to hear ones songs arranged for strings, and as far as worthwhile capital raising goes, Preservation Hall promises to be the crown jewel of this forward looking community (that already has an award winning library!).
Both concerts are at the Congregational Church in Wellfleet (it's not a calendar typo).
Also in July, I'll be at the Bele Chere Festival in Asheville with Bryn Roberts on keyboards and (for the first time) Jordan Hamlin on everything else! Barring the discovery of a strange allergy, we'll be together through the August tour as well, a rocking, motoring trio.
See you on the road!
June 17, 2009
I'm very excited about this one because of what it is and where it is. The concert I'm doing is a benefit for Habitat for Artists and Ecoartspace, and there are three ways to attend, in my opinion:
1. Come for the concert. Nick Panasevich is opening. Some people in our town worked on his album, and they've created a well-deserved buzz for him around here! Also, the concert's in a very nice theater on the SUNY New Paltz campus.
2. Come for concert and cause. Habitat for Artists and EcoArtSpace both put art in the middle of the sustainability movement. There is a confluence of art and sustainable community in the Hudson Valley (it sounds boring, but it's actually groundbreaking and cool), very much present in the corridor from New Paltz to Kingston. Local artists have designed packaging for the seed-sharing collective. Simon Draper has a deal to set up artist "Habitats" (small free-standing buildings made from aesthetically rendered reclaimed materials) in the middle of Stonykill Farm. Artists are digging into centuries of history and agrarian pride with a 21st century sense of place, but they are also connecting their work to the actual towns, growers, and artisans, which strengthens this land-and-neighbor-based movement. About 10 yards from the theater is the Samuel Dorsky Museum with the exhibit Ecotones and Transitional Zones. Hudson Valley artists take the growing concept further in this great exhibit.
3. Come for concert, cause, and city. New Paltz has an awesome state school, my favorite farmer's market (Tagliaferro…though on Thursdays), rocks and rock climbers (many of them single, for those who are looking…), and my favorite farm, Veritas. There are bushels of pick-your-own everything, good shopping, and a former mayor who decided to officiate gay marriages years before it was/will be legal in New York and got in loads of trouble for it.
The Past Four Months in Bullet Points, Or, Shall I Say, Emphasis Daisies.
Looking back a bit…
* The R.E.M. tribute in March was wonderful. In the green room of Carnegie Hall we CHEERED when Patti Smith forgot her lyrics and was so charmingly embarrassed about it. WE were all so relieved we'd (mostly) remembered our lyrics, only to see how classy it was to forget them. There was a very beautiful moment at the City Winery aftershow party when Glen Hansard was performing "The One I Love", saying he used to sing it on the streets, and Mike Mills joined him on the stage, singing "Fi-yaaaah--- fi-yaaaah". So we had a dreamlike evening, only to miss the train and truly piss off our pregnant (!!) babysitter when we got home at 2:30.
* The Pete Seeger birthday concert at Madison Square Garden… I'll say this: if the stage was a campfire of blazing talent, including Pete himself, the audience was the glorious campfire choir. I was on the stage, I was backstage, and I was in the audience. Backstage there was wonderful cameraderie -- I think I speak for others when I say my greatest starf**ker moment was wanting to hug Oscar the Grouch -- but there was also bustle and bodyguards. Eighteen thousand people singing was the STAR of the evening. As Pete and the new testament say, there are seeds that fall on good soil. Pete's birthday was the overwhelming power of the seeds that grew in good soil and raised healthy children and grandchildren in the same soil. I think we all needed this night.
* Between R.E.M. and MSG, I toured in California with Melissa Ferrick, and I love her. Every once in a while, you have excellent company on the road (or The Road, if you will). Think of how great it was to commune over the dirty socks in the middle of one dressing room, or the insane comment of our friendly promoter at another venue, or, conversely, how much we loved Katrina at the Mystic Theater in Petaluma, or how awesome Myrna, of Cambridge, Massachusetts and Michigan Womyn's Music Festival but visiting her girlfriend in the Bay Area and therefore doing our sound at the Great American in San Francisco, is??? I was also completely invigorated and inspired by Melissa's music, and that's good for me on every Road.
* After the tour with Melissa in California and before Pete's birthday was the celebration of 100 years of the Progressive at Madison, Wisconsin's Orpheum Theater which was the highlight of my year. After my set, I described my time on stage to Melissa as "pure joy." It was one of the most meaningful, fun nights of my performing career. Much love and thanks to the Indigo Girls, Catie Curtis, Ani DiFranco, Melissa, Matthew Rothschild, Hamill on Trial, Peter Mulvey, Animal, Sheila, and all our handlers. There was a lot of power in the Orpheum, and, again, so much of that radiated from the audience. It was like surfing on a giant wave of progress.
As I say to my five year old son…
May The Force Be With You,
Dar
PS: I'll try to track down some pictures!
April 28, 2009
Are you feeling as demoralized as I am never hearing the impact that our collective transit-over-car miles, solar panels, cloth bags, green roofs, local food movements, tree plantings, tree plantings by Disney, wind farms, donations towards solar cookers over dung ovens and compact fluorescent lightbulbs are having on global warming? I was a real nerd for a long time when it came to the environment. Now, instead of pretending I'm an eccentric lady with sticks in her hair who's CRAZILY passing on a pile of napkins and double cups at the cafe, I say no thanks and get smiles of approval and understanding. I see smaller cars and daring town initiatives. I know the world is changing. I travel everywhere, and I see it EVERYWHERE. But what, of all things, has brought down our emissions, says the New York Times? The recession.
I'm celebrating Earth Day on Friday (yes, the 24th) to celebrate a great People's Endeavor. I'm part of an Earth Day lineup outside Grand Central Station where my train line, Metro North, runs. A train line is not what this Earth Day concert is about, but it's why I'm doing it. A year ago, I called Metro North and said I was helping an 11-year-old (not a total lie. I have one...within) write a report about Metro North's fuel consumption. I got a great call with statistics that I, an actual busy grown-up, lost. But Metro North carries 80 million passengers a year, and I did figure out that each of these people used, on average, half a gallon of gas and a few kilowatt hours of electricity per ride. On top of this, millions of cars don't need new parking lots, parking meters, pavement, and basic infrastructure that exceeds that of train stations. It takes me 3 gallons of gas to get to the city in a car that gets 44 mpg (stalkers, get out those calculators!).
I say, hoorah for trains. They are the least subsidized, most fuel efficient form of public transportation. Please join me in NYC on Friday. I'm through with thinking I'm going to read about the impact that our actions have. I'll just approach things sacramentally, starting with my wonderful, local commuter rail, Metro North.
Best Wishes,
Dar
PS: Also excited about celebrating The Progressive's 100th Anniversary in Wisconsin and Pete Seeger's birthday at Madison Square Garden. More on that later. Also did a STELLAR tour with the amazingly and multi-talented Melissa Ferrick in California. I love her, on stage and off.
March 19, 2009
Dar will be one of the performers at Pete Seeger's 90th birthday party at Madison Square Garden on May 3. A galaxy of stars of including Joan Baez, Bruce Springsteen, Ani DiFranco, and Toshi Regan. Details here. Amex holders can buy early bird tix starting on Monday, March 23. All proceeds to benefit the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater (www.clearwater.org), a non-profit organization created to defend and restore the Hudson River.
January 5, 2009
Greetings!
Dar is busy touring through the East Coast with Joshua Radin, and we need volunteers to help make these shows a success. If you are interested in being a Street Team member to help distribute posters and fliers in your hometown, please email: dartour@gmail.com
Here are the details:
1. We will give volunteers a free pair of tickets and a meet and greet with Dar.
2. If you are interested, please notify us as soon as possible (this email address will be shut down by 1.21.09).
3. The subject line must start with your CITY (very important) and please only select cities listed below.
4. Please provide us with your mailing address.
5. You will be notified immediately, if you are selected to join.
Thank you very much for your support and your help in getting the word out!
Best Regards,
Russell Carter (Dar's Manager)
Wed/Jan-21 - Rochester, NY - Water Street
Thu/Jan-22 - Boston, MA – Paradise Rock Club
Fri/Jan-23 - New York, NY –Webster Hall
Sat/Jan-24 - Philadelphia, PA - Keswick Theatre
Sun/Jan-25 - Ringwood, NJ – Ringwood Public Library
Mon/Jan-26 - Richmond, VA - The National
Wed/Jan-28 - Carborro, NC - Cat's Cradle
Thu/Jan-29 - Birmingham, AL - Workplay Theatre
Fri/Jan-30 - Athens, GA - Georgia Theatre
Sat/Jan-31 - Greenville, SC – Handlebar
Tue/Feb-03 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL – Culture Room
Wed/Feb-04 - St. Petersburg - Palladium Theatre
Thu/Feb-05 - Gainesville – Common Grounds
Fri/Feb-6 - Jacksonville, FL - Freebird
Sat/Feb-7 - New Orleans – House of Blues (Parish room)
August 25, 2008
News on the tour front. Dar will not be with band on this fall's Promised Land tour but will be appearing in a trio with Bryn Roberts on keyboards
and Everett Bradley on percussion.
June 24, 2008
Here's the full track listing for Promised Land:
2. Book of Love
3. The Easy Way
4. The Tide Falls Away
5. Buzzer
6. The Business of Things
7. You Are Everyone
8. Go To The Woods
9. Holly Tree
10. Troubled Times
11. Midnight Radio
12. Summerday
June 20, 2008
New CD, Promised Land, coming out Sept. 9 (REVISED)
Dar's first album of original material in more than three years, entitled Promised Land, is scheduled for release September 9. Produced by Brad Wood (Pete Yorn, Liz Phair, Smashing Pumpkins), the album features 12 songs. Original songs include "It's Alright," "The Easy Way," and "Buzzer." She also covers "Midnight Radio" from the rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch, as well the Fountains of Wayne song "Troubled Times." Lending support on the album are such renowned artists as Suzanne Vega and Marshall Crenshaw, who was also on My Better Self .
March 5, 2008
- Dar Williams has
donated her stunning Huss
and Dalton OM guitar to be auctioned on eBay to
raise money to benefit a nonprofit in Goshen, MA, called The Institute for the Musical
Arts (IMA). The money will go towards the
construction of a new recording studio at the IMA, which
is dedicated to supporting women in the music industry.
Dar's guitar will go up for auction April 5 or so, and
will end on April 14th. Other artists who have donated to
the auction include Ani DiFranco and Bonnie Raitt.
For more info on the auction, click
here.
- Here's the track listing for
the Live at Bearsville DVD. You can pre-order it for
US$14.95 from MusicSpace.com
• When I Was A Boy
• The Ocean
• The One Who Knows
• The Christians And The Pagans
• February
• Iowa
• Babysitter
• As Cool As I Am
• Spring Street
• If I Wrote You
• Mercy Of The Fallen
• Are You Out There
• Beauty Of The Rain
• The Easy Way
• After All
• Ripple
Host a screening party for Dar's Live at Woodstock DVD before the launch (updated Sept. 17)
In May of this year, Dar Williams performed two concerts in Woodstock, NY and those shows were filmed for a live DVD. Dar Williams "Live at Bearsville Theater" will be released on October 16th! The DVD, which includes both solo and band sets, features luminous performances of Dar Williams classics ("Iowa," "When I Was a Boy," "The Beauty of the Rain") as well as a brand new song entitled "The Easy Way."
Over the years, Dar has attracted a devoted audience drawn to her extraordinary musicianship, engaging lyricism, charitable efforts to connect local community programs with the public at large and thoughtful, empathetic storytelling. Recognizing Dar’s special relationship to her fans, Razor and Tie is offering fans the chance to host an exclusive Preview Screening Party weeks before the DVD becomes available in stores!
If you are interested in hosting a party, click HERE to download R&T's questionnaire and email your replies back to them at Darparty@razorandtie.com. The deadline to submit your entry is September 21st.
The winning hosts will be notified on September 24th by e-mail. If you are selected, you will be sent a package containing the DVD and other party favors, as well as instructions on how to invite guests and throw the party. R&T asks that you set up an Evite event and hold your screening on the night of your choice between the October 1st and October 15th. Party Hosts who post pictures of their parties and give post-screening feedback will be automatically entered to win a guitar autographed by Dar!
June 10, 2007
Note from Dar - June 1, 2007
Spring Is The Liver
"Spring is the liver," says our yoga teacher. It's a time to twist and stretch and wring out our organs, and this year we added a big container of de-tox powder to this special season, which meant we'd have to go off dairy, wheat, soy, sugar, and caffeine for three weeks. Oh, and alcohol. We just finished it. It was only a little hellish.
I wasn't sure how I'd deal with gigs. I'm used to a few sips of wine before I go out and sign CDs, for instance, even though it gives me purple teeth in everyone's photos (Sorry. Your teeth look really white, though).
Pre-tox, in April, those halcyon days, I visited Saratoga Springs, a gorgeous small city with dressed-up old houses and a classy, dressed down Main Street of mostly indy businesses, and played at Skidmore for their great Earth Day celebration.
In Bellows Falls, Vermont, I did a fundraiser for the Bellows Falls farmer's market, which is more than just that, as most of them are. I got to see my old manager, Charlie Hunter, and his studio of great paintings. Charlie brought a concert series to Bellows Falls, so it's no surprise to me that the town is doing so well. When music is one of the cornerstones of a small town revival, somehow you get a Main Street with cool restaurants, a good general store, a functional, renovated old theater, and even an independent bookstore. Who doesn't love finding these human-scale, progressive towns with good cappuccino and adequate hardware supplies??
After Bellows Falls I was home for a little while and we had a birthday party for Stephen (three) with four kids and eleven adults. We grilled, we drank, the kids ran wild. It was great.
And THEN, the live DVD. It was like a prom, but, if I remember correctly, I didn't have my own hair and makeup person for my prom, and Shawn Colvin didn't help me find my dress. I knew Shawn was going to be up in New York and she consented to take me on a whirlwind shopping trip. I tried on everything. Shawn was supportive, sympathetic (the low-riding capris were saddening) and inspired. Many thanks to my fashionista sister and her patience!
Woodstock, where we filmed the DVD, was really at its stunning best. There is a creek running behind the Bearsville Theater where you can practically see the dancing wood sprites, and the guys from WDST (particularly Noel) brought the coffee and good vibes from their station next door.
I paid my respects at the Strawberry Fields-like homage to Albert Grossman, who was given the title, "The Baron of Bearsville."
I said to Mark from Allaire Studios, "But he's not really buried there, in the woods behind the theater."
Mark said, "Oh yeah, he's buried there."
And I said, "But isn't that illegal?"
Mark said, "Oh yeah, I think so."
Baron indeed.
Mbr>
I performed with Ben Butler on guitar, Mike Visceglia on bass, and Steve Holley on drums. Woodstock Films filmed. Jeff and Christen provided management and stage flora. And the extra wine.
Many thanks to all!
I did a solo set, then brought the guys up. And we dragged Jules Shear up on stage to sing Echoes (which he co-wrote). The Woodstockians were an amazing crowd. Many of them had, I'm guessing, homesteads, organic farms, and llamas to take care of in the morning, but they stayed through a second encore of Comfortably Numb, which I even started over.
On Sunday, we visited the Woodstock Animal Sanctuary, run by my friend Doug and his lovely wife, Jenny. As Doug says, turkeys look like their heads are inside-out, and when they're not afraid of being slaughtered, they're very friendly, and you can have a really nice X-Files moment with them, caressing their nubbly brain-like heads. Stephen said he'd prefer to go to a store and buy an animal toy, and it felt like he was exposing us somehow.
Still, Michael, Stephen and I drove home with stars in our eyes from such a wonderful weekend.
The next weekend, while de-toxing, I went to Fall River and Lexington, Massachusetts, and they did it for me! They made de-toxing and performing easy. The Narrows in Fall River is a volunteer run coffeehouse and gallery and it's worth a trip. Somehow, confirming Ryan Fitzsimmons as the opener slipped through the cracks. I asked if they could still call him, and he ended up speeding down from Cambridge, peeling into the driveway, and jumping onstage. And then he crushed it, in the words of a rad friend. Genuine, talented, and charismatic.
The Joyful Noise in Lexington was a reunion with Scott Alarik, who spoke and sang beautifully before the show, and who is the Bard of the Boston Globe, ennobling folk music and "deep community," and Marilyn, who was there from WUMB. Great sound, and great space. Thank you David and Gail, and David. And Amy Putnam.
I found two pictures backstage of a woman named Pamela who had bought tickets for the show, but had died before. When I saw that she had requested "After All" at an earlier show, I knew she had committed suicide. I dedicated "After All" to her again, and to her lovely friends, and then mentioned, crassly perhaps, that people who really like that song should probably get some help. Perhaps that put a damper on the song, hm? But I did it for Pamela (not that she avoided getting help. It looks like she tried very hard.). I needed therapy to get me out of my clinical depression when I was twenty-one. A song alone can't do it, I've learned!
I had more gigs after these, but I'll leave it at that for now. I'm off for almost a month, and I'm headed off to the woods (or café, or my favorite museum up the street) to finish writing my next album.
Happy Liver, Everyone,
Dar
PS: I don't believe in nuclear power! I just read an op-ed in the NY Times saying we need nuclear power in our anti-global warming strategy. The National Renewable Energy Lab recently wrote to my friend Harvey Wasserman and confirmed that our energy could be 99% renewable by 2020. There, my de-tox is complete.
March 27, 2007
Note from Dar
you’re a powerful force of action and change
Spring must be
here. Stephen and I threw leaves and twigs into the creek
for a very long time as we listened to the birds singing
their songs of first flowers and "Holy crap, what the hell
was that blizzard last week?"
Speaking of blizzards, I
had a fabulous time in the Midwest in February, despite
all the chuckling I heard in the national weather reports
for that weekend. "We just hope you're avoiding Chicago
this weekend. Really. Oh MAN, you'd be INSANE to go
there!"
In Wisconsin it started
coming down just before the Barrymore concert in Madison.
Still, the audience showed up. Wisconsin, just know there
are many parts of New York that would not have done that.
Big hellos to Abby, Ashley, Penny and Diane with thanks
for the beautiful poster about how the Barrymore concerts
over the years brought them together. They came up on
stage for the song Iowa, as they had in 2005, and brought
the house down as usual. They were also playing their
guitars out in the snow before doors. I offered to get
them something at the Blue Plate, across the street (in
retrospect, perhaps I should have offered to let them in),
where I had dinner with Brianna
Lane, who opened the
Wisconsin shows SO AWESOMELY. I kept thinking that she'd
put in the "real miles," in her career and beautiful
songwriting.
After the show I drove in
the blizzard and almost got killed. Anyway, The Steppenwolf Theatre, in Chicago was everything I
dreamed it would be. Sound and lighting people with
college degrees in sound and lighting! I was on the
Huckleberry Finn set, spare, bone white, assymetrical
ramps. I looked so cool. I said that Comfortably
Numb could be a
small Beckett script, two characters (coming out of trash
cans, perhaps?) emerging out of any number of times in
life or history. The audience had that "stop pandering to
the subscribers" look, but I sensed that they agreed, and
they were undeniably sophisticated. So I stand by the Beckett reference.
And the Pabst Theater in
Milwaukee. Ah, Milwaukee. As if trying to quickly rewire
the brains us tourists who ever associated Milwaukee with,
uh, afforadable
beer and Laverne
and Shirley, that
city is full of beautiful surprises, in its spirit and old
and new architecture, at every street corner. I got to go
to Alterra Coffee twice while I was there (the
one on Lincoln Memorial Drive). As with playing at the
Pabst Theater, my trips to Milwaukee just get better and
better.
In the middle of March, I
was part of a speak-out rally during a war education week
at SUNY New Paltz. Ingenuously, I encouraged
the students to come up and talk about war in general and
how this war made them reflect on this moment in history.
As if I had to!!! Many thanks to the students, most of
whom had pre-written raps and poems, one of whom wrote one
on the spot, and to their nationally ranked Slam team for
being such an inspiration. I hope you know that you're a powerful force of
action and change.
I took some time off
before my next gig, this weekend, in Ossining, down the
river from where we live. The show was sponsored by the
school foundation, Ossining Matters. High school members of a
class called "Gimme the Mic" opened the show and one of
them, Olivia, sang her own song, which was great. I guess
all I can say was that I was completely impressed with
everything. At the end of the night, as I headed for the
reception, I emoted, "You even made me cookies! From
scratch?" The woman said no, and looked pained. I felt
terrible. Well, they had that vibe, and that's the
important thing.
I'm excited about the
month ahead. I'm going to play at Skidmore, where I played for Earth Day a couple years ago. I went on
and on about Earth-related things, but I will briefly
mention that a professor started a "Lights out to stay in"
program where any money the campus saves on its
electricity bill is used for a fund to help students with
mid-semester financial crises.
Also, I'm playing as part
of a celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard, featuring and
honoring Salman Rushdie, Amartya Sen, E.O. Wilson, and
many others. It should be quite a thing. I think I'm going
to invite my parents, and I'm imagining I'll receive a
very nice tote bag.
I'm also doing a
fundraiser via my good friend and former manager Charlie Hunter's (the manager and wonderful
painter, not the jazz musician) venue in Bellows Falls,
Vermont, for their community active farmers market. I
finally realized that local food groups and community
gardens provide an approachable microcosm of all the
global issues I support, so I hope I'll be doing more of
this. Also, supporting community gardens means –dude!-- a
lot of free food on the road. You can buy tickets by clicking
on this link
I heard a great interview
on the BBC (I'm probably the only person in the world who
alternates between the BBC and E! Entertainment news on
satellite radio) with Wangari Maathai about tree planting.
She's aiming to get people to plant a billion trees this
year (www.greenbeltmovement.com, click on "Plant for the
Planet"), so I'm going to try to do something like that
for my 40th birthday.
Oh! And I'm doing a live
DVD in early May in Woodstock (Woodstock/Bearsville). One
of the seventh graders at Ossining asked if I'd been at
Woodstock. The answer is yes, for lunch at Bread Alone, a very nice place. And I
like to wave my freak flag in the direction of WDST whenever I go, as well.
Thanks for listening,
Dar
February 19, 2007
Note from Dar:
A big hello from upstate New York!
I'm writing from my dining room, where I get the best view of the frozen Hudson River.
I meant to start writing a formal Hello in December. The holiday season was unusually filled with seasonality. My son, of course, was doing Santas, menorahs, and Kwanzaa symbolism collages at daycare, but beyond that, there were Christmas songs with Gandalph Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams at a Cold Spring, NY fundraiser at the beginning of December, the jovial, merry laughter of audiences in Bath, Maine and Somerville, MA, as I told them that I'd left my guitar at home (I used Peter Mulvey’s guitar in Somerville. Thanks, buddy.), and, of course, there was the fully decorated tree that almost fell on me in Westfield, NJ. But best of all, I wanted to thank the audience in Northampton, MA for singing with my son at 11:30 pm on December 31st. It was so, so nice to hear a thousand voices quietly helping him with the words to Twinkle Little Star.
We went to California in January, and I had a great time on the sunny boulevards and little stages of Los Angeles clubs, and the Eucalyptus-lined roads and groovy stages of Northern California. And all three of us enjoyed that California thing where you reach up and pull a piece of fruit off a tree. Keep that, California.
I'm heading off (alone) for Madison, Milwaukee and Chicago in late February. I'm part of Steppenwolf Theater's month-long Traffic Jam Festival (yes, I'm thrilled about it), and I'll be at the Barrymore in Madison and the Pabst in Milwaukee, two great stages. Each of these cities has a few of my favorite haunts, too. I'll probably head to Willy St. Coop and the Blue Plate in Madison and Alterra Coffee in Milwaukee.
On the last weekend of February, Senator Bill Bradley's interview with me will be airing on Sirius Radio. He' s as affable and intelligent as we all hoped he was when he was running for president!
I don't have a lot of gigs in March, but they’re all connected with things I love, Ossining Matters (a school foundation), Peace Action in Princeton, and John Gorka in Patterson, NJ.
Speaking of peace, there's also going to be a week of education about the human, diplomatic, and financial costs of war at SUNY New Paltz in mid-March. I'm showing up to be the entertainment at their speak-out on March 14th.
And I'm also doing a couple of school visits with middle school age kids close to Wayne, NJ and Ossining, NY, with guitar and books. I love hanging out with 9 to 12 year-olds, even when the 12-year-olds ask me how old I am and how much money I make.
But that's really it for March, I think.
-Dar
August 16, 2006
Dar has moved to a new management company. Her interests will now be looked after by the folks at Velour Music Group. If you would like to e-mail Dar or any of the team there, the link has been added to the links page.
April 15, 2006
Dar's sequel to Amalee, called Lights, Camera, Amalee, is scheduled for release in July 2006 in hardcover from Scholastic. More details as I get 'em.
February 23, 2006
For Dar and peace fans in the NYC area, here's an interesting event at which Dar will sing and Daniel Berrigan will speak.
Moderator: The Reverend Patricia Ackerman, Project Director, Garrison Institute; Founder of Over the Rainbow Institute for Living Ethics
Panelists: Ibrahim Ramey, Fellowship of Reconciliation, Muslim Peace Fellowship Rabbi Tsvi Blanchard, National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership G. Simon Harak, S.J, War Resisters League, Voices in the Wilderness
Music provided by Dar Williams and Paula Larke
Thursday, March 2, 2006, 7-9 p.m., The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Avenue at 112th Street
Please contact mjrubenstein@stjohndivine.org or call 212 316-7440 for more information.
This event is free and open to the public.
Win an electric guitar signed by Dar and other artists on This Bird Has Flown tribute CD.
Enter Razor & Tie's This Bird Has Flown contest to win a Squier Affinity Series Stratocaster electric guitar autographed by Dar Williams, Low, Nellie McKay, The Donnas, and Rhett Miller. What better way to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of The Beatles' "Rubber Soul"?To enter the contest click here!
November 15, 2005
To subscribe, click http://feeds.feedburner.com/ThisBirdHasFlownPodcast or copy and past the feed address into iTunes or other rss readersoftware.
Interviews:
August 12, 2005 *updated September 19, 2005
The Echoes Initiative
In conjunction with the album release, her forthcoming tour, and the release of her first single "Echoes", Dar has organized the Echoes Initiative. Dar has selected markets on the tour and has worked with the promoters to identify small but very worthwhile community-based organizations in each of those markets. Through pre-show promotion, providing a presence for these organizations at her shows, and helping to raise money by providing some higher priced special tickets at each event, Dar is hoping to raise awareness and funds for these organizations. The work of these organizations truly echoes all over their communities, and by extension and example, all over the world.Special price tickets will include admission to a meet and greet reception with Dar and members of the chosen organization.
9/22-23 Sanders Theater - Cambridge, MA - Our Bodies Ourselves
* 9/20 Higher Ground - So. Burlington, VT - Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf -- As part of the Echoes Initiative, Conscious Alliance will be in attendance to collect donations and food to benefit a local food shelf, Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf. On the day of show, donations of $15+ or 15+ non perishable food items will also get you a ticket into a post show meet and greet with Dar.
9/24 Strom Auditorium - Rockport, ME - Cultivating Community
9/29 Town Hall Theatre - New York - The Door
9/30 Keswick Theater - Glenside, PA - Bethesda Project
10/1 9:30 Club - Washington, DC - Crisislink
*10/7 The Orange Peel - Asheville, NC - Wild For Life
10/18 Aladdin Theater - Portland, OR - Sistes of the Road Cafe
10/19 Moore Theatre - Seattle, WA - Seattle Youth Garden Works
*10/30 Pabst Theater - Milwaukee, WI - Urban Ecology Center
* 11/6 The Ark - Ann Arbor, MI - Growing Hope
August 2, 2005
Dar will be one of the artists featured on a tribute to The Beatles' Rubber Soul album. The CD will be called This Bird Has Flown and she sings "You Won't See Me." The CD is due out Oct. 25. Read the Billboard article about it.
June 11, 2005
Dar is helping to sponsor a group of Dartmouth students who are going around the U.S. playing ultimate frisbee and promoting alternative energy by riding around in a school bus, The Big Green Bus, that is running on salad oil.Their tour starts next week. Check out their website for details and be sure to watch their short movie. It was very entertaining.
June 3, 2005
Dar will be one of the celebrity guests at the Women's Campaign Fund (WCF), the nation's oldest nonpartisan political action committee dedicated to electing pro-choice women, Annual Washington, D.C., Dinner "Parties of Your Choice" on Wednesday, June 15. Read the press release for more information.
April 29, 2005
To kick of mental health month, mpower & 1-800-SUICIDE will hold an eBay auction to raise awareness of and prevent teen suicide. mpower's eBay auction begins Monday, May 2nd and will continue until the end of May with new auction items for sale each week. Log on to www.mpoweryouth.org to learn more about the campaign and to get a sneak preview of some of the items that will be featured. A number of autographed Dar CDs will be part of the auction.
April 10, 2005
- Dar's song The Beauty of the Rain will be on the soundtrack for the new movie Monster-in-Law, starring Jennifer Lopez and Jane Fonda. Other erformers on the CD, set for release May 10, include Jem, Rachel Yamagata, Nellie McKay, Joss Stone, and Magnet.
- Update on Dar's new CD
- It's almost done. They are doing some remixing and final recording. Special guests on the CD include Soulive, Patty Larkin and Marshall Crenshaw (plus one more, who is still recording). The release date has been pushed back to early August. More info to come as I get it.
- Recording of the new CD is almost complete. All the basic tracks are recorded and all that’s left are some overdubs and Dar’s final vocals, which should all be done over the next few weeks.
- The plan is to release the record in early July (that means it’ll be out before Falcon Ridge, fans!)
- There are likely to be 13 tracks on the CD — as yet unnamed. Of those, 10 are new songs penned by Dar, two are covers, and one is written by someone else but not previously recorded. More details on that when I get ‘em.
- A few of the songs Dar’s played live such as Closer to My Heart and Teen for God, but most are still brand new.
- As reported earlier this month, Dar’s working at Allaire Studios in the Catskills and the band includes Steuart Smith (before he heads off on tour with The Eagles again) and Ben Butler on guitars, Rob Hyman and Julie Wolfe on keyboards, Steve Holley on drums, and Mike Visceglia on bass. The producers are Stewart Lerman and Rob Hyman. The engineer is David Darlington.
- Allaire Studios is totally gorgeous and set in the Catskill mountains. You can check it out at: http://www.allairestudios.com/views.html. Dar’s manager Ron Fierstein says it’s an amazingly inspirational place to work with great big windows and views of mountains, forests and lakes. The best part is, artists live there while they’re recording (nice gig if you can get it!).
- Ron says the new CD has new subjects and themes but remains very Dar-like. Dar continues to mature and grow as a songwriter and perfomrer. “She’s in a good place in her life,” he says, “happy and content and it comes through in the songs.” That’s reflected in songs that are in the vein of The One Who Knows but doesn’t mean there aren’t still edgy, political songs like Teen for God.
- The CD will feature a few special guests, again details to come on that, but not as many as The Beauty of the Rain.
- Over the spring and summer, Dar will be doing some intermittent touring – the gig at the Allen Room next week as well as headlining the Passim Centre benefit in May with Richard Thompson are some highlights. Plans are to have a full band tour in the fall, starting around Sept. 20 and going until mid to late November.
- Looks like it’ll be a good year for Dar fans!
February 12, 2005
Dar is back in the studio recording her next CD. She's working at Alaire Studios in the Catskills and the band includes Steuart Smith and Ben Butler guitars, Rob Hyman and Julie Wolfe keyboards, and Mike Visceglia on bass. The producers are Stewart Lerman and Rob Hyman. More details to come as I get them.
December 24, 2004
Dar begins work on a new CD in January.
This is what Dar's manager Ron Fierstein has to say about it:
Dar will begin work on a new album in January. The same basic crew of Stewart Lerman, Rob Hyman and Steuart Smith, who worked with Dar on TGW and BOTR, together with Dar's touring band of Mike Visceglia, Julie Wolf and Steve Holley will be pitching in. I'm hopeful that the album can be completed by late March which would allow for an early Summer release. The current plan is to do a band tour in the Fall, starting at the end of September in the Northeast (look out for dates at the Sanders Theater in Cambridge to be announced by Ellen Friedman). Dar will also be doing isolated solo shows and festival appearances through the Spring and Summer, including a very exciting and very special show in early March at the new venue at the Time Warner Headquarters in NYC, The Allen Theater. Dar's show is part of the American Songbook series they are presenting. The stage has a picture window as a backdrop with a spectacular view of Central Park and the NY skyline. This will be a very special event.
September 9, 2004
Here's a U.S. election message from Dar:
July 27, 2004
May 20, 2004
On June 29, Silverline will release The Green World and The Beauty of the Rain on 5.1 DVD Audio. Each CD will contain a little bonus material. The Green World will feature approx 3-4 minutes video footage of tour rehearsals of Dar and musicians in the studio. The Beauty of the Rain will feature a Photo Gallery of pictures taken from fans. The rest of Dar's catalogue will also be released on DVD-A at a later date.
April 26, 2004
Great news! Stephen Gray Robinson was born on the morning of Saturday, April 24, 2004 to parents Dar Williams and Michael Robinson. He weighed 7lbs 3oz, and was 21 inches long! If you're interested in making a donation in honour of his birth, click on the soother on the left. Notes and wishes can be sent tojennifer@rfent.com. To make donations, click here for information.
Win Free Tickets to see Dar on Martha's Vineyard in August
For decades the Black Dog Bakery on Martha's Vineyard has sold far more more hats and tee shirts with that ubiquitous red collared black Labrador retriever than they ever have of the croissants that opening act Joe Keenan baked there in his youth. Send us your favourite photo of “the” black dog or any black dog (with or with out human) and whichever tickles our fancy most gets a free pair of tix to see Dar On The Vineyard on August 21st. Send images and your contact info to info@daronthevineyard.com. Snail Mail: Dar Contest c/o I.W.F, One Short Street, Northampton, MA 01060. Judges whimsical decision final; no materials returned.
March 18, 2004
Here's a note from Ron Fierstein, Dar's manager:
March 12, 2004
The Patty Griffin Site is running a birthday fund drive until Patty's Birthday on March 16 at 5 p.m EST. They PM eastern. Therewere just sent a box of Dar Williams promo CD's from "Beauty fo the Rain" to use as gifts. So for everyone who makes a US$10 donation to the fund drive in co-operation with the Vietnam Veterans Foundation, will get one of the promo CD's. Go to www.vvaf.org to make a donation and then send a copy of the email confirmation to pattygriffinbirthdaydrive@yahoo.com along with a note saying "Dar Williams Special" and you will get a copy of the promo CD.
March 2, 2004
Dar Williams, Bonnie Raitt, Caitlin Cary, David Crosby, and Graham Nash, Lucy Kaplansky, Anna Egge, Catie Curtis and many others are among the artists who have contributed songs to a two-disc singer/songwriter compilation that will raise funds to fight Parkinson's Disease. "ParkinSong, Volume One: 38 Songs of Hope," will be released May 11 via Ryko Distribution. It is produced by Lloyd Maines (Dixie Chicks, Jimmie Dale Gilmore) and includes Dar's song The One Who Knows on disc 2.
Some of the songs deal directly with Parkinson's, including Alvin's "The Man in the Bed," written as a tribute to his father. Also included is Tom Russell's "Muhammad Ali." Proceeds will benefit the New Jersey-based ParkinSong Foundation, which uses music to raise awareness and money to research new and innovative therapies for treatment of Parkinson's Disease. The non-profit organization was founded by the three children of New Jersey schoolteacher Selma Litowitz, who has battled the disease for more than a decade.
The ParkinSong Foundation began with a 2001 benefit concert in Lawrenceville, N.J., where Litowitz taught high school English. Comedian/actor Jon Stewart, a former pupil, hosted the first event, while a second was held the following year in nearby Newtown, Pa. The organization intends to stage higher profile concerts on the East and West Coast later this year, and will begin assembling tracks for a second volume of the compilation.
February 24, 2004
iTunes now has six Dar Williams albums for sale for US$9.99 each or 99 cents a song. This is great news for fans who are going CD-free, not to mention cheaper than buying the CDs. Only thing is you don't get the lovely CD packaging with art and lyrics.
December 6, 2003
According to Amazon.com, Dar's book Amalee will be out in July 2004. You can pre-order if from Amazon but there's no details and no price yet.
December 2, 2003
October 26, 2003
September 14, 203
Dar's band for the U.K. mini-tour are:
Ben Bulter on guitarSeptember 5, 2003
Steve Holley on drums (though percussion only in Birmingham & Dublin)
Mike Visceglia on bass
CONGRATULATIONS TO DAR!! Dar won the award for singer/songwriter album of the year, The Beauty of the Rain, last night at the Boston Music Awards.
August 11, 2003
In a special offer to Dar Williams' fans, Black Wolf Press is offering a special discounted price if you order Scott Alarik's Deep Community: Adventures in the Modern Folk UnderGround through this web site. For the next few weeks, darwilliams.net vistors will pay only US$12, instead of the regular $20, for the book by ordering online from Black Wolf Press. Scott and his publishers are looking to get the word out about the book in a grassroots way and this is their way of saying thanks for buying it. Deep Community is a collection of Alarik's inteviews from the Boston Globe that shine a light on the thriving world of folk music at a time when the mainstream music industry is in an historic decline. Interviews include Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, Judy Collins and many more. Dar is in a number of places throughout the book. It's a fascinating and entertaing read. Dar calls Alarik "the finest folk writer in the [U.S]"
July 31, 2003
- Paul Rosen informs us that he's been informed by Dar's UK agent that she'll be there for some touring in mid- to late-Septmeber.
- There will be a Philly date of the Songwriters Tour - at
which Dar will actually not appear because
of close Princeton date - and which will be announced after the Mary Chapin Carpenter date in that area in a few weeks.
Dar has been nominated for a Boston Music Award in the best female vocalist category. Click here to read the Boston Globe article about the nominations.
May 16, 2003
Here's some info on Dar's July 20 show in California.
- The two festival concerts on Montalvo's front lawn will be showcases for female musicians. Great blues singer Etta James plays June 29 with bluesy roots singer and guitarist Susan Tedeschi. On July 20, Rosanne Cash -- Johnny Cash's daughter and a Grammy-winning singer-songwriter in her own right -- headlines a bill that also includes smart, sweet folkie Dar Williams and Australian group the Waifs.
Peter Jones in Charlottesville, VA will be doing a two-hour program of all Dar on Tuesday, May 6, between 9 and 11 pm, as part of the WTJU 91.1 FM public radio Folk fund drive . If you have any questions or suggestions for the program, you can e-mail him at peter@tellusatale.com.
April 25, 2003
Dar Williams appears on the String Cheese Incident "On The Road" CD from October 25th, 2002. She opened the show for String Cheese Incident, then joined them onstage for John Lennon's "Imagine", the only time String Cheese Incident has ever played the song. Dar appears on disc 2, track 6. Julie Wolfe appears on disc 1 track 3 and disc 2 track 6 as well. The 3-disc set is US$18.00 from SCI's website.
April 2, 2003
For UK fans: This week, until Apr. 9, BBC Scotland is giving away copies of Dar's CD The Beauty of the Rain on the Celtic Roots site.
March 27, 2003
Here's some tour news:
Dar's touring band will include Ben Butler (guitar), Steve Holley (drums), Carol Steele (percussion), Michael Visceglia (bass), and Julie Wolf (keyboards).
Ben Taylor Band will be Dar's special guest on the whole tour, except for April 29, 30 and May 1, when John Eddie joins Dar.
March 16, 2003
MONDAY 17 MARCH:
10.00 - 10.30AM: LIVE INTERVIEW WITH DAVID WHITE, BBC RADIO CORNWALL
10.30 - 11.00AM: LIVE INTERVIEW WITH JUDI SPIERS, BBC RADIO DEVON
2.30 - 3.00PM: LIVE INTERVIEW WITH TOM MORTON, BBC RADIO SCOTLAND
on this day she is also pre-recording interviews with BBC Radio Lancaster, Kent,
Suffolk, and Southern Counties, airings tba.
TUESDAY 18 MARCH:
2.00 - 2.30PM: LIVE INTERVIEW WITH DAVE ANDREWS, BBC RADIO LEICESTER
3.00 - 3.30PM: LIVE INTERVIEW WITH LISA I'ANSON, BBC RADIO LONDON
7.00 - 7.30PM LIVE INTERVIEW AND SESSION WITH NEIL O'BRIEN, MEAN COUNTRY 1035
on this day she is also pre-recording interviews with Metro FM Tyneside, South Hams Radio Devon, and speaking with Country Music Round-Up Magazine.
WEDNESDAY 19 MARCH:
1.30PM - 2.00PM: LIVE INTERVIEW WITH JULIA HANKIN, BBC RADIO NEWCASTLE, STUDIO 1S, BBC BROADASTING HOUSE
on this day she is also pre-recording inteerviews with the Captain America Radio show on Virgin Radio 1, BBC Radio Lincs, and BBC Radio Bradford.
February 5, 2003
The Beauty of the Rain Track
Listings To be released Feb. 18, 2003 with digipak packaging 1. Mercy Of The Fallen 2. Farewell To The Old Me - (featuring Stefan Lessard and John Medeski) 3. I Saw A Bird Fly Away - (featuring John Popper and John Medeski) 4. Beauty Of The Rain, The - (featuring Chris Botti) 5. The World's Not Falling Apart - (featuring Stefan Lessard and Michael Kang) 6. The One Who Knows - (featureing Alison Krauss) 7. Closer To Me - (featuring Bela Fleck) 8. Fishing In The Morning - (featuring Bela Fleck and Michael Kang) 9. Whispering Pines - (featuring Steffan Lessard, Chris Botti, Cliff Eberhardt, and Alison Krauss) 10. Your Fire Your Soul - (featuring John Medeski) 11. I Have Lost My Dreams |
January 24, 2003
MEDIA ALERT: The World Cafe with David Dye will be broadcasting a session with Dar Williams on Thursday, January 30th. The World Cafe with David Dye can be heard on more than 150 stations in the U.S. Fans can find their local station by going to the website www.worldcafe.org or they can listen online at 2pm EST or 1am EST.
This is an interview/performance featuring new songs from the forthcoming release, The Beauty Of The Rain, plus one or two of your old favorites. The session was recorded on Jan. 19th at Indre Studios in Philadelphia with Dar, Julie Wolf (keyboards/vocals), Rob Hyman (keyboards) and Cliff Eberhardt (vocals, guitar).
January 17, 2003
Bass player Mike Visceglia, best known for his 15+ years with Suzanne Vega, will be joining Dar on tour!
December 16, 2002
October 31, 2002
THE DOWNTOWN MESSIAH
A Modern Interpretation of Handel's Masterpiece
The Bottom Line (Mercer and 4th St. 212-228-6300). The shows
are on Friday, Dec. 13th and Saturday, Dec. 14th at 7:30PM and
10:30PM
Featuring: THE ACCIDENTALS, RICHARD BARONE, EVERETT BRADLEY,
RANDY BRECKER, MARSHALL CRENSHAW, MARGARET DORN, DAVID
JOHANSEN, PETER KIESEWALTER, TOBI KIESEWALTER, ANN MARIE
MILAZZO, MULEBONE U.K., TERRE ROCHE, LARRY SALZMAN, JANE
SIBERRY, SYD STRAW (on SAT.only), and DAR WILLIAMS (ON
FRI. only),
plus two additional guest artists.
With Recitative Read By MEG GRIFFIN
Director: Richard Barone
Choral Director: Margaret Dorn
Musical Arranger: Peter Kiesewalter
Movement Consultant: Stacey Pepper Schwartz
E-mail
Reservations are being accepted for this performance
Doors Open 6PM for 7:30 Show/10PM for 10:30 Show
All seats $25
October 16, 2002
º 6pm on October 20th at the Crandell Theater in Chatham, NY as part of the FilmColumbia festival. Tickets available at www.filmcolumbia.com
º October 26th, a Saturday, at 5pm at the Greenwich Film Festival, in Greenwich CT.
º The weekend of November 8-11 we're screening in downtown Los Angeles as part of Ladyfest LA - not sure of the screening time, but the event is a fundraiser for a battered women's shelter.
Thanks to Simona Loberant for the info.
October 7, 2002
David Johansen in a spread entitled "The New Folkies."
As mentioned before, Dar's new CD is scheduled for release in February. The tentative date has been set at Feb. 18, 2003.
October 1, 2002
Dar agreed to
donate a song to the HRC Foundation's "Being Out Rocks"
benefit CD to celebrate National Coming Out Day, which is
October 11, 2002. The CD will benefit the Human Rights
Campaign Foundation. The song is "Are You Out
There." For an more information, pictures of the
artists, and to purchase the CD you can visit HRC's website -
the CD will be shipped starting October 8. Other artists on
the CD include Janis Ian, Rufus Wainright, Ani DiFranco, Catie
Curtis, Harvey Fierstein and SONiA.
September 3, 2002
- Two screenings which are sure to sell out :
Tues, Sept 17th at 5pm at the Vista Theatre (where
Hollywood meets Sunset Blvd.) After party at
7:30 at the Good Luck Bar on Hillhurst. Wednesday
Sept. 18th at 7pm at the Los Feliz Theatre. After
party starts at 9 at the Dresden Room. Tickets
available at www.silverlakefilmfestival.com.
Filmmaker
Lisa
Kors will be in attendance both nights.
Thanks to Simona Loberant for the
alert.
August 29, 2002
"Dar Williams talks with Hendrik Hertzberg"
Dar will be interviewed by Hendrick Hertzberg of the New Yorker on September 28 at 9:00pm at Joe's Pub at the Public Theatre (425 Lafayette St.). Tickets are $20 and can be purchased from Tele-Charge (212-239-6200) or the Public Theatre box office. More info
August 6, 2002
-
DarWilliams.net, in conjunction with the Community Theatre, is
giving away two pairs of tickets to the Friday, November 8
show in Morristown, NJ. Enter
here.
-
There are some photos on the WFUV
website from Dar and others' performance at the Concert for
the Tower. Click here. Get
to the photos by clicking on the graphic on the right side
of the page.
-
Dar's mother has been kind enough to
share some photos from Dar's wedding to Michael Robinson on
May 4. The photos are in the gallery.
Just go to the special events
section. (sorry I couldn't set them up to be easily
flipped through). Dar looks beautiful in dress made of
Chinese silk, probably in the 1930s. She carried a bouquet
of freesia and sweet peas. The wreath in her hair was of ivy
and lilies of the valley.
- The Wedding: I think it was the warmest, most genuine, loving wedding I've ever been to. Dar and Michael are both extraordinary people, and I think the wedding reflected that. There was a moving and simple ceremony conducted by a judge who is a friend of Michael's Mom in a Quaker Meeting House - both the Nields and Cliff Eberhardt performed. Cliff, in particular, stole the show in my book with his rendition of Your Face. The party afterwards in a large tent on the lawn at her parent's house (and the night before at a restaurant in the City) was marked by wonderful reminiscences provided by friends and families. The "first dance" was to a track I hadn't heard before from the new Wilco album (Jesus, etc.). It! was perfect. A gorgeous Spring day - just a wonderful event. I'm not really a good source for details about Dar's dress or anything - suffice it to say, she looked very beautiful - elegant but not over the top - just perfect.
- The New CD: The album is well underway - almost ready to be mixed. I think it is extraordinary. But I do not have any timeline yet for release. Late Fall at the earliest, or early '03 at latest. But it will be worth the wait. Dar has written a tremendous group of songs, and the same production team as TGW are working to bring each song to life in its own unique musical setting. Also, on this album we will have guest performances by a whole host of artists - who not only lend their musical genius to the record, but also pay homage to Dar by so eagerly participating in the process. The list includes Stefan Lessard (bass player for Dave Matthews Band), John Popper (Blues Traveler), Chris Botti (Sting's band), John Medeski (Medeski Martin & Wood), Bela Fleck, Alison Krauss and Cliff Eberhardt.
A short report from Tom Neff about Dar and Michael's wedding over the weekend in Chappaqua, N.Y.:
The ceremony was held in the 250-year-old Quaker Meeting House and was beautifully simple as befit the surroundings. Dar wore antique white (that description hasn't been cleared with High Command, it's my guess) and a circlet of flowers in her hair. Michael looked handsome, Dar looked beautiful, and the family and friends in attendance were very happy. There were unforgettable songs from Cliff Eberhardt ("Your Face") and Nerissa & Katryna Nields ("Easy People"). The reception was a smash. There's not much else to say, but lest rumors rumble, yes it has happened, now they and we live the rest of our lives!!
April 17, 2002
On this coming Monday, April 22nd, Dar
Williams will perform a benefit concert on the UMASS Amherst
campus. The benefit is being held in order to provide
lighting on what is widely known as "the rape trail." This
trail is the most commonly traveled path between the main
part of the campus and the living areas. Since the budget
cuts took place at UMASS, one of the hardest hit areas has
been security, most notably the escort service for the hours
after dark which has been canceled.
All of the proceeds from Dar's show will be donated so the university can install lighting and call boxes on the above mentioned trail, making it safer for those who use it.
The concert starts at 5:30pm, with doors opening at 5:00pm. It will take place in the Campus Center Auditorium. Tickets are $12 forstudents and $20 for everyone else. Tickets are available by visiting Tix Unlimited in room 317 in the Student Union building, or by calling 413-545-0412. There are a limited number of tickets and the show is expected to sell out quite fast.
April 16, 2002
Dar has said her new CD is going
to be called The Beauty of the Rain.
March 4, 2002
For Immediate
Release
March
4,
2002
DAR WILLIAMS
ANNOUNCES A SERIES OF BENEFIT SHOWS TO SUPPORT LOCAL
NON-PROFIT
ARTS AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN CELEBRATION OF HER BIRTHDAY
Singer-songwriter Dar Williams announced today that she will once again celebrate the week of her April 19th birthday with a series of benefit concerts. Continuing her tradition of performing these events each year around her birthday, this year's group of concerts will benefit non-profit organizations who support arts and education for children and youth.
April 14th -
The Birchmere, Arlington, VA. - a benefit for Channel 33
ACT Storyworks Project
April 15th - The Painted Bride, Philadelphia, PA. - a benefit
for The Simple Way Community Center
April 17th - Passim, Cambridge, MA. - a benefit for Club
Passim
April 18th - The Bottom Line, New York City - a benefit for
The Door
Award winning Channel 33 ACT (Arlington Community Television) is a not-for-profit community television station located in Arlington, VA. which exists to teach television production skills to a vast and varied community. The Storyworks Project will teach television skills to a diverse, non-traditional, multi-generational group of women and girls and culminate in two hours of programming featuring women and girls telling their own stories. Training will also include writing and creativity workshops. www.channel33.org.
The Door is a pioneering youth development agency whose mission is to empower young people ages 12-21 to reach their potential by providing comprehensive youth development services -- health care, counseling, education, career development, legal services, the arts and recreation -- in a diverse and caring environment. Over 6000 of New York City's young people participate in progrmas and services and offered by The Door each year. www.door.org
Club
Passim
is a nonprofit music center dedicated to the cultivation and
preservation of folk music. The Club serves as a local
and national resource for the teaching, performing, and
celebrating of the art and folk music traditions of countries
worldwide. Through its diverse programming: a performance
venue, school of music, historical archive, and multi-cultural
children's programs, Club Passim reaches out to people of all
ages, backgrounds, and communities. For more than 40
years, Club Passim has been a vital cornerstone in the arts
community of New England, fostering both
performers and audiences alike.
The Simple Way is a community group located in Kensington, the poorest district in the state of Pennsylvania. Members of The Simple Way provide food services for the hungry, mentoring for young people and community contributions and improvements. They also run a local thrift store. Their newest project is transforming an abandoned corner of their neighborhood into a community arts space, kids study area, and house of hospitality. www.thesimpleway.org
Previous years' concerts included 2001's "Free Your Radio" tour, for Free Speech Radio News and the stations who ran it; 2000's "The Sun Tour" for Solar on Schools, a outreach project by Solarworks for kids to install and study solar panels on their schools; and 1999’s "Where the River Meets the Land," a co-benefit for the New York Nature Conservancy and The Hudson Clearwater Project.
Dar Williams is currently in the studio recording her as-yet untitled 5th album with producers Stewart Lehrman (The Green World) and Rob Hyman (formerly of The Hooters). It is due to be released in late summer 2002.
February 27, 2002
An update on the new CD: Dar is
currently in the studio recording. She says the musicians so
far are: Rob Hyman keyboards and co-producer this time),
Steve Holley, Steuart Smith, Carol Steele, Paul Socolow
(bass), and a bunch of other folks, some of whom are still
RSVPing!
Ticket information for some of the upcoming benefit shows:
- The Bottom Line in NYC. Thurs. Apr. 19 in a Benefit Performance for THE DOOR, providing youth development services in downtown NYC.
- GENERAL ADMISSION: $35.00
- SPECIAL DONOR ROUND TABLES: $75.00/seat
- ONE PATRON CENTER ROUND TABLE: $400.00/table (seats 4)
- One Show Only - Doors Open 6PM for 8PM Show
- No E-Mail reservations - Box Office and Mail Order only Thanks to Sharon Goldberg for the news.
- Club Passim in Boston on Wednesday, April 17. Shows are at 7:00 and 10:00. Andrew Kerr opens the early show, and Rachel Bissex opens the later one. Tickets are $25 for Club Passim members, and $30 for non-members. The shows are benefits for the Club's Music for Kids (or something like that...) program. You can check it out at www.clubpassim.com. The phone number is 617-492-7679. Thanks to Joe Luca for info
- From Lisa at AGF: Tickets are officially available for the April 15 show at The Painted Bride Arts Center in Philadelphia, the box office # is 215.925.9914. This show will benefit The Simple Way Community Center.
According to an article in the Charlottesville Daily Progress, Dar and her fiance Michael will be getting married in May. The article also says she'll be going into the studio to record her next album in February. She's been doing some song writing as well as writing a book for 11-year-old girls, a story about the history of the Statue of Liberty and some compisitions for other artists. Read the whole article.
December 10, 2001
- News on the marriage front: Reinhard Leiss, our travelling German Dar fan said he was chatting with Dar during the show in London and she told him she was getting married in May! So there ya go. Details as they dribble in.
- Razor and Tie is having a sale. Get 20% off everything until Jan. 14. So if you still waiting to buy some Dar tunes for someone, here's the place to get 'em cheap.
News from Patty at Bulletproof:
As we gear up for the Holidays (yes...it is that time of year again) we all start making our lists and checking them twice. Bulletproofstore has decided to make your shopping a little easier this year. On December 8th from 12:00pm (Noon) till 3:00pm, our offices will become the Bulletproof Mall! We will open the doors and let you all in to purchase all the CDs and T-shirts you can carry. In conjunction with WRSI, Signature Sounds Records and the Bulletproofstore artists we will be coordinating a "Toys for Tots" drive. Dar Williams, The Nields, and several other artist have donated tapes/CDs and posters that you will receive in exchange for a new unwrapped toy donation. In addition to all these free stocking stuffers we will have several items on sale.
October 3, 2001
On Oct. 9, Appleseed
Recordings will release IF I HAD A SONG: THE SONGS OF
PETE SEEGER, VOL. 2, which includes an exclusive recording
of Dar Williams and Toshi Reagon performing Oh, Had I a
Golden Thread.
darwilliams.net was created and is maintained by Gail J. Cohen
Click here to contact us