CARNEGIE HALL PRESENTS
Dar Williams

Zankel Hall
Saturday, December 1st, 2007 at 8:30 PM

Dar Williams

Dar Williams first made a name for herself as a shining star of the New England folk scene in the ‘90s and has developed her own lush, pop-folk sound to back her witty and often personal lyrics.

Dar Williams
One of the most acclaimed singer-songwriters of her generation, Dar Williams has been engaging audiences with her musical artistry since the early 1990s when she rose from the Northeast coffeehouse circuit to the national spotlight. A native of New York’s Hudson Valley, where she still resides, Williams maintains in her life and music a strong system of values, idealism, and community involvement.

Having released seven albums, including 2005’s critically acclaimed My Better Self, her first-ever DVD, Live at the Bearsville Theater, provides abundant evidence of Williams’s tuneful gifts, charming humor, and empathic nature. Playing her acoustic guitar, Williams presents sixteen songs, including most of her best-known works, in solo fashion or accompanied by her longtime backing band. Williams offers to the Bearsville audience triumphant renditions of favorites from her early career like the sing-along classic “Iowa (Traveling III),” “The Babysitter’s Here,” “When I was a Boy,” “As Cool As I Am” and the gorgeous “February,” along with recent songs like the resplendent “Spring Street,” “Beauty of the Rain,” and the new “The Easy Way.”

Throughout her career, Williams has toured with artists such as Joan Baez, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Ani DiFranco, and Shawn Colvin. Few performers create a bond from the stage with an audience like Williams; her listeners lean forward to catch the copious and meaningful details of her storytelling—intimate, honest, and whimsical travails and triumphs.

Williams continues to be a devoted activist with causes from environmental protection to social action, and has helped spearhead grassroots organizations around the country alongside her legions of fans. In 2005, she inaugurated a program called the Echoes Initiative that allows her to formally partner with various local organizations to help raise funds and awareness for their missions. Dar has also delved into the publishing realm as author of two novels for young readers—Amalee and Lights, Camera, Amalee—both published by Scholastic Press. Williams continues to tour regularly, and her new album is due out in 2008.