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About Dar Williams

"With every album, I’m trying to figure out what I don’t have to say, while still giving each song its due," Dar Williams says. Of her new album,Promised Land, Williams commented, "On this one, I was paring the stories down to their core. I wanted the songs to sound simple and down to what they were meant to be, which is hard to do. It takes a lot of knowledge to get to the point where you can say what you need to say — no more, no less."

To peel her insightful, melodic story-songs down to their essence, as well as inject them with the energy and momentum they clearly called for, Williams enlisted Brad Wood, a Grammy-nominated producer and musician known for his work with rock singer-songwriters Liz Phair, Pete Yorn, and Ben Lee. "Dar was looking to try something different and get out of her comfort zone," Wood says. "She had made a number of records and it seemed like a good time, career-wise, for her to make a change. I was flattered that she thought to ask me to help. Her voice is so great that you can do just about anything behind her and it’s going to sound cool!"

Personally inspired by the spindly live feel of late '70s/early '80s albums by the Police, Elvis Costello, and the Pretenders, Wood manages to make Williams' elegant, worldly songs sound visceral and urgent, while preserving the integrity and emotion that have been hallmarks of her sound (along with a beautifully intimate, bell-clear voice) since Williams began playing out on the Northeast singer-songwriter circuit in the early ’90s. 

“Brad understood the songs and gave them the space they needed,” Williams says. “I love that clean, straightforward sound he gets.” And so Promised Land includes several immediately engaging toe-tappers, such as “It’s Alright,” “The Easy Way,” “Buzzer,” and “Go to the Woods,” as well as Williams’ trademark thoughtful balladry, including the keenly felt “Book of Love,” “The Tide Falls Away,” and “You Are Everyone.” 

There are also two covers, Fountains of Wayne’s “Troubled Times” (“I’m a sucker for a tragic protagonist conveyed through what seems like a really pleasant pop song,” Williams says) and “Midnight Radio” from the stage musical and film Hedwig and the Angry Inch, whose soundtrack Wood produced, though Williams says he had nothing to do with her choosing to record the song. “Midnight Radio” was written by composer Stephen Trask, an old friend of Williams’ from her college years. “Stephen and I go way back. He wrote a song for a student film I was in where I played a dancing potato,” she recalls with a laugh. “But we also go way back in that spiritual sense, so I always wanted to do that song.” 

Throughout, Promised Land brims with the renewed vigor that Williams clearly felt working with a new producer and group of musicians, including Better Than Ezra drummer Travis McNabb, who adds a welcome bounce and spring to the proceedings, and noted multi-instrumentalist Greg Leisz, who has played with Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Wilco, and Sheryl Crow. Other guest musicians include Williams’ pals Marshall Crenshaw (guitars on “It’s Alright”), Suzanne Vega (backing vocals on “Go to the Woods”) and Gary Louris from The Jayhawks (“The Tide Falls Away”).

In the past, Williams’ songwriting has located the personal in such universal topics as politics, religion, sexuality, and family. This time, rather than tie the songs together around any particular theme, Williams presents a collection of disparate stories and characters. She writes about trying to be open to major life change on “It’s Alright,” trying to take the high road in past relationships on “The Easy Way,” the perspective that comes with age on “The Tide Falls Away,” and the Milgram obedience experiment that took place at Yale University in the ’60s on “Buzzer” (“a subject I have been obsessed with since reading about it when I was 18”). However, Williams, a wife and mother of a four-year-old son, did find what she calls “the high seas of parenthood” influencing several of the songs, which she began writing after she finished her second children’s book Lights, Camera, Amalee(published by Scholastic in July 2006).

“I’ll go through a day where the only people I’ll talk to are my husband, my son, and the person behind the counter at CVS,” she says, “but being a parent has pushed me out into my town too. It connects me to all the stuff that I care about, but on a local level, like politics, the environment, one’s town, and all the interesting personalities in it. I’m interested in those stories. I see them connecting to the big picture of how people approach life. I think that’s in the songs.”

Williams’ passion for the big picture has led to a long-held connection to social and environmental issues, which she nurtures by getting involved with various projects, including community gardening and lobbying for renewable energy in the upstate New York town where she lives. “I’m as green as you get for what I do for a living, which require, you know, things like flying,” she says. “I think about the environment all the time. The biggest deal to me right now is trying to get my town’s elementary and middle schools to look at geothermal as an option,” she says. Williams’ other passions include local-food movements and arts outreach with kids. She will often perform at benefits in small towns that are struggling to save a local theater, bookstore, or farmer’s market. “I love to get into these places and learn about their battles,” she says. “In my mind, this country is like a patchwork of towns filled with people hanging out, growing gardens, listening to music, and talking about important stuff. In a way, that’s what the album title is about. I found myself making a distinction between the Promised Land we claim and the actual promise of the land that we try to live up to. ”

Williams’ growth as a person over her 15-year career has gone hand-in-hand with her evolution as an artist. Raised in Chappaqua, NY, and educated at Wesleyan University, Williams spent 10 years living in the thriving artistic community of Northampton, MA, where she began to make the rounds on the coffeehouse circuit. An early fan of her music was Joan Baez, who took Williams out on the road and recorded several of her songs. Williams self-released her debut album, The Honesty Room in 1993, then signed with Razor & Tie Entertainment in 1995, which has been her label home ever since. She has released one live album — Out There Live (2001); six studio albums — The Honesty Room (1993), Mortal City (1996), End of the Summer(1997), The Green World (2000), The Beauty of the Rain (2003), and My Better Self (2005); and one live DVD — Live at Bearsville Theater (2007).

Through it all, Williams’ motivation as an artist is to “experience meaning without fooling myself,” she says. “There are these moments where everything feels connected, and I think my art is about trying to find the stories that make us feel connected. That’s the verve of my life. It’s what keeps things interesting.”

Hear Dar on WFUV On Christmas Day

Friday, December 19th, 2008

On December 2, Dar performed as part of a WFUV benefit concert at the Society for Ethical Culture in New York City. That concert will be broadcast on WFUV (90.7 FM in the NYC area, or streaming live at wfuv.org) between 10 AM and 1 PM Eastern time on Thursday, December 25. The concert also features performances from The Felice Brothers, Bruce Hornsby, and James Hunter.

Sunday, October 5th, 2008

On Sunday, Sept. 28 NPR's Weekend Edition aired the segment in which Liane Hansen interviewed Dar about Promised Land. You can listen to it any time here.

Upcoming Media Appearances

Monday, September 29th, 2008

Don't forget Dar's upcoming media appearances as the Promised Land tour continues:

Sept. 30: SHARON, NY
Live performance on WKZE (11:30 am)

Oct. 1: PORTLAND, ME
Live performance on WCLZ (12:30 pm)

Oct. 3: GREAT BARRINGTON, MA
Live performance on WBCR 97.7 FM (3:00 pm)

Media Appearances In A Town Near You

Friday, September 19th, 2008

When Dar comes to your town on the current "Promised Land" tour, chances are she will also appear on your local airwaves. Here is the schedule so far (check back for updates):

Sept. 18: BOSTON, MA
Watch Dar's appearance on FOX 25

Sept. 19: CHICAGO, IL 
Live performance on WGN Noon News (between noon- 1 pm)

Sept. 21: MINNEAPOLIS, MN 
Live interview on KFAI 90.3 FM "Womenfolk" show (12:15 pm)

Sept. 22: MINNEAPOLIS, MN 
Live performance on KARE-TV (NBC) "Showcase Minnesota" (10:45 am)

Sept. 23: IOWA CITY, IA 
Live performance on Iowa Public Radio /WSUI & KSUI (10:00 am)

Sept. 25: COVINGTON, KY 
Live performance on WNKU (11:00 am)

Sept. 26: BUFFALO, NY 
Live performance on WBFO 88.7 FM "Music On The Border" show (2:20 pm)

Sept. 27: NEW YORK, NY 
WCBS - Live performance on CBS Saturday Morning (9:00 am) tentative

Sept. 28: NATIONWIDE
Interview with Liane Hansen on NPR's "Weekend Edition"

Sept. 30: SHARON, NY 
Live performance on WKZE (11:30 am)

Oct. 1: PORTLAND, ME 
Live performance on WCLZ (12:30 pm)

Oct. 3: GREAT BARRINGTON, MA 
Live performance on WBCR 97.7 FM (3:00 pm)

Oct. 6: NEW YORK, NY 
Live performance on WFUV (time TBD)

"Promised Land" Is Here!

Tuesday, September 9th, 2008

Today is the US release date of Dar's eagerly awaited new album Promised Land. Go forth and buy!

Or, if you would prefer to go forth and download, you can get it from iTunes:

Lots Of Appearances Coming Up

Thursday, September 4th, 2008

Dar will be doing several in-store performances and signings in the coming weeks to promote her eagerly anticipated new album, "Promised Land," out on Tuesday, September 9th.

First, you're invited to a party! There is a studio bash for the Hudson River painters featured in the CD booklet on Tuesday, September 9 from 6-9pm. They'll be showing their work at Spire Studios in Beacon, NY. Dar will probably sing a song or two, too. Come enjoy Hudson Valley artists and gazpacho from the artists' own gardens. 

The first in-store appearance is at the Virgin Megastore in Union Square in New York City on Wednesday, September 10th at 7PM. Purchase “Promised Land” at the Union Square location only beginning September 9 at 9AM and receive a wristband for the event on September 10 at 7PM. Time and space are limited so please arrive early! Click HERE for more details.

After that, Dar will be performing and signing at Newbury Comics in Cambridge, MA on Friday, September 12th at 6:00 pm. (Pre-order "Promised Land" from Newbury Comics and receive a limited edition, autographed CD booklet!)

The final signing and performance will be at Borders in Ann Arbor - Waters Place on Wednesday, September 17th at 12:30 pm.

Be sure to catch Dar in one of these intimate settings and get a preview of some of her brand new material!

'As Cool As I Am'

Dar Williams