02.18.18 | w/ TBA | Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Blvd. | All ages | $30 advance, $35 day of show
Folk music is described as the ‘music of the people.’ Songs about our jobs, our loves, our lives—these songs speak to the heart of what is really going on in a community. From divorce to sexual politics to a Union strike, folk music touches a chord in us.
Dar Williams started writing songs in the chord of us in the early ‘90s and has only gotten better as time has gone by. Songs about family and faith and friendships. Songs that make you feel better after you listen to them. I found Williams in college when I was trying to figure out who I was, and what I Believed (with a capital B). I was learning so many new things so quickly that it was tricky to see where to put my feet.
Williams’ music helped me think through the political and emotional debates that I was having with myself—not even with myself, but rather with the way I was brought up, and the way things really were. Her songs started conversations that I didn’t think were possible. She writes as she believes, and that belief comes through in the connection that she forms with her audience.
Going through Dar Williams’ music catalogue is like going through a time machine in regard to political, ecological, and cultural changes. Her clear, strong voice lifts up and gives you something to hold on to. And as if her music isn’t enough, she’s also an author, with two novels under her belt, as well as a book called What I Found in a Thousand Towns based on her travels through America. In it, she explores the small towns that she’s travelled through, what has made them thrive or fail, their beauty and their disappointment. Having grown up in a series of small towns, I can’t wait to read this.
Hopefully, she’ll have them at the merch table when she plays at Delmar Hall on February 18th. She doesn’t come to town often, so be sure to catch the show. | Melissa Cynova
Check out Dar Williams’ complete list of concerts, speaking engagements, and workshops at https://darwilliams.com/calendar/.
