In her brand new tour, Folk-pop singer songwriter Dar Williams performs her breakthrough album Mortal City – in its entirety! She returns to The Ridgefield Playhouse in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the acclaimed album! Doyle Coffin Architecture Singer Songwriter Series presents this special night with Dar Williams on Thursday, October 6 at 8 p.m. Dar will also perform a few fan favorites! One of the most lauded singer-songwriters of her generation, Dar Williams has been captivating audiences with her sheer elegance and honesty in her folk-pop songwriting since the early ’90s. With dedicated fans selling out her shows all across the country (and world) and her inimitable songs hitting the charts with the release of each new album, Dar’s continued success is undeniable as both a recording artist and performer.
Mortal City was written in the late 90s when shopping malls were popping up everywhere, the Internet was just being born and digital recording was a new-fangled thing in the music industry, Mortal City encompasses feelings so many were experiencing at the time: a desire to stay grounded and connected to one’s roots while exploring the growth and opportunities of our digital self, a fear of the loss of artistic innocence and integrity, a drive toward preserving physical communities in the hearts of our cities. Though the decade has changed, these feelings continue to exist and resonate today. Dar has remained unwavering in her socio-political and environmental beliefs, and her captivating storylines have remained relevant. Her poignant lyrical commentary and beautiful musical arrangements have entranced the music world for more than two decades. The night begins with a special reading by Connecticut poet Michael Cervas. Dar Williams is a featured artist of media sponsor 90.7fm WFUV.
A few thoughts from Dar on her upcoming tour dates…. When The Honesty Room came out in 1994, I left my three part time jobs for one touring life, writing songs on notepads and napkins as I went. I have clear memories of places where I wrote lyrics. My housemate Sarah Davis had said, “I think you should look at this story about an ice storm in Philadelphia. The whole city basically shut down, voluntarily, to help the hospitals keep running.” So I wrote half of the song, Mortal City, in Lisa Wittner’s bathtub in Boulder. I wrote a verse of As Cool As I Am looking out my friend Jay’s window in San Francisco. And then I tried it out on a group of cool woman at the Kumbwa Cafe in Santa Cruz. I started The Ocean in an undisclosed Washington city, surrounded by aspiring heroin addicts, while February began on the drive home from a friendly coffeehouse in eastern Massachusetts. I wrote Iowa…well, it’s pretty obvious where I wrote that. Gideon Freudmann wandered into the blanket room and played the now familiar part in February as well as the trippy solo (as only Gideon could do), on the song about college potheads.
Steve brought players into New York City who were as generous of spirit as they were wildly talented. He introduced me to Steve Gaboury, Larry Campbell, Zev Katz, Billy Ward, Marc Schulman and his good friend, the late, great Jeff Golub. He also fired me on back-up vocals on The Christians and Pagans and asked Lucy Kaplansky to sing them instead! He got Eileen Ivers to play the tempestuous part at the end of The Ocean and helped me invite John Prine to sing on it. I remember the first time I was on Mountain Stage in West Virginia, John poked his head into my dressing room and said, “I’ll sing on your song.”
A second album can be a daunting experience, but thanks to my managers Charlie and Carole, Razor and Tie, Steve Miller and Joan, it all felt like a magic carpet ride, and I can’t thank everyone enough (I might have been too tired to thank them at the time). And, given the title of the record, I also want to mention what I’ve seen since I released Mortal City. In the nineties, most towns and cities were still reeling from the decline of manufacturing and the rise of shopping malls. I was working with coffeehouse volunteers, local radio stations, and promoters who were trying very hard, with limited resources, to bring music, poetry and life back into their downtowns. Thanks to people like them, not only have many places reclaimed their former glory, they’ve improved on their histories, embracing their brick-walled, tree-lined Main Streets as they’ve welcomed more worldliness and diversity in the present. In 1996 I said, “We are not lost in the mortal city” as a statement of faith, and now, twenty years later, I say it as a statement of fact. Thank you for opening up your towns and cities to me over the last twenty years. We’re very excited to be presenting the full album on tour this fall.
For tickets ($40), call the box office at 203-438-5795, or visit ridgefieldplayhouse.org. The Ridgefield Playhouse is a non-profit performing arts center located at 80 East Ridge, parallel to Main Street, Ridgefield, CT.