Dar Williams, Singer-Songwriter of "Folk Pop"
Dar Williams, a popular singer among fans of folk and women's music, has an adaptable voice that can dance from lyrical and etherial to playful and gritty. Her lyrics are funny, sharp, lively, fresh, like the best 80s pop, yet behind the play there's a lot of thoughtful insight into life, the environment, gender and other complex issues. She weaves word-poems with a catchy beat and a catchy tune that sounds simple until you try to sing along.
There's a bit of the Indigo Girls in her, a bit of Joni Mitchell, a bit Tom Lehrer and Loreena McKinnett, and a lot of Joan Baez. In fact, both Joan Baez and Pete Seeger have performed with Dar Williams (see music videos below).
On this page I'll share a few music snippets and a brief interview to introduce you to Dar Williams, then interweave a two-part biography with music videos showcasing a selection of Dar Williams songs.
Dar Williams on the Web:
Dar Williams Official Site
Dar Williams Online Radio
Dar Williams on FacebookDar Williams on YouTube
Dar Williams on Twitter
Dar Williams Ning Community
Photo Credit: Mike Evans. Some Rights Reserved.
Browse Dar Williams Mp3s
My favorites are "When I Was a Boy" (live concert version below) and "Flinty Kind of Woman," about a bunch of New Englander women dealing with a peeping tom in a very no-nonsense fashion. Her lyrics are so playful you almost don't realize she's tackling rather serious topics!
Three reasons to love Dar Williams
- She's got an incredible, unusual voice and clever lyrics.
- She's at her funniest when she's singing about the most important topics in our lives.
- She has the coolest babysitter ever!
Dar Williams Interview 2009
by New York House Magazine
Dar Williams' Biography and Early Career
Childhood - 1997

Photo Credit: McWonTheLottery
In 1990 she moved to Boston and started working as a stage manager for a local opera. She began voice lessons and started getting her toes wet in the coffeehouse musician's circuit. In 1993, she self-released her first album, The Honesty Room, and moved to Northampton, MA. She began to flourish as singer-songwriter with a growing following in New England.
In 1995, she signed under the label Razor & Tie and re-released The Honesty Room, followed by the well-received Mortal City 1996. Around this time, she opened for Joan Baez and was part of Sarah McLachlan's Lilith Fair, a traveling women's music festival. These high-profile appearances brought her to national attention in alternative, folk, and women's music circles. She released End of the Summer in 1997.
Below are her albums through 2000, plus four videos of her early music. Browse these to enjoy some early Dar, or jump to the second half of this Dar Williams bio.
Dar Williams Discography
The Early Years: 1995-2000
Dar Williams Fan Video: "The Babysitter"
Album: The Honesty Room (1993/5)
Dar Williams Live: "When I Was a Boy"
Album: The Honesty Room (1993/5)
Dar Williams and Joan Baez Sing: "You're Aging Well"
Album: The Honesty Room (1993)
Dar William Live: "The Christians and the Pagans"
Album: Mortal City (1996)
Dar Williams Biography and Career Cont'd
1998 - Present

Photo Credit: Mike Evans
From 2000 onwards, Dar has returned to releasing her own albums under the Razor & Tie label, often collaborating with guest musicians from Ani DiFranco to Stefan Lessard of the Dave Matthews Band. Much of Dar's music has become fuller, richer, employing more instruments and a more polished sound compared to the simple folk singer and acoustic guitar style of her early years. She deals a little less often with heavy issues and plays a little more in the pop rock arena, but folk roots and reflective wit remain the bedrock of her music.
Dar Williams strongly supports environmental causes, throwing benefit concerts for the Nature Conservancy and Clearwater, and founding her own Snowdon Environmental Trust.
She has penned two books: The Tofu Tollbooth, a guide to green and organic food stores (recently updated), and a Scholastic book for grades 5-7, Amalee, a first-person narrative about a girl whose four "goofy" friends help her when her father, a single parent, comes down with a serious illness.
On the personal front, Dar Williams has moved back to New York, married old friend Michael Robinson in 2002, and gave birth to their first child, Stephen Gray Robinson, in 2004.
Recent Dar Williams Albums and Books
2000-2007
Dar Sings: Two Sides of a River
Album: My Better Self (2005)
Dar Williams Sings: "You Rise and Meet the Day"
Album: My Better Self (2005)
Dar Williams Covers Pink Floyd's "Comfortably Numb"
Album: My Better Self (2005)
Dar Williams Links
- DarWilliams.com
- The official site with her blog, complete discography, news about upcoming projects and concerts, and great photos!
- DarWilliams.net
- A great Dar Williams fansite, with an in-depth song-by-song discography, photo gallery, biography, news, "library" of old Dar Williams press releases and clippings, and much more.
- Article: Dar Williams in the New York Times
- "Singer With Insights Honed in Chappaqua," a February 1996 NYT article on Dar when she was first breaking out onto the national stage.
- Musician.com's early biography of Dar Williams
- This bio only goes up through 1997 and the release of End of the Summer, but it includes some interesting comments by Dar as her music style began to mature and shift.
Dar Williams Concert DVD
Live at Bearsville Theater
Amazon Price: $13.49 (as of 01/08/2010)![]()
Hooray! New October 2007, a DVD of Dar in concert, singing old favorites and new! Plus behind-the-scene footage and interviews.
Tracks Include: Tracks include: The Babysitter's Here, The Ocean, February, The One Who Knows, The Christians And The Pagans, Iowa, When I was A Boy, As Cool As I Am, Spring Street, If I Wrote You, Are You Out There, Mercy of The Fallen, The Easy Way, The Beauty Of The Rain, After All, Ripple.
Dar Williams in Concert: "Beauty of the Rain"
Album: Beauty of the Rain (2003)
Dar Williams Fan Video: "Closer to Me"
Album: The Beauty of the Rain (2003)
Vote on Your Favorite Dar Williams Album!
Dar Williams in Concert: "I Won't Be Your Yoko Ono"
Album: The Green World (2000)
Dar Williams Sings "Wilder Than Her"
Cover of a song by Fred Eaglesmith, recorded with him.
Video: Dar Williams and Pete Seeger
Singing "Turn, Turn, Turn"
Dar Williams Albums Downloads
From Amazon's Mp3 Store
These are listed in random order, so just browse and enjoy.
Sing Out For Dar Williams!
Dar Williams on the Web:
Dar Williams Official Site
Dar Williams Online Radio
Dar Williams on FacebookDar Williams on YouTube
Dar Williams on Twitter
Dar Williams Ning Community
Want to comment on this lens? Feel free! Just please, no spam. It's not eco-friendly.
By the way, you should sing at least one song today -- the shower won't mind!
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Reply
- JenOfChicago JenOfChicago May 19, 2009 @ 12:06 pm
- Great lens, I love her music!
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Reply
- CardLady CardLady Mar 3, 2009 @ 12:49 am
- Nice lens about Dar Williams. Thanks for lensrolling my Joan Baez lens. I am lensrolling this lens from there.
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Reply
- rwoman rwoman Apr 6, 2008 @ 9:42 pm
- Great lens! I hope you'll have time off from all your hard work for some Earth Day trivia fun here!
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