Dar Williams

Dar Williams kicked off her performance career with a role in her high school's production of Godspell, and as a teenager considered herself a budding playwright. Soon adding songwriting to her repertoire, she began developing her irreverent and bittersweet style while performing sporadically during her college days at Wesleyan University. Moving to Boston upon graduation, she dabbled in theatre and opera at first then struggled to establish herself on the local folk coffeehouse circuit. By 1993, Williams had abandoned the city for the more tranquil atmosphere of Northampton, Massachusetts, and self-released her debut CD, the '60s-influenced Honesty Room, to widespread critical acclaim. Though subsequent releases such as Mortal City (1995), End of the Summer (1997), Cry Cry Cry (1998) and The Green World (2000) sidestepped the mainstream, they generated healthy sales and attracted a dedicated following and sellout audiences at coffeehouses and festivals.