Dar Williams sparks discussion with concert

Mally Anderson Arts Editor

Music and politics united on Wednesday, Sept. 27 when Democracy Matters’ hosted politically active folk musician Dar Williams in hopes of seeing the “fusion of music and voices,” according to Democracy Matters member Amy Dowley ’08. “We want students to feel empowered as a generation of voters that can work to improve our political system to one that represents the greater society, and not just the sector of society with the cash to pay for it,” said Dowley.

The purpose of the concert was to bring students together in light of this cause, and to promote political discussion. Democracy Matters, a non-partisan political organization, works at Vassar to raise students’ awareness of the influence of money in politics, and alerts students to the current events highlighting this problem. The concert’s timing coincides with the deadline to register to vote on Oct. 7, and is a student-voter empowerment event.

“Dar [was] excited to come to campus to get students to speak openly about the coming election and their feelings on voting and political issues today,” noted Dowley.

Williams is also socially active; she takes part in various benefit concerts, and started the Snowden Environmental Trust, devoted to preserving land and wildlife habitats.

Williams lives in Rhinebeck with her husband and son, and has played the guitar since age nine, although she initially wanted to be an actress, not a musician. She has released seven full-length solo albums, and is recognized for themes such as religion, loss and resistance to commercialism in her songs.

Her lyrics are known for their narrative quality, but are not always autobiographical; the presence of homosexual characters in some of Williams’ songs raised confusion among listeners about her sexuality. When a magazine referred to her as bisexual, Williams publicly clarified that she is heterosexual, but has stated that she would rather have had her sexuality remain ambiguous to keep fans discussing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues.

Williams opened for folk musician Joan Baez early in her career, and Baez sparked Williams’ popularity by recording some of her songs. Ever since, her popularity has relied on shows in coffeehouses, public radio, and the Internet. In recent years, however, she has made some national television appearances, including “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.” Stereo-type magazine wrote that Williams “may be the best female singer/songwriter in America today.” She will follow her Vassar performance with a tour of the Netherlands in October.