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Event
Dar Williams (solo)
"Dar Williams may be the best female singer/songwriter in America today." - Stereo-type
"A new generation of pop-folk enthusiasts lauds her as one of the genre's central figures." - Paste Magazine
The Knoxville Botanical Garden presents an intimate evening with singer/songwriter Dar Williams, under the canopy of trees on our beautiful stone terrace. Rarely does Williams venture South, and her soulful, emotionally literate songs promise to be the perfect accompaniment to the unparalleled charm of this secret garden paradise. This solo performance marks the first time in seven years that she has appeared in Knoxville. Jodie Manross will open the show.
A special VIP package is available for this performance. VIP ticketholders receive access to a pre-show cocktail reception with Dar Williams and a premium seating area at the concert.
Garden Members receive a $5 discount on general admission tickets. To receive your discount, choose the option for Member tickets and enter the password provided to you by the Garden office or call 865-862-8718 for personal assistance. For more information on becoming a member, visit us online at http://www.knoxgarden.org.
Of her new album, Promised Land, Williams commented, "I was paring the stories down to their core. I wanted the songs to sound simple and down to what they were meant to be, which is hard to do. It takes a lot of knowledge to get to the point where you can say what you need to say - no more, no less."
To peel her insightful, melodic story-songs down to their essence, as well as inject them with the energy and momentum they clearly called for, Williams enlisted Brad Wood, a Grammy-nominated producer and musician known for his work with rock singer-songwriters Liz Phair, Pete Yorn, and Ben Lee. Personally inspired by the spindly live feel of late 70s/early 80s albums by the Police, Elvis Costello, and the Pretenders, Wood manages to make Williams' elegant, worldly songs sound visceral and urgent, while preserving the integrity and emotion that have been hallmarks of her sound (along with a beautifully intimate, bell-clear voice) since Williams began playing out on the Northeast singer-songwriter circuit in the early 1990s.
Williams' passion for the big picture has led to a long-held connection to social and environmental issues, which she nurtures by getting involved with various projects, including community gardening and lobbying for renewable energy in the upstate New York town where she lives. "I am as green as you get for what I do for a living, which require, you know, things like flying," she says. "I think about the environment all the time. The biggest deal to me right now is trying to get my town's elementary and middle schools to look at geothermal as an option," she says. Her other passions include local-food movements and arts outreach with kids.
Williams' growth as a person over her 15-year career has gone hand-in-hand with her evolution as an artist. Raised in Chappaqua, NY, and educated at Wesleyan University, Williams spent 10 years living in the thriving artistic community of Northampton, MA, where she began to make the rounds on the coffeehouse circuit. An early fan of her music was Joan Baez, who took Williams out on the road and recorded several of her songs. Williams self-released her debut album, The Honesty Room in 1993, then signed with Razor & Tie Entertainment in 1995, which has been her label home ever since. She has released one live album, Out There Live (2001); six studio albums - The Honesty Room (1993), Mortal City (1996), End of the Summer (1997), The Green World (2000), The Beauty of the Rain (2003), and My Better Self (2005); and one live DVD, Live at Bearsville Theater (2007).
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LocationKnoxville Botanical Garden
2743 Wimpole Avenue
Knoxville, TN 37914
United States
Categories
| Kid Friendly: No |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: No |
| Wheelchair Accessible: No |
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