CR 062: Dar Williams: ‘I love that I’m part of this group that is keeping it weird and diverse out there’

The acclaimed singer-songwriter and author discusses her new album, “Hummingbird Highway.”

Dar Williams, photo by Carly Rae Brunault

Dar Williams has been referred to as “one of America’s very best singer-songwriters” (The New Yorker), with “a playwright’s sense of narrative” (The New York Times) who sings “with full attractiveness” (Americana Highways). Over the course of 12 albums spanning 35 years, Williams has addressed an array of topics—among them, ageism, politics, religion, body image, and gender roles—with thoughtfulness, humor, and wit. Today, she’s releasing her 13th album, Hummingbird Highway—her first on Ani DiFranco’s indie label, Righteous Babe Records. And though the single “Hummingbird Highway” has already received praise for its gorgeous reflections on the challenges of parenting as a touring musician, Williams admits it wasn’t her first choice as an album title.

“I was thinking of calling the album Civilization,” she says. “Because it bops around time and space, and how we try to civilize ourselves. And my manager was like, ‘You’re kidding, right?’ [Laughs]…