 Courtesy of the Artist For decades the onset of Spring meant gathering at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park in Live Oak, Florida for a weekend of fun, family, Bluegrass and string music. A beloved tradition continues as the picturesque grounds play host to a new take on a classic family-friendly gathering with the 2nd Annual Suwannee Spring Reunion. Held from March 22 - 25th, the Reunion features a variety of artists including The Infamous Stringdusters, David Bromberg Quintet, Amy Helm, and Dar Williams who graciously took the time to speak about playing the Suwannee Spring Reunion, her recent book What I Found In A Thousand Towns, and more. Many musical events are held at Suwannee, with the Reunion heading into its second year. Have you had the opportunity to play there at any point over the years? I have never played there and am thrilled to be included. Many of my musician friends are going to be there as well, so I am very happy to have been invited out. You’re playing Saturday, do you get to spend a few days and take in the event? I do get to enjoy it, but solely for the day that I’m there. I have concerts the night before and after, but I have found that if you get there [on the day you play] early you get a good sense of the scene, which is one of the favorite parts of my job. Many artists enjoy this type of a festival because they get to join their friends on stage and jam. Do you anticipate anything like that will happen at Suwannee? Maybe not this time as I’m bringing a great guitar player named Trevor Gordon Hall, who is an instrumental composer and performer in his own right, with me, so he and I will do our thing. But other times I’ve always been happy to jump on stage and add a harmony or invite my friends to do the same. It’s often 10% train wreck and 90% magic (laughing), but it’s always worth doing. Williams has been involved in a wide range of different efforts and projects including teaching a course titled “Music Movements in a Capitalist Democracy” at her alma mater, Wesleyan University; working with children at several summer camps; leading songwriting workshops; getting involved with the workings of her village; and publishing a book, What I Found In A Thousand Towns, about the ways she’s seen towns becoming more independent and prosperous over her twenty years of touring. The theme at the Reunion this year is “Sowing The Seeds of Music ~ Sustaining Our Community” which, from knowing about your passions and focus on community, seems a perfect fit. I heard about Suwannee from Chuck Levy, who I wrote about in my book. He’s a great instrumentalist, but also a doctor who brings veterans together with the arts in the hospital he works at in Gainesville. Basically, a whole chapter in the book is about Gainesville being filled with the kind of people who find ways to build bridges in their town between people and art, food, and culture. The town is the perfect example where people find creative and compassionate ways to help unite communities.  Credit: Marci Davis Sounds like an incredibly community-minded town. What spurred the book, What I Found In A Thousand Towns? Was it something that was brewing over the years?
I didn’t know it was brewing there for the first 15 years (laughing). Often times at concerts, people who have this sixth sense, come up to me and tell me things. In 2016, someone told me I was about to do something that was very important and I figured, well we all have important work, but the minute Trump was elected I remembered that woman. I knew that this book was important and could be used to push back the whole narrative of division and failure in this country. Something struck me like a lightning bolt wherever I played a venue - I realized people had chosen to come and be near others, something I termed positive proximity. In the end, the opposite of division is not unity, it’s collaboration and the book is all about how people do that outside the concert venue. When writing the book, I wasn’t interested in the hippie stuff like the peace, love, and hugging – and I’m a hippie - I was interested in places like East Hampton, Mass where they have a Whoville celebration because Dr. Seuss was from there. I was interested in how people dug into their histories including food, culture, and nature to really keep that wheel of positive proximity going. How did you go about organizing the book, is it by town? My editor encouraged me to identify a town that represented each concept I wanted to communicate. So, for the town that got people collaborating, I chose Beacon, New York and for history, I chose Phoenixville, PA where they celebrate everything from the history of the steel foundry to the filming of The Blob. For food, I chose the Finger Lakes where they transitioned from a manufacturing economy to farming and of course, Gainesville for the conscious bridgers who actively go out every morning and find out what new social bridge they can create. It sounds like an incredibly enlightening read. Will you be reading from the book at Suwannee? I don’t think so, although I might read about Chuck because he’s such a lovely guy. I also might read about Gainesville, which is a town I tell any friends who are in transition to visit because it’s filled with people who do their own thing and let you do your own thing - and that’s such a wonderful gift to offer people. Gainesville is a place where if you have an idea, you plant it and it can really grow. Gainesville sounds like a very welcoming and refreshing town. Switching back to music, your ninth studio album, Emerald was released in 2015, is new music on the horizon? Yes and no. I'm writing, but I've been asked to come to towns and combine a concert and a talk about what they're doing and what I've seen other towns doing that might provide some illumination. I have a full year of visits planned to towns in Washington, Connecticut, Utah, Vermont, and New York and I'm very excited to sit down and have conversations with people about how we grow this thing I call positive proximity. Then, at the end of the year, I'll record again and hopefully, have something in 2019. For all of the information of Suwannee Spring Reunion visit: Website TICKETS For more information on Dar Williams visit: Website
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