For someone boasting just a few uber-powerful, chart-topping hits, Sophie B. Hawkins has generated a ton of great music since “Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover,” earned her a Best New Artist Grammy nom in 1993.

Hawkins told The Newtown Bee in a recent exclusive chat that she will be showcasing that Top 5 charting Billboard anthem, along with "Right Beside You", and her #1 smash "As I Lay Me Down," when she lands at the Ridgefield Playhouse for a couple of very intimate, socially distanced, limited capacity shows on Sunday, February 21 at 4pm and 7:30pm.

Virtual tickets are also available for those who want to watch from the comfort of their own home.

Hawkins also promised to dig deep in paying tribute to Tongues and Tails - her breakthrough 1992 album hitting its 30-year milestone, and even hinted at debuting a tune or two from her latest project tentatively titled The Woman with the Sea Dog.

The last three decades have brought multiple awards, sold out concerts, appearances on film and television, performances with some of the best known names in the business, and a documentary feature.

She also debuted in a critically-lauded tour-de-force performance as Janis Joplin in the nationally-touring play Room 105, songs appearing in hit films and TV shows, and five more albums, including Whaler, which featured the record-breaking longest-running single in Billboard Adult Contemporary chart history, the aforementioned, “As I Lay Me Down.”

So much more than just a singer, Hawkins writes all of her own songs, is a multi-instrumentalist, and has been fully involved in every aspect of the production of her records herself, from background vocals and playing her own instruments, to engineering and production of her albums. And she has proved an enduring artist with a fierce commitment to artistic integrity while both constantly evolving, and remaining steadfastly true to her own authentic history and experience which connects her to her fans at the very deepest levels.

Lastly but certainly not least, Hawkins has done the world good with countless philanthropic efforts on behalf of causes to improve our environment, animal rights, children’s issues, Get Out the Vote efforts, and supporting LGBTQ equality - using her public platform from the beginning of her career to support her deep commitment to creating positive change in the world.

In her call-in to The Newtown Bee, Hawkins engaged immediately over discussion around how she approaches songwriting.

The Newtown Bee: Your first instrument as a kid was drums, so are a lot of your inspirations rooted in a beat you're hearing - or do you create melody using other instruments and come up with the groove later on?

Hawkins: It does vary from song to song, but there are certain ones for me - for instance, I've been learning 'Don't Stop Swaying' from Tongues and Tails for these Ridgefield shows - and that piece was specifically written around this gorgeous West African rhythm that is a call and answer. I knew it once but I had to relearn it because I had forgotten it. (laughing) But what makes me most excited is finding moody, complex, and rich sounding chords - and I know a lot of people concentrate on the melody, but for me, it's the last thing I tend to think about. The lyrics come out of the mood.

The Bee: In prepping for our chat, I was enlightened learning you have not only come to appreciate - but learned to play banjo.

Sophie B. Hawkins: Don't tell anybody this - but I never liked the banjo. I just never wanted to learn it - maybe it was too, I guess, happy or something. But my friend gave me a banjo and an Earl Scruggs workbook and I was determined to learn to play it. And when I opened that book I never realized how many banjo songs I loved.

The Bee: But that instrument changed your life - maybe for the better because you insisted your record company keep it on a song you wrote, and they balked.

Hawkins: That's right, I learned the banjo, fell in love with it, I wrote "Lose Your Way" on it, and you know the rest.

The Bee: That departure from Sony motivated you to start your own label - but did it also push you into becoming accomplished behind the board as well as in front of the microphone?

Hawkins: What's so interesting, John, is I never thought I had talent in front of the mic. I'd always been the engineer person, the songwriter person, but then I grew into being a performer. I think I was scared of it but I still enjoyed the spontaneous aspect of performing. So when I left Sony, I realized I had a lot of support from them. It was fun, it was great touring, I still don't like how they treat their artists. When we're young we're rebellious, but for the right reasons. But as you go on, you see all these complicated issues, and I'm not sure I would do the same thing again. So what I learned from starting my own label - Trumpet Swan, was how difficult it is to be an independent artist and how lucky I was to have had that support, however conflicting it was.

The Bee: For your Ridgefield shows, are you gigging solo or bringing some other players?

Hawkins: With all this COVID thing happening you just never know when you'll get the chance to play a big stage again so I'm bringin' a band. I've done too many solo shows and living room concerts, so I'm calling a bunch of Connecticut musicians and putting together this band that will debut in Ridgefield.

The Bee: Your Tongues and Tails album is hitting the big '3-0' this year - will you be reviving any deeper cuts in concert that haven't been played live in years - or decades - or ever?

Hawkins: I'm hoping Ridgefield will be the launching platform for this project looking back at Tongues and Tails. And I will be doing some songs I never played live before from that album. I think it will be amazing - and my goal over the 30 or so shows I'll be playing this year will be to record them live and have the audience will be a part of that.

The Bee: You toured playing the Janis Joplin in 'Room 105' - and I was very interested in learning how you approached channeling Janis for that production?

Hawkins: The thing about Janis is, wow, she gave me so much. I honestly felt her hand on my back for so many performances before I went on. I got to meet her friends who came out to see the show and some of those friends were telling other friends, 'go see this show - it's Janis.' I mean, they gave me rings she wore and articles of her clothing, and they said her spirit came through in the performance. Janis really taught me that I'm nothing but a channel, and that is the greatest freedom. If I can treat myself as a channel, it's easier - I feel as though I channeled Janis, and I feel like she was willing to let me channel her. She was so gracious and regal in her time - that's why she wore all that jewelry and those outfits. She said she wanted to feel royal.

The Bee: What was the one of the most important things you learned from playing Janis that stuck with you and influenced you since you did that show?

Hawkins: So I think what I learned is that we're all connected — we really are. We're not just channeling our own soul, we have many souls we connect to and it makes life better when we connect with that. And Janis really found her voice by experimenting, starting off as a singer/songwriter folk song point of view. It wasn't like she heard a voice and sang it, she just found it in a space where she needed to be heard. That's a great insight I learned from her.

The Bee: You've done such important work supporting youth suicide prevention in the LGBTQ community. Given the burdens these young people are under with pandemic restrictions, what message would you send to them today?

Hawkins: It's really difficult to say the right thing to make somebody feel safe inside themselves. And this could be wrong - but my lyrics to my song "Saviour Child" are 'Color rainbows in the rain, And follow to a heart of gold, There's a savior born every day, In the valley of your soul." The only person who can save somebody is themselves. They have to look inside themselves and see it is the exact isolation and wilderness that will help them meet their true self - their own savior. It's the only possibility for any of us to become a whole person. A person who wants to live. If you think your isolation is separating you from yourself, the truth is if you turn off your screens and sit with yourself and meet your child again, like in that song...I'm gonna start to cry... you've gotta reach inside yourself to the kid you were. That kid is the only one who knows you, so you gotta save that kid - you can't save yourself as a teen. You gotta go back to remembering the person you were at 5 or 6 and save that kid. You're the only one who can!

The Bee: When I'm reading your bio, it's like, whoa — acting in and writing plays, recording projects, touring, making records, benefits, and you're a mom. How do you organize it all?

Hawkins: I think I came to be that way through life cycles. How do you be a mother and an artist - a single mother at that, no nanny for me. And we get used to these cycles. A friend of mine was looking at my bio and said 'I can't believe your life, you get to be like a bee going from flower to flower.' And it's kind of true. Every time I land on something in my schedule, I'm 100 percent there. I know we all crave and need time off, but I think there's always time for something you want to do and you focus. To be honest, I never think I do enough for the world, actually. There was a time in my life when I first started that I was thinking there's no way I can keep up with all the demands. I wish I had the strength and agility that I have now. If I was this way back then, I'd would have been so better off. I believe a lot of it has to do with being a mother - it really strengthens. It makes me so aware of what I can do, and how little time we have to do it. Sometimes I think to myself, wow, what if I only have 20 more years of mental clarity? Just thinking that makes me jump out of bed every morning - I got a lotta s#*t to do!

Learn more about the artist, get merch, and sample Sophie B. Hawkins' music at sophiebhawkins.com - or on her social sites.

For more information or to purchase your touchless print at home tickets ($35 each) visit ridgefieldplayhouse.org - or stop in or call the box office at 203-438-5795. Concession/bar can be ordered via our mobile site so that you can pick it up on the way in, or get notified when it is ready for you to pick up once in the theater.

The non-profit Ridgefield Playhouse is located at 80 East Ridge.

Check out Sophie B. Hawkins performing 'Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover' at The Taste of Madison, September 1, 2012:

You read about it - now check out Sophie B. Hawkins on banjo singing 'Lose Your Way ':