RIDGEFIELD — Singer-songwriter Dar Williams was in a great mood when The Newtown Bee caught up with her recently to chat about an upcoming concert under the tent at The Ridgefield Playhouse.

One of the most lauded singer-songwriters of her generation, Williams has been captivating audiences with her sheer elegance and honesty and compelling folk-pop songwriting since the early 90s.

With dedicated fans selling out her shows all across the country (and world) and her inimitable songs hitting the charts with the release of each new album, her continued success is undeniable as both a recording artist and performer.

Best known for folk hits “Iowa (Traveling III),” “Summer Child,” “The Beauty of the Rain,” and others, the critically acclaimed Williams said she is gearing up for a great night of music and stories on Friday, June 25, at 7:30 pm.

Check out Dar Williams performing "Iowa" during a 2018 concert in Provincetown, Mass:

Williams said while she never sat down to make plans for all the down time she was facing as pandemic restrictions and shutdowns started happening in early 2020, she discovered she was not often at a loss for things to do.

“I didn’t have any plans for the COVID break but it had plans for me,” Williams said, confiding that it was a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with her children, and to attempt starting a garden.

“I thought, why don’t I try that — I really have all that freedom now, I’m gonna be home all the time and I can water these plants” she said.

“Well, that ended up as a three-way standoff between me, a groundhog, and a deer," she said, laughing. "And I actually made friends with the deer, and she was pregnant and eventually moved right into the garden. So I finally had to say ‘you win.’ But I am a different person on the other side of this.”

Williams talked about how excited she was about traveling again, and returning to playing in front of people.

“Traveling takes you out of your home in many ways, and I realized the person I was when I was on the road and the person I was when I was a homebody bleed into each other and they make you an interesting person,” she said. “But, you know I realized from being at home so much this past year that traveling gets into your DNA.”

Her Playhouse set, she said, will be a solo venture.

“It’s just me and Mother Nature, which is so great because you have the music, the setting sun, and we can all see each other — not just on a screen,” she said, adding that there will be plenty of room for some audience favorites, too.

“I’m always psyched when people tell me what to play. I always say, send up your requests on a cocktail napkin,” she said. “It’s always so cool when somebody has driven 300 miles and they get to hear that one deep track they always wanted to hear live, if I can.”

With a new album poised to drop in the fall entitled I’ll Meet You Here, and a companion book in the process of being finished, Williams said she is working up a number or two for the live show.

“But mostly I’ll be going for that comfort food — musically speaking — for the fans. It’s been such a while since we were all together, I’m going with the comfortable jeans, the active leisurewear of songs,” she said, adding that a series of small virtual concerts earlier in the year helped Williams refamiliarize herself with several B-sides.

“It’s fun to go back to those more obscure songs, but my hope is to play the stuff that will help people repatriate themselves to the live concert and cultural experience, and then slip in a few new tunes to give them a snapshot of modern history,” she said. “For people who know me, a song can be more than a song. I call it a magic backpack because it contains all the memories of where you were and who you were with when you first played it.”

Williams also talked about her popular songwriting retreats and a new series of them that are just about ready to announce, along with a rare one-off showcase she is part of featuring all the music from the popular Broadway classic Hair.

Growing up in the ’70s, Williams admitted that she was more influenced by the film version of the musical from Miloš Forman starring Treat Williams, John Savage, and Beverly D’Angelo. But she is nonetheless thrilled to be part of the event that will take over New York City’s Cutting Room stage on August 19.

“I remember coming out of the theater after seeing the movie for the first time and remembering my perspective on the Vietnam War experience had changed,” she said. “And I also had a chance to be in a version of the musical when I was younger.”

Williams said the showcase is being organized in collaboration with a long-time friend and bassist/musical director Mike Visceglia.

Besides Williams, 14 other talented singers and a crack group of New York musicians will be part of the event. And for those who may miss her in Ridgefield, she is making a stop at the Space Ballroom in Hamden on October 5 in a trio configuration supporting her new album coming out a few days earlier.

For more information or to purchase touchless print at home ticket ($45), go to www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org or call the box office 203-438-5795.

The Ridgefield Playhouse is a non-profit performing arts center located at 80 East Ridge.

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Associate Editor John Voket can be reached at john@thebee.com.

Listen to Dar Williams on "Something To Get Through," performed for Radio Woodstock 100.1 in August 2015: