Dar Williams is a longtime Ark favorite who finds the personal in the political and the universal–and sets folk commitment to great pop tunes. Dar has always kept audiences guessing. Are her songs autobiographical? They're so vivid, and they seem so personal, that you assume they must be. But Dar says that she prefers to write about and for other people. Her songs tell stories of politics, religion, sexuality, and family, and the grassroots activism she has practiced often finds its way into her music. Dar comes to Michigan with a new album, "In the Time of Gods." Its lyrics traffic in the complex and mysterious world of mythology, which aligned with other issues the singer-songwriter was grappling with. "I'm interested in power right now," Dar says. "I’m in my 40s, and I’m shocked that the café conversations I had in my 20s-’Somebody has to do something!’- are now my responsibility. I see people who are actually doing things that you always dreamed somebody would do, and I can help make that a reality. So the stakes are higher, in a good way, but you also see the shadow, the reckless behavior, where a person can lose it all in a weekend."