Sophie B. Hawkins Comes to the Playhouse

Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Sophie B. Hawkins will perform a benefit concert for the Gulf Coast oil spill on June 11 with special guest Matt Duke.

"I've always been an activist since I was a kid growing up in New York City, picking up the litter in the parks, so being an activist is part of my heart and soul, without anyone telling me it should be done," Hawkins, 42, said in a telephone interview from Venice, CA.

"It is not getting media attention like the Haiti earthquake where people could see where the buildings were down and the children with no homes, and we cannot rebuild the ocean," she added.

One of the main reasons Hawkins is involved in this concert, then, is to spread awareness and raise funds for for oil spill mitigation.

"I'm really excited about doing this concert at Ridgefield, which is all I can do as a human, but it's really important to me. My single, "The Land, the Sea, and the Sky," is the perfect song for this cause ... (my manager) called Ridgefield and said, 'Let's do this,' and Ridgefield ate it up the minute (she) mentioned the idea, and they took it on as their own."

The funds are being donated to the Waterkeeper Alliance, an organization dedicated to protecting water from polluters.

Hawkins, a past Grammy nominee, said she considered herself lucky that she can help and continue to do what she loves, even though it's a struggle to survive in the music industry these days.

"You need a positive outlook, because it will probably never be the way it was," she said.

Her latest album, being released online, is called "Dream Street and Chance," and it's an emotional and autobiographical account of some real-life events, like coming to terms with her father's death and her friend that was hit by a car. The song "Red Bird" was written for her friend. Her other singles from the album range from the feisty "Bet Ya Got A Cure" to the powerful testament, "Heart and Soul of a Woman," an ode to feminine strength which Hawkins noted was inspired, in part, by her experiences working on Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

Other songs include the declaration of independence "I Don't Need You" as well as the title track, "Dream Street and Chance," a jazzy modern torch sone about acceptance. She also collaborated with Academy Award-winning actress Mary Steenburgen on the heartfelt, Joplinesque folk ballad, "Gone Baby." Hawkins met Steenburgen at a Clinton rally.

Hawkins is currently working on the music and lyrics for a Broadway musical slated to star Kristin Chenoweth, collaborating with her longtime agent and partner, Gigi Gaston, as well as with Tony-award winning Broadway legend Thomas Meehan ("Annie," "The Producers," "Hairspray"). The show, whose name is still unannounced, will be directed by Tony-award winner Kathleen Marshall.

The Ridgefield Playhouse show promises to be an entertaining and fun event. Tickets are $38.50 and showtime is at 8 p.m. For more information, call the Playhouse at 203-438-5795 or log on to http://www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org.