When singer and songwriter Rufus Wainwright takes the stage at Stissing Center in Pine Plains on Aug. 1, it will be more than a performance — it will be a return.
“I was born in Rhinebeck,” Wainwright said in a recent phone interview with the Herald. “I didn’t live there as a young baby or a child or anything. We moved out pretty fast. But, then later, I went to the Millbrook School. I lived in Dutchess County then for four years when I was in high school.”
Wainwright is headlining a benefit concert organized by the Dutchess County Democratic Committee. The event will raise funds for local candidates and organizing efforts.
“I went to high school with Chris Drago, who’s a representative there. I believe in him and I want to support good,” Wainwright said, referring to the County Legislator who flipped the seat in 2022 by unseating Republican Gregg Pulver.
Though Wainwright’s international career spans collaborations with musical icons and an expansive discography, his ties to Dutchess County remain formative.
“There’s a song I wrote called ‘Millbrook,’ which I still sing today about my experience at that school,” he said. “The birth of my songwriting really occurred when I was in boarding school in Dutchess County.”
Born into a family of musical trailblazers, Wainwright inherited his artistry from both sides. His father, Loudon Wainwright III, is a Grammy-winning folk singer known for his wit and lyrical candor. His late mother, Kate McGarrigle, was one half of the acclaimed Canadian folk duo Kate & Anna McGarrigle. Wainwright frequently performed with her in his early years and credits both parents for shaping his eclectic musical sensibility. His sister, Martha Wainwright, is also an acclaimed singer-songwriter in her own right.
Wainwright released his debut album in 1998. Simply titled “Rufus Wainwright,” the record introduced listeners to a bold, genre-blending sound that drew from opera, cabaret, and folk traditions. It was produced by Jon Brion and Pierre Marchand and earned critical acclaim, including Best New Artist honors from Rolling Stone.
In the years since, Wainwright has released 11 studio albums, each further expanding his artistic scope. His follow-up, “Poses” (2001), cemented his reputation as a songwriter with a flair for intricate arrangements and emotional clarity. The two-part “Want One” (2003) and “Want Two” (2004) albums were rich with orchestration and operatic themes. “Release the Stars” (2007) brought wider attention, anchored by the politically charged single “Going to a Town.” Later works have explored a range of influences, from Shakespearean verse to full-length operatic composition. His 2020 release “Unfollow the Rules” earned a Grammy nomination, and his most recent album, “Folkocracy” (2023), features collaborations that revisit and reinterpret traditional folk material through a contemporary lens.
That combination of artistry and engagement will shape his return to Pine Plains. For Wainwright, performing in the Hudson Valley means revisiting a personal landscape — and stepping into a broader conversation about the country’s future.
“For my own personal life… yes, it’s a very meaningful place. It’s where I was born,” he said. “But on the other hand, I think for America, it’s also such a kind of mystical spot. When you think of just the birth of the country and, you know, whether it’s all the great leaders and also religious leaders who came from New York state, and the great artwork — the Hudson River School of painters, for instance. It’s just always been this emanating place, and so I’m both there to revel in it and also to keep it going.”
Wainwright has never shied away from bringing political consciousness into his music. His 2007 single “Going to a Town,” which repeats the line “I’m so tired of America,” remains one of his most haunting and resonant songs.
“Sadly, that song has become a… well, not quite a perennial yet. But it seems to pop up regularly,” he said. “Even though I do feel that these times are kind of far more dismal than they were when I wrote the song years ago… it seems like a lot of these major issues, and major hidden arteries in American culture, are now being faced head-on and have to be dealt with. So even though it’s tougher now, I feel like… the heat is on, and the battle must be won. It is a time of action, which is, I think, good in the end.”
He sees political engagement as integral to his work.
“I’ve always fallen on the side of artistic expression that chooses to engage with the world and to try to be a force for good and a force for positive change and really comment on injustice when it’s occurring,” he said. “That’s the type of artist that I grew up admiring and that I now hopefully become. I’m not a puppet or a windup doll. I’m a living, breathing human who needs to express themselves and tell you what I think about what’s going on.”
Despite what he describes as heavy times, Wainwright remains creatively driven.
“I’m writing constantly. There’s a lot of inspiration right now,” he said. “In dark times, art becomes incredibly important and quite visceral, so I’m just taking advantage of a lot of those strong emotions that the world is going through. I’m finding myself needing to compose and write in order to, you know, keep my head together.”
As for what audiences can expect in Pine Plains, Wainwright said the performance will be both personal and purposeful.
The concert will take place at 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 1, at Stissing Center in Pine Plains. Proceeds will support local Democratic candidates and organizing initiatives, including OUT for Dutchess, an LGBTQ+ advocacy project.