All modern-day folk singers connect back to Bob Dylan, and through him to the hardest of the hard-core troubadours, Woody Guthrie.

Their belief that nobody wins unless everybody wins has resonated in the music of everyone from Bruce Springsteen to Billy Bragg to Blue Rodeo.

But Victoria Williams, who plays the folk fest mainstage Friday and participates in workshops Saturday and Sunday, may be the most impressive example of the modern-day singing populist.

Her songs, delivered in an endearingly fragile voice, approach the world with a childlike sense of wonder, taking joy in the smallest details.

Periwinkle Sky, from her latest treasure trove of songs, Musings of a Creekdipper, is a perfect example. The lyrics convey a remarkable appreciation of the various qualities of the sky.

Williams, though, is firmly connected to the larger picture.

Diagnosed with mulitple sclerosis in 1992 and without the benefit of medical insurance to cover treatment, she saw a collective of musicians -- from Pearl Jam to Lou Reed and beyond -- band together to record Sweet Relief, a benefit album that helped cover her medical expenses.

Over the phone from a hotel in New York, Williams now slips from pleasant observations about her current recording projects to a rant about the state of the health-care system in the U.S.

"It's just horrible and corrupt," says Williams. "It takes away a lot of people's freedom. I think health care should be something for everyone, something that's covered in taxes.

"Our money is being spent on all these military things. It seems like when people start getting billions of dollars, they should help others, shouldn't they? Does anybody really need that kind of money?

"I've always thought Canada has a better system. I'm always thinking I'm going to move to Canada."

Sweet Relief is now an ongoing series of projects. Williams periodically performs benefits for the fund, which now helps musicians with the cost of a variety of medical expenses for which they don't have coverage.

"I think it's an extraordinary fund that's been helping a lot of people," says Williams. "Now it's helping people who are having babies and old musicians who don't have anything in the way of retirement plans."

For Williams, retirement isn't in the plans anytime soon.

She'll be accompanied at the folk fest by her husband Mark Olson, who has recently embarked on a solo career after years co-fronting the acclaimed Minnesota country-rock group The Jayhawks.

Williams and Olson live in Joshua Tree, Calif., in the middle of the desert, and have spent a great deal of time recently writing and recording, lending their respective talents to each other's work.

Olson contributes some of his distinctive harmonies to a few tracks on Musings of a Creekdipper.

"I love working on Mark's stuff, too," says Williams. "He kinda likes to be the boss and in control, which is confusing for me when it's my album, but I think we complement each other well.

"Really, we're such opposites. He would probably say I'm more spontaneous -- or unorganized. I kinda go with whatever I'm dealt. I'm a make-do person and he's a real planner."

Sounds like a perfect match.