With a powerful voice that could jump from soft to piercing in a single beat, lesbian-identified woman of color Doria Roberts sang to an audience last night about love, relationships, homophobia and racism.

Mixing folk rock and pop with a political message, singer and activist Roberts performed in HUB Heritage Hall as part of Pride Week, sponsored by Allies.

Although the singer's music has reached the national circuit, Roberts said she was unsure whether the audience was familiar with her.

"Do you guys have any idea who I am?" she asked the audience with laughter before she began her first song.

Roberts kept the atmosphere relaxed, asking audience members to rearrange their chairs, telling jokes and sharing personal stories.

She also encouraged audience participation by taking requests and even speaking to them between song lyrics.

"Are we in love on campus? Are we bitter? Are we frustrated politically?" Roberts asked, receiving nods and shouts of agreement from the audience.

In her deeply political song "Because," Roberts both spoke and sang her lyrics, which criticized President George W. Bush's administration and the war in Iraq.

"Condoleeza Rice needs a wake-up call, or just a night with me," she said during the song.

After the show, some audience members shared their reactions to Roberts' emotional performance.

"Doria is extremely talented," community member Dan Agostino said. "I honestly had never heard of her before I saw the Allies flyer. But she's fantastic, personable, funny and talented."

Josh Brimmeier, Allies education director, said he was pleased with the turnout, which was about 40 people. However, he said many more students might have come had it not been for last night's Maroon 5 concert.

"I was really, really impressed with her performance," he said. "She was absolutely phenomenal."