The Rogovoy Report: Berkshire & Hudson Valley Cultural Preview

Jun 20-23, 2024

Jun 18, 2024

With so much going on culturally speaking in our greater Berkshires/Hudson Valley region, this is my highly selective, curated snapshot of some of the most promising upcoming events …

ELEVATOR REPAIR SERVICE’s ‘ULYSSES’ KICKS OFF BARD SUMMERSCAPE

The experimental theater company Elevator Repair Service brings its singular approach to the world premiere of its rendition of James Joyce’s Ulysses to kick off this summer’s Bard Summerscape season at the Fisher Center at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y., from Thursday, June 20, through Sunday, July 14. Building on their rich history of staging modernist works — including Gatz, The Sound and the Fury, The Select (The Sun Also Rises) -- Elevator Repair Service (ERS) tackles the monumental work that gave rise to the adjective “Joycean.” In the hands of ERS, this translates to seven performers sitting down for a sober reading but soon finding themselves guzzling pints, getting in brawls, and committing debaucheries as they careen on a fast-forward tour through Joyce’s funhouse of styles. With madcap antics and a densely layered sound design, ERS presents an eclectic sampling from Joyce’s life-affirming masterpiece. (Thu, Jun 20-Sun, Jul 14)

BEN FOLDS BRINGS ‘PAPER AIRPLANES REQUEST’ TOUR to MAHAIWE

The piano-playing pop-rock singer-songwriter Ben Folds brings his ‘Paper Airplanes Request’ tour – in which audience members make requests of the singer by flying paper airplanes with song titles onto the stage -- to the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington, Mass., on Saturday, June 22, at 8pm. Folds combines the storytelling chops of Bruce Springsteen with the pop melodicism of Billy Joel. Folds first rose to fame in the mid-1990s with Ben Folds Five, whose acerbic, genre-bending take on piano pop helped define an entire era of alternative rock. After scoring multiple hit singles and a gold record with the band, Folds launched his solo career in 2001, releasing a series of similarly acclaimed albums that would firmly establish him as one of the most ambitious and versatile songwriters of his generation. (Sat, Jun 22)

KT TUNSTALL COULD STEAL SHOW FROM ROGER DALTREY at TANGLEWOOD

The Who frontman Roger Daltrey, the voice behind such iconic Pete Townshend compositions as “My Generation” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again” is undoubtedly the big draw at Tanglewood in Lenox, Mass., on Saturday, June 22, at 7pm. But be sure to arrive on time, as opening act KT Tunstall could well steal the show from Daltrey. The Scottish rock singer-songwriter boasts soulful vocals and a gift for composing and arranging catchy pop anthems like “The River” and “Suddenly I See.” Daltrey is guaranteed to please; Tunstall is guaranteed to surprise. (Sat, Jun 22)

Soprano Ariana Wehr (photo Arielle Doneson/courtesy artist)

SOPRANO ARIANA WEHR PAYS TRIBUTE to MINETTE at THE CLARK

Brazilian-American soprano Ariana Wehr joins musicians of Opera Lafayette to present a tribute to 18th-century soprano Minette at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Mass., on Wednesday, June 26, at 6pm. The free concert -- featuring music from the operas of Gluck, Philidor, Grétry, and others (which Minette performed in the years leading up to the Haitian Revolution), takes place on the Clark’s reflecting pool lawn. (Wed, Jun 26)

Also of note:

Classic rock returns to Tanglewood in Lenox, Mass., with a double-bill of John Fogerty - founder, lead singer and songwriter of Creedence Clearwater Revival -- and boogie-rockers George Thorogood and the Destroyers performing in the Shed on Thursday, June 20, at 7pm.

Maine singer-songwriter Connor Garvey brings his rootsy original compositions to Studio 9 at Porches Inn in North Adams, Mass., on Friday, June 21, at 7:30pm.

Rootsy singer Samoa Wilson brings her blend of early-20th century ragtime, pop, jazz, blues, and early swing to Dream Away Lodge in Becket, Mass., on Friday, June 21, at 7:30pm.

Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Mass., opens its 47th season on Friday, June 21, with A Body of Water by Lee Blessing, a comedic thriller presented outdoors at the Roman Garden Theatre through July 21. The play stars Caroline Calkins, Bella Merlin, and Kevin O'Rourke.

Grammy Award-nominated indie-folk band Fleet Foxes brings its ethereal, multi-part harmonies and its haunting, alternative sounds to UPAC in Kingston, N.Y., on Friday, June 21, at 8pm.

Kentucky singer-songwriter S.G. Goodman brings her classic country vocals and her original roots-rock and Americana to Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, N.Y., on Friday, June 21, at 8pm.

Chris Brubeck’s Triple Play, featuring guitarist Joel Brown and harmonica player Peter Madcat Ruth, bring their blend of jazz and American roots music to the Sandisfield Arts Center in Sandisfield, Mass., on Saturday, June 22, at 7:30pm.

Grammy Award-winning flutist Brandon Patrick George performs a solo program entitled Twofold at Tannery Pond in New Lebanon, N.Y., on Saturday, June 22, at 7:30pm, in a concert presented by Capital Region Classical.

Ukrainian brass band Kommuna Lux brings its upbeat blend of Eastern European party music, surf-guitar, and klezmer sounds -- what they call “Odesa Gangsta Folk” -- to the Falcon in Marlboro, N.Y., on Sunday, June 23, at 7:30pm.

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