The Rogovoy Report: Berkshire and Hudson Valley Cultural Preview
Feb 21-Mar 2, 2023
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 …
COREY GLOVER BRINGS HARD-ROCKING SOUL to HUDSON
Living Colour lead vocalist Corey Glover brings his blend of rock, funk, and soul music to Park Theater in Hudson, N.Y., on Wednesday, February 22, at 8pm. Along with Living Colour founder and primary songwriter Vernon Reid, Glover enjoyed huge success with the avatars of the Black Rock Coalition, with a platinum album debut, Vivid, and the Grammy Award-winning single, “Cult of Personality.” (Wed, Feb 22)
SHAWN COLVIN, MARC COHN and SARAH JAROSZ BRING GRAMMY-WINNING FOLK MUSIC to TROY and KINGSTON
A trio of Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriters -- Shawn Colvin, Marc Cohn, and Sarah Jarosz -- team up for a special program at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in Troy, N.Y., on Wednesday, February 22, at 7:30pm, and again on Wednesday, March 1, at 7:30pm, at UPAC in Kingston, N.Y. A singular and enduring talent, Grammy-winner Shawn Colvin combines expert songcraft, beautiful melodies, and captivating stage presence. After winning a Grammy for his soulful ballad “Walking in Memphis,” Marc Cohn solidified his place as one of this generation’s most compelling singer-songwriters. Though just barely in her thirties, Texas native Sarah Jarosz has compiled a remarkable career, winning four Grammy Awards in both the Americana and Folk categories. (Wed, Feb 22; Wed, Mar 1)
BEN COSGROVE BRINGS NATURE-INSPIRED MUSIC to DEWEY HALL
Ben Cosgrove brings his unique, original compositions inspired by the natural world to Dewey Hall in Sheffield, Mass., on Friday, February 24, at 7pm. Cosgrove’s compositions, mostly keyboard-based, are lush and alluring and veritably breathe with the pulses and rhythms of the environment, while subtly acknowledging and commenting upon the complex relationship between humanity and the earth we inhabit. (Fri, Feb 24)
GUY DAVIS BRINGS BLUES to EGREMONT BARN
Grammy Award-nominee Guy Davis brings his unique blend of blues music and storytelling to the Egremont Barn in South Egremont, Mass., on Friday, February 24, at 7:30pm. The son of actor-activists Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, Guy Davis keeps the spirit of his parents alive through songs such as “God’s Gonna Make Things Over,” about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. (Fri, Feb 24)
IVY SOLE BRINGS NEO-SOUL to MASS MoCA
Rapper, singer and neo-soul artist Ivy Sole brings her melodic, beat-heavy brand of modern R&B to Club B10 at MASS MoCA on Saturday, February 25, at 8pm. The 28-year old singer is a rare hybrid of sultry and soulful R&B, with a sound that draws on a diverse set of influences, including southern rap, gospel, funk, spoken-word poetry, and more. Imagine a cross between Stevie Wonder and Lauryn Hill, with a little Meshell Ndegeocello thrown into the mix. (Sat, Feb 25)
TEN NEW JAZZ WORKS to PREMIERE in PITTSFIELD
As part of Pittsfield’s annual 10x10 Upstreet Winter Arts Festival, Berkshires Jazz has commissioned ten original compositions from jazz artists from around the northeast. An all-star trio of pianist Eugene Uman, bassist Mary Ann McSweeney, and drummer Conor Meehan will perform the new works from this Jazz Composers Showcase at Berkshire Museum on Saturday, February 25, at 7:30pm. (Sat, Feb 25)
HUDSON JAZZ FESTIVAL CONCLUDES with MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO
The Hudson Jazz Festival, based at Hudson Hall, continues its two-weekend run this weekend through Sunday, February 26. Grammy Award-winner and former Hudsonian Meshell Ndegeocello, a bassist and singer best known for her highly personal neo-soul and funk and for contributing to records by John Mellencamp, Madonna, Chaka Khan, and the Rolling Stones, joins pianist Aaron Parks and spoken word artist Samantha Rise for the world premiere of Dreaming Home on Saturday, February 25 at 7pm. (Thu, Feb 23-Sun, Feb 26)
ALARM WILL SOUND BRINGS MULTIMEDIA WORK to EMPAC
New music ensemble Alarm Will Sound brings Armenian-American composer Mary Kouyoumdjian’s multimedia piece Paper Pianos to EMPAC in Troy, N.Y., on Saturday, February 25, at 3pm. The concert-length music and documentary-theater hybrid explores the dislocation, longing, and optimism of refugees and the experiences of those who provide services to them. (Sat, Feb 25)
ALICIA SVIGALS BRINGS LIVE KLEZMER SCORE to ASHOKAN CENTER
Alicia Svigals and Donald Sosin perform their new original score live to a screening of the 1992 silent film Man Without a World at the Ashokan Center in Olivebridge, N.Y., on Saturday, February 25, at 7pm. Man Without a World is a moving, comic melodrama set in a typical shtetl in Poland, where the Jews’ struggle against poverty and racial hatred is complicated by their own divisions into hostile political factions of religious orthodoxy, assimilationists, socialists, Zionists, anarchists and survivors. Alicia Svigals, a cofounder of the Klezmatics, is the greatest living exponent of klezmer fiddle, and has codified the Old World ornamentations of the instrument, thus inspiring and influencing several generations of contemporary klezmer fiddlers. (Sat, Feb 25)
BOBBY PREVITE’s NEW TRIO PLAYS AVALON LOUNGE
Bobby Previte’s New Trio is in residence at the Avalon Lounge in Catskill, N.Y., performing its new sounds every Sunday at 6pm. Players include saxophonist Keith Pray, pianist John Esposito, and bandleader Bobby Previte on drums. (Sun, Feb 26)
BRASS ENSEMBLE BRINGS RUSSIAN MASTERWORKS to UNION COLLEGE
London-based brass ensemble Septura presents a program of Russian masterworks at Union College’s Memorial Chapel in Schenectady, N.Y., on Sunday, February 26, at 3pm. Currently ensemble-in-residence at the Royal Academy of Music, Septura will perform works by Prokofiev, Shostakovich, and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition in a concert sponsored by Capitol Region Classical. (Sun, Feb 26)
ELVIS COSTELLO BRINGS LITERATE ROCK to UPAC in KINGSTON
Elvis Costello brings his punchy, literate rock and his band of the last 20 years -- the Imposters -- to UPAC in Kingston, N.Y., on Thursday, March 2, at 7:30pm. Costello is one of the greatest pop-rock songwriters of the past 45 years or so, and the very next day after his UPAC gig, he releases a new collection of his work with the late Burt Bacharach called The Songs of Bacharach and Costello, featuring some of his most beautiful and sophisticated compositions, some of which he is bound to play at UPAC. (Thu, Mar 2)
Roll Call: Founding Members
Anne Fredericks
Anonymous
Anonymous
Erik Bruun
Benno Friedman
Richard Koplin
Rhonda Rosenheck