The Rogovoy Report: Berkshire & Hudson Valley Cultural Preview

Apr 19-25, 2024

Apr 16, 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 …

MARCUS ROBERTS, BRANDON GOLDBERG HEADLINE PITTSFIELD JAZZ FEST

The 18th annual Pittsfield CityJazz Festival kicks off on Friday, April 19, with an evening jazz crawl through a host of venues throughout downtown Pittsfield, Mass., and continues through April 28, featuring concerts by the Brandon Goldberg Trio at the Common Room on Friday, April 26, at 7:30pm, and pianist Marcus Roberts and trio at the Colonial Theatre, performing his Rags to Rhythm to Duke program on Saturday, April 27, at 7:30pm. (Fri, Apr 19-Sun, Apr 28)

‘Air Miles’ by Michael Lindsay-Hogg (courtesy Hudson Hall)

MICHAEL LINDSAY-HOGG PAINTINGS at HUDSON HALL

Michael Lindsay-Hogg is best known to most for his work as a rock and roll filmmaker, having directed the Beatles Let It Be and Beatles music videos, as well as work by the Rolling Stones and the Who. But Lindsay-Hogg swapped his movie camera for paintbrushes a number of years ago, and his paintings go on display in the exhibition Talking Pictures at Hudson Hall in Hudson, N.Y., on Saturday, April 20, when there will be an opening reception at 5pm. The work will remain on view through Sunday, June 2. (Sat, Apr 20-Sun, Jun 2)

YARN/WIRE PREMIERES NEW CLASSICAL WORK at THE CLARK

New music ensemble Yarn/Wire plays the U.S. premiere of Three Lines of Flight by composer Patrick Higgins, a multi-movement work of adventurous new classical music written for two pianos and two percussionists, featuring live electronic instruments by the composer, at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Mass., on Sunday, April 21, at 4pm.

MICHAEL ECK, KAT WRIGHT HEADED to CAFFE LENA

Two great shows at Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., this weekend, starting on Friday, April 19, at 8pm, when roots music scholar, singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Michael Eck celebrates both a new album and his 60th birthday. The Capital Region Eddies Hall of Fame inductee will be joined by an all-star ensemble featuring Rosanne Raneri, Kevin Maul, Sten Isachsen, and Bob Buckley. They’ll play new originals and folk classics from Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music. Then on Saturday, April 20, Kat Wright brings her sultry mix of soul, rock, and jazz, in the vein of Amy Winehouse, along with her trio, to perform two shows at 4pm and 8pm. (Fri, Apr 19; Sat, Apr 20)

Also of note:

English blues singer and guitarist Joanne Shaw Taylor, who was discovered by Dave Stewart of Eurythmics at the age of 16, brings her modern blues-rock sound to the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington, Mass., on Friday, April 19, at 8pm.

World-dub-jazz collective Club d’Elf bring their Moroccan-influenced trance-rock to Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield, Mass., on Friday, April 19, at 8pm.

Neo-rockabilly singer-guitarist Nick Waterhouse brings the vintage sounds of rock ‘n’ roll, including noir-jazz, soul, doo-wop, and R&B, to Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, N.Y., on Friday, April 19, at 8pm. Think Buddy Holly crossed with Screamin’ Jay Hawkins.

New-folk singer-songwriter Patty Larkin performs at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, N.Y., on Friday, April 19, at 8pm. Country and bluegrass artist Robbie Fulks will warm up the crowd for Larkin.

Singer-storyteller Emily Jeanne Brown brings her blend of Laurel Canyon-era folk-pop and Brooklyn indie grit to Park Theater in Hudson, N.Y., on Saturday, April 20, at 7pm.

The Ong-Rose-Farny String Trio performs works by Dohnányi, Mozart, and Bach in a free concert at Saugerties United Methodist Church on Sunday, April 21, at 3pm, as part of the Saugerties Pro Musica series.

The Broad Street Orchestra and Chorale will perform works by Debussy, Ravel, Bizet, Scriabin, and Szymanowski at Kinderhook Reformed Church in Kinderhook, N.Y., on Sunday, April 21, at 3pm, as part of the Concerts in the Village series.

Pianist Paul Lewis performs works by Schubert at Union College’s Memorial Chapel in Schenectady, N.Y., on Sunday, April 21, at 3pm, and again on Sunday, April 28, at 7:30pm, presented by Capital Region Classical.

Alec Ounsworth, better known by his band name Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, brings his minimalist new-wave rock to the Colony in Woodstock, N.Y., on Thursday, April 25, at 8pm.

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The Rogovoy Report