The Rogovoy Report: Berkshire & Hudson Valley Cultural Preview

Mar 28-Apr 4, 2024

Mar 26, 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 …

ROBERT BURKE WARREN to CELEBRATE BIRTHDAY with SOLO CONCERT in SAUGERTIES

Singer-songwriter, author, and all-around Renaissance man Robert Burke Warren will present his Big Birthday Shindig: An Evening of Songs, Stories, and Celebration at The Local in Saugerties, N.Y., on Saturday, March 30, at 8pm. The Hudson Valley-based Warren will perform a blend of original songs and select covers and sharing stories from his eclectic, colorful life and career, which has seen him work with RuPaul, collaborate with Rosanne Cash, tour with rockabilly queen Wanda Jackson, and play the lead role in the stage musical Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story. While Warren will mostly perform solo, he will be joined on a few tunes by pianist Dennis Yerry. The event also promises “surprises and special guests.” (Sat, Mar 30)

Francesca Hoffman (r) with keyboardist Meghan Quinn (l)

FRANCESCA HOFFMAN and STEPHEN BLUHM BRING HOMEGROWN POP to PARK THEATER in HUDSON

Kingston-based multi-instrumentalist and folk-pop singer-songwriter Francesca Hoffman and Hudson-based dream-pop singer-songwriter Stephen Bluhm showcase their homegrown sounds at Park Theater in Hudson, N.Y., on Friday, March 29, at 7pm. A classically trained flutist and self-taught guitarist, ukulele player, and percussionist, Hoffman primarily writes songs about love and relationships. Dreamy vocalist Bluhm warms up the crowd for Hoffman, previewing songs from his forthcoming chamber-pop album, Out of the Nowhere. Into the Here. (Fri, Mar 29)

Kyle Marshall Choreography (photo Grace Kathryn Landerfeld/courtesy Kaatsbaan)

KYLE MARSHALL SHARES NEW WORK at KAATSBAAN

Bessie Award-winning choreographer Kyle Marshall shares excerpts of his latest work in development, Femenine, at Kaatsbaan in Tivoli, N.Y., on Saturday, March 30, at 7pm. The new piece is set to a recording of Julius Eastman’s minimalist composition Femenine (1974), which includes woodwinds, marimba, voice, vibraphone, piano, bass, and bells. (Sat, Mar 30)

Cellist Anne Legêne and composer-pianist Larry Wallach

CHAMBER WORKS by BERKSHIRE COMPOSERS to DEBUT at SIMON’S ROCK

A program of chamber music for clarinet, strings, and piano will feature first performances of works by Berkshire County composers Alice Spatz and Larry Wallach in Kellogg Music Center on the campus of Simon’s Rock College in Great Barrington, Mass., as part of the South Berkshire Concert Series on Sunday, March 31, at 3pm. To a Child Dancing in the Wind by Alice Spatz is inspired by the poem of the same title by William Butler Yeats, whose lines are read at the start of each movement. Klezmer-ish by Larry Wallach offers personal impressions of this folk-and-jazz form of Jewish music and features a virtuosic role for clarinetist Sangwon Lee. Two classics of earlier 20th century music by Darius Milhaud and Charles Ives round out the program. Other musicians include violinist Ronald Gorevic, violist James Berlin, and cellist Anne Legêne. (Sun, Mar 31)

Talking Heads by Bobby Grossman (courtesy TSL)

BOBBY GROSSMAN PHOTOS of PUNK-ERA NYC at TSL in HUDSON

Bobby Grossman arrived on the New York scene in the mid-seventies with a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. Grossman lived and worked from the Chelsea hotel, photographing the scenes at the Chelsea, at Warhol’s Factory, and C.B.G.B.’s, where his camera captured the likes of Blondie, David Byrne, Andy Warhol, Fab5Freddie, Iggy Pop, David Bowie, the Ramones, and Jean Michel Basquiat. The exhibition Low Fidelity featuring his images are on display at Time and Space in Hudson, N.Y., now through Sunday, March 31. (now-Mar 31)

Also of note:

Award-winning novelist Alexis Schaitkin (Elsewhere, Saint X) is featured in the Writers at the Rock poetry and fiction series at Simon’s Rock College in Great Barrington, Mass., on Thursday, March 28, at 7pm.

Prog-rock keyboardist Rick Wakeman brings what he is calling his “Final Solo Tour” to the Egg in Albany, N.Y., on Friday, March 29, at 8pm, promising to perform highlights from his solo albums and his work with the band Yes. The concert will include a brand-new piece of music, Yessonata, a 30-minute instrumental work featuring Yes themes and melodies woven into sonata form.

Folk-rock singer-songwriter Johnny Irion entertains with old classics and original tunes at Spencertown Academy in Spencertown, N.Y., on Saturday, March 30, at 8pm.

Guitarists GE Smith, Larry Campbell, and Jim Weider will face off at Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, N.Y., on Saturday, March 30, at 8pm, for Masters of the Telecaster, a celebration of the electric guitar and their individual and collective virtuosity. Smith and Campbell both toured with Bob Dylan for years and Weider played with the Dylan-adjacent, post-Last Waltz iteration of the Band. Expect to hear music by Roy Buchanan, Little Richard, Sam Cooke, Steve Winwood, Bo Diddley, The Rolling Stones and others.

The Ébène Quartet performs works by Mozart, Bartók, and Grieg at Albany’s Massry Center on Thursday, April 4, at 7:30pm, in a concert presented by Capital Region Classical.

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