The Rogovoy Report: Berkshire & Hudson Valley Cultural Preview

Nov 29- Dec 5, 2023

Nov 28, 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 …

Preservation Hall Jazz Band (courtesy TSBMH)

PRESERVATION HALL BAND BRINGS CREOLE XMAS to TROY MUSIC HALL

Preservation Hall Jazz Band brings its Creole Christmas program, featuring New Orleans classics and holiday selections with a Big Easy twist, to Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in Troy, N.Y., on Wednesday, November 29, at 7:30pm. (Wed, Nov 29)

ROSZA BRINGS EASTERN-EUROPEAN SOUNDS to RACE BROOK LODGE

Hudson Valley-based world music outfit Rosza brings its blend of music from Eastern Europe, including Gypsy, Hungarian, Balkan, and klezmer, to the Down County Social Club (DCSC), beneath the Stagecoach Tavern at Race Brook Lodge, on Friday, December 1, at 8pm. The group’s music is colored by the distinctive vocals of Katalin Pazmandi. (Fri, Dec 1)

The Klezmatics (photo Adrian Buckmaster/courtesy 8th Step)

KLEZMATICS BRING WOODY GUTHRIE HANUKKAH SONGS to REGION

The Grammy Award-winning group The Klezmatics bring their Happy Joyous Hanukkah program, featuring their versions of Woody Guthrie’s trove of Hanukkah songs plus selections from their own repertoire of modern klezmer and Yiddish music, to the 8th Step at Proctors in Schenectady, N.Y., on Saturday, December 2, at 7:30pm, and to the Falcon in Marlboro, N.Y., on Sunday, December 3, at 7:30pm. In 1942, Woody Guthrie moved to Brooklyn for a time, and through his mother-in-law -- the renowned Yiddish poet Aliza Greenblatt -- Guthrie was deeply inspired to write songs that came directly out of this unlikely relationship, both personal and political; he clearly identified the Jewish struggle with that of his fellow Okies and other oppressed and disenfranchised peoples. (Sat, Dec 2; Sun, Dec 3)

LESLIE MENDELSON BRINGS ORIGINAL FOLK-ROCK to THE LINDA

Singer-songwriter Leslie Mendelson brings her singular brand of folk-rock to WAMC’s Performing Arts Studio The Linda on Saturday, December 2, at 8pm. The Brooklyn-based, Grammy Award-nominated artist connects the dots between 1970s-style confessional songwriting, jazz-influenced vocals (think Norah Jones), roots music, and Nick Cave-style gloom-rock. As an example of her versatility and appeal, Mendelson has collaborated with Jackson Browne and warmed up crowds for the Who. (Sat, Dec 2)

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS BRINGS ‘NOCTURNE’ PROGRAM to MAHAIWE

The Close Encounters with Music chamber series brings its Nocturne: Night and Dreams program -- featuring Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and Beethoven’s “Moonlight” Sonata -- to the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington, Mass., on Sunday, December 3, at 4pm. Among the performers are Italian pianist Fabio Bidini and baritone John Viscardi, in a program that will also include works by Schumann, Debussy, Fauré, Gounod, and Leonard Bernstein. (Sun, Dec 3)

STEPHEN SANCHEZ BRINGS NEO-ROCKABILLY to MASS MoCA

Singer-songwriter Stephen Sanchez brings his nostalgic, neo-rockabilly and his four-octave vocal range to the Hunter Center at MASS MoCA in North Adams, Mass., on Sunday, December 3, at 8pm. The California-based Sanchez variously recalls the likes of Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly, and the Everly Brothers, peppering his numbers with roots-music accents, whistling, and impossible vocal leaps. (Sun, Dec 3)

ALSO OF NOTE:

Phil Kline’s walking symphony Unsilent Night returns to North Adams, Mass. (Fri, Dec 1, 6pm)

Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company brings modern dance to The Egg in Albany, N.Y. (Sat, Dec 2, at 8pm)

Cantilena Chamber Choir brings Christmas at Trinity program to Trinity Church in Lenox, Mass. (Sun, Dec 3, 3pm)

Indigo Girls bring folk-rock to Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in Troy, N.Y. (Tue, Dec 5, 7:30pm)

Conor McPherson’s Tony Award-winning musical Girl from the North Country, based on songs by Bob Dylan, at Proctors in Schenectady, N.Y. (Tue-Sun, Dec 5-10)

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The Rogovoy Report