The Rogovoy Report: Berkshire & Hudson Valley Cultural Preview

Jul 23-30, 2024

Jul 23, 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 …

BECK to PERFORM WITH BOSTON POPS at TANGLEWOOD

Alt-rock innovator Beck and his band will join forces with the Boston Pops for an orchestral concert at Tanglewood in Lenox, Mass., on Tuesday, July 23, at 7pm. Singer-songwriter Beck’s genre-defying blend of rock, soul, folk, pop, funk, hip-hop and psychedelia was so unprecedented when he burst on the scene in 1994 that the “alternative rock” category was practically coined just for him. On recent albums, he has explored using orchestral arrangements for background accompaniment. The multiple Grammy Award-winner is one of the most exciting live performers in popular music. (Tue, Jul 23)

REGINA SPEKTOR BRINGS ORIGINAL FOLK-POP to THE EGG

Singer-songwriter Regina Spektor brings her original folk-pop songs to the Egg in Albany, N.Y., on Wednesday, July 24, at 8pm. Born in Moscow and raised in the Bronx, Spektor combines her powerful, classically trained piano playing, her vocal dynamism, and her gift for haunting melodies and literate lyrics with a brilliant sense of humor, making her a dazzling songwriter and performer. You might know Spektor from “You’ve Got Time,” her theme song to the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black. (Wed, Jul 24)

THE NIELDS, RICHIE FURAY, EILEEN IVERS HEADLINE FALCON RIDGE FOLK FEST

The Slambovian Circus of Dreams, Nerissa & Katryna Nields, Vance Gilbert, and country-rock pioneer Richie Furay-- a founding member of Buffalo Springfield, Poco, and Souther, Hillman & Furay -- headline the three-day Falcon Ridge Folk Festival at the Goshen Fairgrounds in Goshen, Conn., from Friday, July 26, through Sunday, July 28. Woodstock-based husband and wife Americana duo Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams will make their Falcon Ridge debut, and the festival closes Sunday with the fiery blue fiddle of Eileen Ivers & the Brigideens. (Fri-Sun, Jul 26-28)

BOBBY PREVITE BRINGS SOLO DRUM CONCERT to HUDSON HALL

Drummer-composer Bobby Previte premieres “No Bells, No Whistles,” a concert for solo drum set, at Hudson Hall in Hudson, N.Y., on Saturday, July 27, at 7pm. Previte will perform solo pieces for the modern drum set, which he describes as “a circle with the drummer as its fluid center, rooted within the architecture but sending out flares of sound beyond the physical boundary. It is of course a glorious machine for rhythm, but by asking the listener to answer the questions posed by its unknowable timbres and pitches, it can also reach the furthest depths of melody, harmony, texture, and narrative.” (Sat, Jul 27)

Amina Edris (photo Capucine de Chocqueuse/courtesy artist)

MEYERBEER OPERA ‘LE PROPHÈTE’ GETS RARE STAGING at BARD

The first new American production in almost five decades of Giacomo Meyerbeer’s 19^th century opera Le prophète, an all-too-topical grand opera in which religion, politics, and power collide, gets a rare staging at Bard Fisher Center in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y., starting on Friday, July 26, with subsequent performances on July 28, July 31, August 2, and August 4. Robert Watson, Jennifer Feinstein, and Amina Edris star in an original staging by Christian Räth, featuring the American Symphony Orchestra (ASO) and Bard Festival Chorale under the leadership of festival founder and co-artistic director Leon Botstein, Le prophète (1849) explores the dark world of false prophets and mass hysteria. Addressing the dangers of mixing religion with politics, the rise of demagoguery, and the challenges faced by members of minority groups, like the German Jewish composer himself, the opera raises issues that continue to resonate today. (July 26, 28, 31; August 2, 4)

Also of note:

The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Mass., concludes its July Outdoor Concert Series with a performance by Lakou Mizik, a multigenerational collective of Haitian musicians, in a free concert on Wednesday, July 24, at 6pm, at the Clark’s Reflecting Pool Lawn.

David Ives’s new play, Pamela Palmer, gets its world premiere run at Williamstown Theatre Festival in Williamstown, Mass., now through August 10. The play is said to “put a noir spin on an existential romance.”

William Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors takes over Shakespeare & Company’s outdoor mainstage in Lenox, Mass., now through Sunday, August 18.

The world premiere of The Islanders by Carey Crim runs at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Mass., from Thursday, July 25, through Sunday, August 25.

Night at the Speakeasy, an original production by Great Barrington Public Theater that transports audiences back in time to the Roaring Twenties, featuring Janelle Farias Sando, runs at Simon’s Rock College in Great Barrington, Mass., Thursdays through Sundays, July 26-August 11.

Hudson Valley singer-songwriter Kate Prascher brings her rootsy originals to Dream Away Lodge in Becket, Mass., on Friday, July 26, at 8pm.

Dynamic electroacoustic duo Arkai will preview their new album, Crossroads, at Adams Theater in Adams, Mass., on Friday, July 26, at 7:30pm and at the Foundry in West Stockbridge, Mass., on Saturday, July 27, at 7:30.

Chris Cross Revelation, an eclectic jam-based outfit blending funk, Latin, reggae, and electronica into a genre-defying sound and featuring members of Conehead Buddha, performs at Park Theater in Hudson, N.Y., on Friday, July 26, at 8pm.

The 29th annual Litchfield Jazz Festival at the Frederick Gunn School in Washington, Conn., runs this weekend, Friday-Sunday, July 26-28, featuring performers including Ted Nash, Bill Charlap, Amina Figorova, Alexa Tarantino, and Nicole Zuraitis among others.

Aston Magna Music Festival presents Sonata, What Do You Want From Me?, featuring violinist and guest director Julie Andrijeski and ensemble playing works by Bertali, Buxtehude, van Wichel, Corelli, and others, at St. James Placein Great Barrington, Mass., on Saturday, July 27, at 6pm.

Pittsfield native Matt Cusson and James Taylor vocalist Arnold McCuller headline Sunset Soul at Bousquet Mountainin Pittsfield, Mass., on Saturday, July 27, at 6pm, in a bill also featuring Signature Dish.

Pianist Dan Tepfer brings his blend of jazz and classical sounds to the Stissing Center in Pine Plains, N.Y., on Saturday, July 27, at 7pm.

Pianist Richard Goode will perform Beethoven’s final sonatas at Cooperstown Summer Music Festival on Tuesday, July 30, at 7pm.

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The Rogovoy Report