The Rogovoy Report: Berkshire & Hudson Valley Cultural Preview
Oct 6-12, 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 …
SERPENTWITHFEET BRINGS NEO-SOUL STAGE SHOW to MASS MoCA
Experimental R&B musician serpentwithfeet embarks on his first stage work alongside multimedia artist Wu Tsang and choreographer Raja Feather Kelly when the three collaborate on Heart of Brick, a theatrical dance and music production that ponders the spirit and magic of Black queer nightlife, in the Hunter Center at MASS MoCA in North Adams on Saturday, October 7, at 8pm. The gentle and sincere love story weaves together music and dance into a theatrical experience. (Sat, Oct 7)
ROOMFUL of BLUES BRING HOUSEROCKING BLUES to DALTON
Roomful of Blues, the world-renowned horn-powered, houserocking blues band, will perform live at the Stationery Factory in Dalton, Mass., on Saturday, October 7, at 7:30pm. The Rhode Island-based group, with roots going back to 1967 and led by guitarist Chris Vachon for the past 22 years, has earned five Grammy Award nominations and a slew of other accolades, including seven Blues Music Awards. (Sat, Oct 7)
ECLECTIC CHAMBER CONCERT in KINGSTON FEATURES BACH, MOZART, GERSHWIN, OTHERS
Joyous Spirit: Music for Voice, Strings and Piano, an eclectic program featuring works by Bach, Mozart, Grieg, Verdi, George Gershwin, and Amy Beach, is on tap as the opening concert of Chamber Music on the Hudson’s 2023-2024 season at the Senate Garage in Kingston, N.Y., on Friday, October 6, at 7pm. Orchestrated by Inessa Zaretsky, pianist and artistic director of Chamber Music on the Hudson, the concert will feature members of the Tesla Quartet and Metropolitan Opera soprano Courtney Johnson. (Fri, Oct 6)
HEATHER MALONEY BRINGS INDIE-FOLK to SPENCERTOWN
Singer-songwriter Heather Maloney will bring her unique blend of folk, rock, jazz, and pop to the Spencertown Academy in Spencertown, N.Y., on Saturday, October 7, at 8pm. Noted for her startlingly soulful voice and literate songs exploring themes of spirituality, transformation, and impermanence, Maloney will focus on songs from her latest album, Soil In The Sky, a collage of tremulous folk, existential ballads, and assertive rock that she describes as “a collective memory … stitched together from personal and universal ecstasy, loss both intimate and ancient.” Highly recommended if you like Shawn Colvin, Emmylou Harris, or Dar Williams. (Sat, Oct 7)
QUARTET BRINGS SOUNDS of EASTERN EUROPE to HUDSON in TRIBUTE to UKRAINE
Trio Fadolin will bring their Eastern European instrumental sounds along with Yiddish/Russian vocalist Inna Barmash to the historic First Presbyterian Church in Hudson, N.Y., on Saturday, October 7, at 3pm. The program, entitled Songs of Refuge, is presented by Hudson Festival Orchestra. Trio Fadolin features Valeriya Sholokhova on cello, Sabina Torosjan on violin, and Ljova on a newly invented instrument called the fadolin -- a six-stringed, bowed instrument boasting the range of a violin, a viola, and most of the cello. All three of the musicians grew up in the former Soviet Union. Inna Barmash, a Lithuanian immigrant who cofounded the Klez Dispensers while a student at Princeton University, sings in Yiddish and Russian and includes Romanian music in her repertoire. In recognition of the Eastern European roots of Trio Fadolin, cooks from Saint Michael’s Ukrainian Church in Hudson will offer regional foods – including varenyky (pierogi) and borscht -- as a fundraiser benefitting Medical Relief for Ukraine. (Sat, Oct 7)
LYLE LOVETT and CHRIS ISAAK in CONVERSATION and SONG at TROY MUSIC HALL
Four-time Grammy Award-winning singer, composer and actor Lyle Lovett brings his broad mix of quirky Americana to Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in Troy, N.Y., on Sunday, October 8, at 7:30pm. Lovett shares the program, In Conversation and Song, with fellow singer-actor Chris Isaak of “Wicked Game” fame. (Sun, Oct 8)
STEVE HACKETT of GENESIS, ANDY SUMMERS of THE POLICE, JUSTIN HAYWARD of MOODY BLUES at THE EGG
Back-to-back concerts by Steve Hackett of Genesis and Andy Summers of the Police will take listeners back to two of the most influential and popular groups of the 1970s and 1980s at The Egg in Albany, N.Y., when Hackett performs the formative 1972 Genesis album Foxtrot in its entirety on Tuesday, October 10, at 7:30pm, and guitarist Andy Summersfollows on Wednesday, October 11, at 8pm. Vocalist and guitarist Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues makes it a nostalgia trifecta with a concert on Thursday, October 12, at 8pm. (Tue, Oct 10; Wed, Oct 11; Thu, Oct 12)
Hey, did you like this edition of The Rogovoy Report? If so, please consider clicking on the “LIKE” button at the very end of this message. It matters to the gods of Substack.
Roll Call: Founding Members
Anne Fredericks
Anonymous (6)
Erik Bruun
Benno Friedman
Richard Koplin
Steve and Helice Picheny
Rhonda Rosenheck
Elisa Spungen and Rob Bildner/Berkshires Farm Table Cookbook
Julie Abraham Stone
Mary Herr Tally