The Rogovoy Report: Berkshire & Hudson Valley Cultural Preview

Dec 14-21, 2023

Dec 13, 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 …

JOHN PIZZARELLI, NATALIE MacMASTER at MAHAIWE

John Pizzarelli returns to the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington, Mass., on Saturday, December 16, at 8pm, with a trio performance titled Stage & Screen. Pizzarelli’s newest show, with Michael Karn on bass and Isaiah J. Thompson on piano, focuses on music from the Broadway stage and the silver screen. Also at the Mahaiwe this weekend, Irish-Canadian music power couple Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy return with their show, A Celtic Family Christmas, on Sunday, December 17, at 7pm. (Sat, Dec 16; Sun, Dec 17)

SIMONE WHITE BRINGS FOLK-POP SOUNDS to SHEFFIELD, Mass.

Singer-songwriter Simone White brings her intimate, original folk-pop sounds to the Down County Social Club at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield, Mass., on Thursday, December 14, at 8pm. The Hawaii native with the delicate voice, now based in New York City, has toured with and opened for Little Dragon, Victoria Williams, Mark Eitzel, and Andrew Bird. Her infectious melodies variously recall Leonard Cohen and Radiohead – sometimes both in the same song. Osei Essed and Simon Kafka bring their update of Chicago blues blended with garage rock to Race Brook on Friday, December 15, at 8pm. (Thu, Dec 14)

EMILY KING BRINGS ORIGINAL NEO-SOUL to LEVON HELM STUDIOS

Multiple Grammy Award-nominee R&B singer-songwriter Emily King brings her unique blend of intimate soul-pop to Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, N.Y., on Sunday, December 17, at 8pm. On her latest album, Special Occasion, King shares a real-time exploration of the endless dimensions of heartbreak. In 2019, King’s “Look at Me Now” was nominated for a best R&B song Grammy, and in 2020, King was nominated again for her song “See Me.” (Sun, Dec 17)

THE LEVIN BROTHERS BRING JAZZ-ROCK SOUNDS to REGION

The Levin Brothers bring their blend of jazz and rock to The Linda, WAMC’s Performing Arts Studio in Albany, N.Y., on Saturday, December 16, at 8pm, and to the Colony in Woodstock, N.Y., on Sunday, December 17, at 8pm. Between the two of them, the brothers have played for a who’s who in rock and jazz. Bassist Tony Levin is best known for his work with Peter Gabriel and King Crimson, and keyboardist Pete Levin has accompanied Miles Davis, Gil Evans, Jimmy Giuffre, Dave Brubeck, Annie Lennox, Charles Mingus, Jaco Pastorius, and Wayne Shorter. The quartet also includes Ken Gioffre on sax and flute and Jeff Siegel on drums. (Sat, Dec 16; Sun, Dec 17)

TALEA ENSEMBLE BRINGS INNOVATIVE ‘SOLSTICE’ PROGRAM to PS21

The New York City-based Talea Ensemble will bring its Solstice Concert, featuring Georg Friedrich Haas’s Solstices (2017) -- performed at sunset in complete darkness -- to PS21 in Chatham, N.Y., on Thursday, December 21, at 4:26pm, beginning precisely at sunset on the shortest day of the year to mark the passage from autumn to winter. Composed for performance by ten musicians in complete darkness, the absence of light adds a new lens to the ability to relate to sound, bringing together performers and audiences through intensive listening. (Thu, Dec 21)

SUPERDUO BRINGS KLEZMER SOUNDS to WOODSTOCK, N.Y.

Klezmer-Yiddish superstars Michael Alpert and Craig Judelman bring their In Der Heym / Down Home: Yiddish Music from the Ukrainian and American Heartlands program to the Woodstock Jewish Congregation in Woodstock, N.Y., on Thursday, December 21, at 7pm. In this intimate duo format, and Judelman present their personal take on Jewish fiddle tunes collected in Ukraine in the early 20th century, songs learned directly from native-born Yiddish culture bearers, as well their own original tunes and songs, evincing their decades of immersion in Eastern European, American, and Celtic folk music. (Thu, Dec 21)

ALSO OF NOTE:

Everett Bradley brings his Holidelic funk revue to Kaatsbaan (Fri-Sat, Dec 15-16)

Phil Kline’s moving boombox parade Unsilent Night in Kingston, N.Y. (Fri, Dec 15, 6pm)

Alison Larkin reads from Pride and Prejudice at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Mass. (Sat, Dec 16, 5pm)

Crescendo performs holiday music at St. Paul’s Church in Stockbridge, Mass. (Sat, Dec 16, at 4pm) and at Trinity Church in Lakeville, Conn. (Sun, Dec 17, 4pm)

Aaron Dilloway brings experimental sounds to the Clark in Williamstown, Mass. (Sun, Dec 17, 5pm)

Paul Winter Consort brings its Solstice Celebration to Troy Savings Bank Music Hall (Wed, Dec 20, 6pm)

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The Rogovoy Report