The Rogovoy Report: Berkshire & Hudson Valley Cultural Preview

Dec 5-10, 2023

Dec 05, 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 …

DARLENE LOVE BRINGS HOLIDAY PROGRAM to BEARSVILLE

Soul singer Darlene Love, perhaps best known for her legendary #1 holiday classic “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” brings her “Love for the Holidays” program to Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, N.Y., on Saturday, December 9, at 8pm. A Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Darlene Love enjoyed a string of hit singles in the 1960s including “He’s a Rebel,” “The Boy I’m Gonna Marry,” “Wait ‘Til My Bobby Gets Home,” and “He’s Sure the Boy I Love.” Darlene Love was featured in the 2013 documentary film 20 Feet from Stardom, in recognition of her unheralded work as a backup singer for the likes of Sam Cooke, Dionne Warwick, Bill Medley, the Beach Boys, Elvis Presley, Tom Jones, and Sonny and Cher. (Sat, Dec 9)

LILA BLUE, PHILLIP ROEBUCK and SASKIA LANE at TSL in HUDSON

Lila Blue, Phillip Roebuck, and Saskia Lane will join forces for a program of acoustic roots-rock blended with blues at TSL in Hudson, N.Y., on Saturday, December 9, at 7pm. The group will be performing from their repertoire of original material by each player individually as well as a bevy of tunes they have created in collaboration. Roebuck is a singer-songwriter from Virginia, who plays resonator guitar and percussion at the same time. Lila Blue is a queer folk musician, singer-songwriter, playwright, and performer based out of Brooklyn. And Brooklyn-based Saskia Lane is a Juilliard-trained bassist, composer, performer, puppet maker, and educator whose work spans many genres, including jazz, rock, folk, R&B, and klezmer. (Sat, Dec 9)

Michael Moss (photo Scott Friedlander/courtesy artist)

MICHAEL MOSS BRINGS CHAMBER JAZZ to CATSKILL’s BRIDGE ST THEATRE

Jazz reedman and composer Michael Moss brings his new group, Ensemble Bows, to perform his singular fusion of avant-garde jazz and orchestral music at Bridge Street Theater in Catskill, N.Y., on Saturday, December 9, at 7:30pm. The new combo includes Jason Kao Hwang (violin), Anthony Coleman (piano), James Ilgenfritz (contrabass), and Lenny Mims (cello). The group will perform Moss’s “Superstring” (a chamber jazz “blowing tune” with a “head” and a solo section in which players are backed by the group playing a repetitive phrase which in Indian classical music is called a nugma), “Abyss” (which expresses the pain and suffering of people who are in religious groups scapegoated by other religious groups), “Elegy for Danny” (a musical reflection of the arc of a life, inspired by Moss’s brother-in-law Danny’s final approach to early death from cancer), and “Ain Soph Aur” (a musical interpretation of the Jewish mystical philosophy called Kabbalah). (Sat, Dec 9)

CELLIST OLIVER HERBERT PERFORMS RARELY HEARD MASTERWORKS at UNION COLLEGE

Cellist Oliver Herbert will perform rarely heard masterworks by Saint-Saëns, Shostakovich, Schnittke, and Poulenc, at Union College’s Memorial Chapel in Schenectady, N.Y., on Sunday, December 10, at 3pm. Pianist Xiaohui Yang will accompany Herbert, the recipient of a 2021 Avery Fisher Career Grant, in the concert presented by Capital Region Classical. (Sun, Dec 10)

Redshift Trio (with drummer Allison Miller)

REDSHIFT TRIO BRINGS NEW JAZZ to AVALON in CATSKILL

Grammy Award-winning trumpeter Josh Deutsch and guitarist Nico Soffiato bring their Redshift Trio to Avalon Lounge in Catskill, N.Y., on Sunday, December 10, at 8pm, and Quinn’s in Beacon, N.Y., on Monday December 11. Deutsch and Soffiato have been working together since 2006 and recently formed Redshift Trio, which plays a blend of original compositions and works by Sufjan Stevens, Big Thief, and Robert Schumann. Reviewing the trio’s latest album, called Redshift, All About Jazz wrote, “While guests, instrument changes, recognizable material, and intriguing structural devices all contribute to the success of this recording, the album’s strongest selling point is simply the relationship between Deutsch and Soffiato. There’s a comfort level in their exchanges that makes this music a pleasure to behold, regardless of complexity or intensity.” (Sun, Dec 10; Mon, Dec 11)

ALSO OF NOTE:

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)

Bob Meyer and his Circular Quartet pay tribute to composer-musician Bert Wilson at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield, Mass. (Fri, Dec 8, 8pm)

Everett Bradley brings his Holidelic funk revue to Kaatsbaan (Fri-Sat, Dec 8-9, Dec 15-16)

Singer-songwriter Melissa Ferrick performs at WAMC’s Performing Arts Studio The Linda (Fri, Dec 8, 8pm)

Maxine Lyle’s Step Show: The Musical -- showcasing African American step dance and its role in Black college life -- gets a work-in-progress showing in the Hunter Center at MASS MoCA (Sat, Dec 9, 8pm)

Veteran a cappella quartet Windborne brings its harmonies and songs of social activism to the Stissing Center in Pine Plains, N.Y. (Sat, Dec 9, 7pm)

Pianist Yefim Bronfman joins the Albany Symphony Orchestra to perform Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 2 at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. (Sat-Sun, Dec 9-10)

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The Rogovoy Report