The Rogovoy Report: Berkshire & Hudson Valley Cultural Preview

Oct 4-6, 2024

Oct 02, 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 …

SUZANNE VEGA BOOKENDS REGION

Suzanne Vega, one of the all-time great folk-rock singer-songwriters, bookends our region with two concerts, at Old Dutch Church in Kingston, N.Y., on Friday, October 4, at 8pm, and again at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington, Mass., on Saturday, October 5, at 8pm. Vega will be joined by her longtime guitarist, Gerry Leonard, for a career-spanning show, including favorites like “Tom’s Diner” and “Luka” plus her new single, “Rats.” (Fri, Oct 4; Sat, Oct 5)

Ethan Iverson (photo Keith Major/Blue Note Records)

THE BAD PLUS’s ETHAN IVERSON HEADLINES HUDSON JAZZ FEST

Pianist Ethan Iverson, a founding member of the game-changing jazz collective The Bad Plus, headlines the annual Hudson Jazz Festival, based at Hudson Hall in Hudson, N.Y., with a concert on Sunday, October 6, at 3pm. The festival will also include performances by Jazz at Lincoln Center’s rising star Ekep Nkwelle, performing her tribute to Ella Fitzgerald, and the Riley Mulherkar Quartet. (Fri, Oct 4-Sun, Oct 6)

RICHARD LLOYD BRINGS PATENTED PUNK-GUITAR SOUNDS to HUDSON

Richard Lloyd, legendary electric guitarist, singer-songwriter, and founding member of Television, a band that rose to fame with their 1977 debut release, Marquee Moon, will perform at Park Theater in Hudson, N.Y., on Saturday, October 5, at 7pm. Lloyd embarked on a solo career after Television disbanded, releasing seven solo albums. (Sat, Oct 5)

HALF WAIF CELEBRATES NEW ALBUM at PS21 in CHATHAM

Chatham-based singer-songwriter Half Waif will premiere songs from her new album, See You at the Maypole, at PS21 in Chatham, N.Y., on Saturday, October 5th, at 6pm. Half Waif’s sound blends lo-fi folk with electronica. Elori Saxl will warm up the crowd for Half Waif. (Sat, Oct 5)

LEON LEE DORSEY PAYS TRIBUTE to BILL EVANS at THE CLARK

Leon Lee Dorsey leads his jazz trio featuring drummer Mike Clark and pianist Michael Wolff at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Mass., on Saturday, October 5, at 7pm. On his latest album, A Letter to Bill Evans, acclaimed bassist Dorsey teams up with Clark and Wolff for a creative and heartfelt tribute to the legendary Bill Evans, featuring innovative interpretations of classics such as the bossa-infused “Gloria’s Step” and the stirring “Turn Out the Stars.” (Sat, Oct 5)

George Harrison author Seth Rogovoy (photo Franco Vogt)

SETH ROGOVOY to READ FROM and SIGN COPIES of NEW GEORGE HARRISON BOOK

Fresh on the heels of the publication of his new book, Within You Without You: Listening to George Harrison, Seth Rogovoy will be appearing at several book events in the region, including Spotty Dog Books in Hudson, N.Y., on Sunday, October 13, at 7pm (in conversation with filmmaker Stacy Cochran); The Bookstore in Lenox, Mass., on Sunday, October 27, at 4pm; and at the Chatham Bookstore in Chatham, N.Y., on Sunday, November 3, at 5pm (in conversation with Elena Siyanko, director of PS21: Center for Contemporary Performance). Beatles expert Kenneth Womack writes in his review for Salon, “Within You Without You accomplishes a rare feat. In a sea of ineffectual biographies devoted to the Beatles’ guitarist, Rogovoy makes a case for Harrison’s most important contribution: the music itself … Rogovoy’s eye towards soberly capturing the history of the Beatles with a welcome dose of critical objectivity makes Within You Without You required reading when it comes to the guitarist. It’s that good.” (Sun, Oct 13; Sun, Oct 27; Sun, Nov 3)

Also of note:

Victor Wooten & the Wooten Brothers bring their blend of jazz, funk, soul, R&B, rock, and bluegrass to Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, N.Y., on Thursday, October 3, at 8pm, and to the Troy (N.Y.) Savings Bank Music Hall on Monday, October 7, at 7:30pm.

Music from the Sole brings its evening-length work, I Didn’t Come to Stay, to MASS MoCA in North Adams, Mass., on Saturday, October 5, at 8pm. Brazilian tap dancer and choreographer Leonardo Sandoval and bassist/composer Gregory Richardson lead eight dancers and a five-piece band in a performance that explores tap’s lineage and connections to other Afro-Diasporic forms.

The Natalia Bernal “En Diablada” Quartet, featuring the Chilean-born vocalist backed by guitarist Jason Ennis, bassist Gregg August, and drummer Conor Meehan, brings its mixture of traditional Latin American songs, original compositions, and jazz standards to West Stockbridge Historical Society in West Stockbridge, Mass., on Saturday, October 5, at 7pm.

The Orchestra Now features the music of 20th century Mexican composers in Music Mexicana at the Bard Fisher Center on Saturday, October 5, at 7pm, and Sunday, October 6, at 2pm.

Rick Wakeman brings his “Final Solo Tour,” featuring an evening of music by the band Yes and other favorites, to Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in Troy, N.Y., on Sunday, October 6, at 7:30pm.

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The Rogovoy Report