The Rogovoy Report: Berkshire and Hudson Valley Cultural Preview
Apr 4-13, 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 …
MIKEL JOLLETT of AIRBORNE TOXIC EVENT SPEAKS on TRAUMA and CREATIVITY at WILLIAMS COLLEGE
Mikel Jollett, frontman for the world-renowned indie rock group, The Airborne Toxic Event, will give a talk at Williams College entitled Trauma and Creativity: How Your Experience Becomes Your Purpose, on Tuesday, April 4, at 7:30pm, at the ‘62 Center on the Williams campus in Williamstown, Mass. Jollett is the author of the memoir Hollywood Park, in which he recounts his experience growing up in a cult, eventually escaping with his mother only to face a life steeped in poverty, abuse, violence, alcoholism, drug addiction, before finding an outlet in writing and music. (Tue, Apr 4)
ESCHER QUARTET PLAYS MENDELSSOHN, BEETHOVEN, CRAWFORD SEEGER at WILLIAMS COLLEGE
The Escher Quartet will perform works by Mendelssohn, Beethoven, and Ruth Crawford Seeger in a free concert at Brooks-Rogers Recital Hall on the Williams College campus in Williamstown, Mass., on Thursday, April 6, at 7:30pm. The New York City-based ensemble serves as season artists of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. The Escher takes its name from the Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher, inspired by Escher’s method of interplay between individual components working together to form a whole. (Thu, Apr 6)
LAUFEY BRINGS JAZZ-POP SOUNDS to THE MAHAIWE
Icelandic-Chinese singer-songwriter Laufey brings her sophisticated brand of pre-rock pop and jazz songs to the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington, Mass., on Friday, April 7, at 8pm. Raised between Reykjavík and Washington, D.C., Laufey makes music that is the byproduct of rich cultural heritages and mixed musical influences. Inspired in part by her mother, a classical violinist, Laufey took up piano and cello early on. But it wasn’t until deep-diving into her father’s record collection, consisting of jazz artists Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday, that she launched into her musical journey, resulting in her distinct blend of tender jazz melodies and slow-burning R&B grooves. (Fri, Apr 7)
GUITARIST JOHN SCOFIELD PLAYS RARE SOLO GIG in WOODSTOCK
A triple Grammy Award-winning artist with more than 40 recordings to his credit, John Scofield is a genre-hopping guitarist fluent in bebop, blues, jazz-funk, fusion, acoustic chamber jazz, electronically tinged groove music, jam band style and orchestral music. Scofield puts all this aside when he plays a rare solo gig at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, N.Y., on Friday, April 7, at 8pm. (Fri, Apr 7)
DORMESHIA BRINGS MODERN TAP to MASS MoCA
Dormeshia, whom the New York Times has labeled “the queen of tap,” brings her Dormeshia Tap Collective and a jazz trio to the Hunter Center at MASS MoCA in North Adams, Mass., on Saturday, April 8, at 8pm, in a program called Rhythm Is Life, a co-presentation of Jacob's Pillow. The recipient of two Bessie Awards, a Princess Grace Award, an Astaire Award, the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award, as well as the Doris Duke Artist Award, Dormeshia is “so deeply versed in tap tradition and technique that she has the whole of it at her command,” says the Times. (Sat, Apr 8)
MELVIN SEALS & JGB BRING JAM-BAND SOUNDS to COHOES
Melvin Seals & JGB keep the spirit of Jerry Garcia alive when they truck into Cohoes Music Hall in Cohoes, N.Y., on Saturday, April 8, at 8pm. Melvin Seals is most revered for his powerful, high-spirited Hammond B-3 organ and keyboards he played in the Jerry Garcia Band. (Sat, Apr 8)
THE ORCHESTRA NOW PLAYS BARTOK, RAVEL and FRANK at BARD FISHER CENTER
Canadian conductor Naomi Woo, the assistant conductor of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, leads The Orchestra Now in a program featuring works by Bartók, Ravel, and Gabriela Lena Frank, at Bard’s Fisher Center on Saturday, April 8, at 7pm. Soloists include Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award winner Stella Chen, performing Bartók's Violin Concerto No. 2. (Sat, Apr 8)
ANDREW VICTOR BRINGS GENTLE ORIGINAL FOLK to SHEFFIELD
Singer-songwriter Andrew Victor brings his gentle, intimate, original folk music to Down County Social Club at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield, Mass., on Thursday, April 13, at 8pm. Victor reminds a listener of Jeff Buckley and Sam Smith. (Thu, Apr 13)
Roll Call: Founding Members
Anne Fredericks
Anonymous (4)
Erik Bruun
Benno Friedman
Richard Koplin
Steve and Helice Picheny
Rhonda Rosenheck
Elisa Spungen and Rob Bildner/Berkshires Farm Table Cookbook