The Rogovoy Report: Berkshire & Hudson Valley Cultural Preview
Sep 15-21, 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 …
BAND OF HEATHENS BRINGS ROOTS-ROCK to DALTON and WOODSTOCK
The Band of Heathens bring their unique blend of roots-rock to the Stationery Factory in Dalton, Mass., on Friday, September 15, at 7:30pm, and to Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, N.Y., on Saturday, September 16, at 8pm. The Austin-based group, formed in 2005, incorporates influences from Americana, country blues, jam-rock, and R&B to create their heartfelt brand of rock ‘n’ roll. (Fri, Sept 15)
THE ORCHESTRA NOW PRESENTS ‘TWO SIDES OF VIENNA’ at BARD
The Orchestra Now, under the direction of Leon Botstein, will play works by Franz Lehár, Eduard Strauss, Johann Strauss II, and Gustav Mahler in Two Side of Vienna, a program juxtaposing two distinct styles of Viennese music from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, at the Bard Fisher Center in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y., on Friday, September 15, at 11am (open rehearsal); Saturday, September 16, at 7pm; and Sunday, September 17, at 2pm. The concert opens with an overture of music from Lehár’s 1905 operetta The Merry Widow, followed by two dance pieces: Eduard Strauss’s train-themed polka Bahn frei!, and his brother Johann Jr.’s majestic Emperor Waltz, and concluding with Mahler’s deeply personal and darkly passionate Symphony No. 6. (Fri-Sun, Sept 15-17)
TOM CHAPIN PERFORMS at GUTHRIE CENTER
Singer-songwriter Tom Chapin brings his finely honed collection of songs and stories to the Guthrie Center in Great Barrington, Mass., on Saturday, September 16, at 8pm. In addition to his work as a recording artist, concert performer, storyteller and activist, the Hudson Valley troubadour and three-time Grammy Award winner has performed on Broadway and worked extensively in television, radio and film. (Sat, Sept 16)
WANJIRU KAMUYU BRINGS ‘IMMIGRANT STORY’ DANCE to PS21
Dancer/choreographer Wanjiru Kamuyu brings her one-woman performance piece, An Immigrant’s Story, to PS21 in Chatham, N.Y., on Saturday, September 16, at 7pm. Kamuyu’s dance reveals her career arc from ballet to contemporary dance and draws upon influences from the African continent and diasporas as well as Japanese butoh. The program questions the notions of place, belonging and otherness. (Sat, Sept 16)
FILM-FEST HONORING JAMES IVORY at HUDSON HALL
Filmmaker James Ivory will be feted with a two-day celebration of his work as a multi-award-winning screenwriter, director, and producer at Hudson Hall in Hudson, N.Y., on Saturday, September 16, and Sunday, September 17. Ivory will be on hand for discussions and Q&As before and after screenings of The Bostonians, Call Me By Your Name, and Shakespeare Wallah. (Sat-Sun, Sept 16-17)
SENSELESS OPTIMISM BRINGS NEO-SOUL to THE CLARK
Senseless Optimism, the musical alter-ego of Eastern Massachusetts-based neo-soul singer-songwriter Brittany Tsewole, brings her jazzy, rock-influenced contemporary sounds to the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Mass., on Sunday, September 17, at 5pm. Wendy Eisenberg, who uses guitar, pedals, tenor banjo, computer, synthesizer, and voice in a blend of jazz, noise, avant-rock, and delicate balladry, is also on the bill. (Sun, Sept 17)
JULIANI TRIO to PLAY BEETHOVEN, HAYDN for SAUGERTIES PRO MUSICA
The Juliani Ensemble will perform works by Halvorsen, Haydn, Danzi, Piazzola, and Beethoven as part of the Saugerties Pro Musica series at the Saugerties United Methodist Church in Saugerties, N.Y., on Sunday, September 17, at 3pm. The Chicago-based family trio features flute, cello and violin/viola. (Sun, Sept 17)
‘CROCE PLAYS CROCE’ at the BARDAVON
A.J. Croce brings Croce Plays Croce, featuring a complete set of classics by his late father Jim Croce, to the Bardavon in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., on Sunday, September 17, at 7pm. Croce will perform songs by his father, including “Operator,” “You Don’t Mess Around with Jim,” and “Time in a Bottle,” as well as some of his own songs and numbers by Leiber & Stoller, Bessie Smith, and other folk and roots artists. (Sun, Sept 17)
GRACE POTTER BRINGS ROCK INTIMACY to THE EGG
Rock singer-songwriter Grace Potter brings her signature blend of rootsy sounds with well-observed, intimate lyrics to the Egg in Albany, N.Y., on Sunday, September 17, at 7pm. Potter merges influences as varied as The Band, Elvis Costello, Rolling Stones, glam-rock, Southern rock, Beatlesque pop, blues, country, folk, spaghetti Western, girl-group, mariachi, soul, synth-pop, and Janis Joplin to come up with her adventurous and original style of rock ‘n’ roll, propelling highly personal and confessional story-songs that have earned her multiple Grammy Award nominations. (Sun, Sept 17)
ELECTRIC HOT TUNA BRINGS FAREWELL TOUR to ALBANY and KINGSTON
Guitarist Jorma Kaukonen and bassist Jack Casady bring electric Hot Tuna’s farewell Going Fishing tour to the Egg in Albany, N.Y., on Wednesday, September 20, at 7:30pm, and to UPAC in Kingston, N.Y., on Thursday, September 21, at 7:30pm. Hot Tuna began as a 1969 side project to Jefferson Airplane, in which Kaukonen and Casady would explore their love of folk-, country-, and electric blues. Fifty-four years later, the duo brings down the curtain on electric Hot Tuna -- presumably leaving room for acoustic Hot Tuna to continue as a going concern. (Wed-Thu, Sept 20-21)
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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