The Rogovoy Report: Berkshire & Hudson Valley Cultural Preview
The Rogovoy Report: Berkshire & Hudson Valley Cultural Preview
May 31-Jun 6, 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 …
HUBBY JENKINS BRINGS ROOTS MUSIC to GUTHRIE CENTER
Multi-instrumentalist Hubby Jenkins brings his unadulterated, virtuosic roots music to the Guthrie Center in Great Barrington, Mass., on Saturday, June 1, at 8pm. A former member of the Grammy Award-winning roots-music ensemble Carolina Chocolate Drops who still works with Rhiannon Giddens, Jenkins follows the thread of African American history that wove itself through country blues, ragtime, fiddle and banjo, and traditional jazz. (Sat, Jun 1)
FAMED KLEZMER CLARINETIST MARGOT LEVERETT to PERFORM at CHATHAM SYNAGOGUE
Margot Leverett, one of the greatest living exponents of klezmer clarinet, will be joined by her trio for a free concert, open to the public, at the Chatham Synagogue on Friday, May 31, at 7:45pm. A founding member of the Grammy Award-winning modern klezmer group the Klezmatics, a cofounder of the all-women klezmer supergroup Mikveh, and the leader of Margot Leverett and the Klezmer Mountain Boys, Leverett has been performing klezmer – the festive music based in the sounds of Eastern-European Jewish wedding bands of the 19th century — for more than 40 years. Leverett’s appearance is part of a special musical evening ushering in the Sabbath at the unaffiliated, lay-led house of Jewish worship housed in the former Chatham Town Hall in the hamlet of Chatham Center. The evening service, or Kabbalat Shabbat, begins at 6pm, followed by a light dinner (requiring advance reservations). The klezmer concert will begin at 7:45pm. (Fri, May 31)
JOE JACKSON BRINGS MUSIC of ‘MAX CHAMPION’ to THE EGG
Pop-rock singer-songwriter Joe Jackson brings his Two Rounds of Racket tour to the Egg in Albany, N.Y., on Friday, May 31, at 8pm. The program consists of a solo set of Joe Jackson's beloved power-pop, including such hits as “Is She Really Going Out with Him?”, “Steppin’ Out,” and “It’s Different for Girls,” and a tribute to the fictional English music-hall performer Max Champion, for which Jackson will be joined by a nine-piece band. (Fri, May 31)
HOLOCAUST DOCUMENTARY GETS SCREENING at THE BIFF
The Berkshire International Film Festival takes place this weekend at the Triplex in Great Barrington, Mass., featuring over five dozen films from around the world, including UnBroken, which documents the true story of the plight of the seven Weber siblings who, following their mother’s murder at Auschwitz, evaded certain capture and death as mere children in war-torn Nazi Germany. The film will be screened on Friday, May 31, at 1:30pm, and will include a Q&A with director Beth Lane. (Fri, May 31)
ARUM RAE BRINGS MOODY INDIE-ROCK to HUDSON
Wisconsin-based singer-songwriter Arum Rae brings her haunting, rootsy indie-rock to the Park Theater in Hudson, N.Y., on Saturday, June 1, at 8pm. Rae’s quiet textures and vulnerable vocals establish an intimacy with her listeners, while occasionally veering into modern electro-folk territory, emphasizing the rhythmic pulse at the core of her original compositions. (Sat, Jun 1)
TINSLEY ELLIS BRINGS ACOUSTIC BLUES to CAFFÉ LENA
Guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Tinsley Ellis will celebrate the release of his first-ever solo acoustic album, Naked Truth, swapping out the blistering, electric blues for which he is best known in favor of the folk blues traditions of Skip James, Son House, Robert Johnson, and Leo Kottke, with a live solo acoustic performance at Caffé Lena in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., on Sunday, June 2, at 7pm. (Sun, Jun 2)
REES SHAD BRINGS ‘GALAHAD BLUES’ to PORCHES
Great Barrington, Mass.-based singer-songwriter Rees Shad brings his new album, The Galahad Blues, to Studio 9 at the Porches Hotel in North Adams, Mass., on Tuesday, June 4, at 7pm. The Galahad Blues reimagines the story of The Knights of the Round Table, recast as gangsters in King Arthur’s Camelot as a 1940s Chicago nightclub. Rees will be joined by his band The Conversations, joined by the likes of Tony Aiello (Joe Jackson, Southside Johnny), Larry Campbell (Bob Dylan, Sheryl Crow, Paul Simon), Ira Coleman (Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams, Sting) and Tom Major (Bo Diddley, Pousette-Dart). (Tue, Jun 4)
KENDRA McKINLEY BRINGS CHAMBER FOLK to RACE BROOK LODGE
Hudson, N.Y.-based singer-songwriter Kendra McKinley brings her ethereal, rootsy chamber-folk to the Down County Social Club at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield, Mass., on Thursday, June 6, at 8pm. McKinley sings in an otherworldly voice that conjures the early 20th century and writes what she calls “music for smoking weed with your bra off.” (Thu, Jun 6)
Also of note:
The Lovestruck Balladeers bring their blend of old-time jazz, swing, country, waltzes, ragtime, vaudeville, music hall, and more to Spencertown Academy in Spencertown, N.Y., on Friday, May 31, at 8pm.
Morgan O’Kane and Ezekiel Healy bring their singular brand of roots and bluegrass music infused with punk energy to the Dream Away Lodge in Becket, Mass., on Saturday, June 1, at 8pm.
World-renowned sitar virtuoso Ustad Shafaat Khan brings the sounds of northern Indian classical music to Bridge Street Theatre in Catskill, N.Y., on Saturday, June 1, at 7:30pm.
Cellist Peter Stumpf and pianist Xiaohui Yang perform sonatas by Beethoven, Debussy, and Chopin at the Darrow School in New Lebanon, N.Y., on Saturday, June 1, at 7:30pm, as part of the 2024 Tannery Pond Season presented by Capital Region Classical.
Typically we don’t talk about tribute acts or cover bands here, but this week I’m making an exception for the exceptional Robert Burke Warren, who will perform his loyal and loving interpretations of the music of David Bowie with his five-piece band for “Bowie Bash” at WAMC’s Performing Arts Studio the Linda on Saturday, June 1, at 8pm.
Six-time Grammy Award winner Don Was brings his new jazz-funk band, the Pan-Detroit Ensemble, to Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, N.Y., on Saturday, June 1, at 8pm.
Cellist Michael Finckel headlines a concert paying tribute to Vermont composers including Louis Calabro, Derrick Jordan, Lionel Nowak, and Allen Shawn at the Bennington Museum on Sunday, June 2, at 2pm. Performers include Yoshiko Sato (piano), Nathaniel Parke (cello), and Michael Wimberly (percussion).
Berkshire Lyric performs Bruckner’s Mass in F Minor along with works by Brahms and Arvo Pärt in Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood in Lenox, Mass., on Sunday, June 2, at 3pm.
Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, and guitarist Bonnie Raitt brings “Just Like That” tour, featuring her unique blend of blues, R&B, rock, and pop, to the Palace Theatre in Albany, N.Y., on Tuesday, June 4, at 8pm.
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Roll Call: Founding Members
Anne Fredericks
Anonymous (7)
Susan Bang
Erik Bruun
Nadine Habousha Cohen
Fred Collins
Fluffforager
Benno Friedman
Amy and Howard Friedner
Jackie and Larry Horn
Richard Koplin
Paul Paradiso
Steve and Helice Picheny
David Rubman
Spencertown Academy Arts Center
Elisa Spungen and Rob Bildner/Berkshires Farm Table Cookbook
Julie Abraham Stone
Mary Herr Tally