The Rogovoy Report: Berkshire & Hudson Valley Cultural Preview
Oct 25-29, 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 …
SAM BUSH BRINGS PATENTED ‘NEWGRASS’ to PITTSFIELD's COLONIAL
2023 Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame inductee and multiple Grammy Award-winner Sam Bush, generally considered the “Father of Newgrass,” brings his innovative, modern approach to bluegrass and his virtuosic skills on the mandolin, fiddle and guitar to the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, Mass., on Wednesday, October 25, at 7:30pm. From his early days playing with New Grass Revival to his work as a solo artist, Bush has always pushed the boundaries of traditional bluegrass, incorporating elements of rock, jazz and even reggae into his music. (Wed, Oct 25)
R.B. SCHLATHER BRINGS NEW ‘RODELINDA’ to HUDSON HALL
Visionary stage director R.B. Schlather brings Rodelinda, the first in an ambitious, multi-year series of operas by G.F. Handel, to Hudson Hall, with performances on today through Sunday, October 29. Commissioned by Hudson Hall, the production features a stellar cast and a re-orchestration performed by early music group Ruckus. Envisioned as an ongoing collaboration to create opera for a new generation, this inaugural production builds on the extraordinary success of Schlather’s sold-out run of Virgil Thompson and Gertrude Stein’s The Mother of Us All at Hudson Hall in 2017, named one of the Best Musical Performances of the Year by the New York Times. In Rodelinda, a woman’s husband is missing, maybe dead. Her life as she knew it has disappeared. Villains invade her home, seeking to profit from her loss. To their surprise, she heroically overcomes her grief, defends her child and her home. After her husband’s dramatic reappearance, the evildoers are expelled, and marital order is restored. They begin again. (Tue-Sun, Oct 24-29)
CHRIS THILE JOINS THE KNIGHTS for NEW and OLD MUSIC at TROY MUSIC HALL
Adventurous modern classical ensemble The Knights join forces with virtuoso mandolinist/singer Chris Thile for a concert of works by Caroline Shaw, Dvorak, Bach, and Thile himself, featured in his “narrative song cycle for extroverted mandolinist and orchestra,” at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in Troy, N.Y., on Wednesday, October 25, at 7:30pm. The Knights' co-artistic director Colin Jacobsen will join Thile in a rendition of J.S. Bach’s Allegro from Double Violin Concerto in D Minor. Thile and the Knights will perform at Carnegie Hall the following evening. (Wed, Oct 25)
MY MORNING JACKET BRINGS MODERN-ROCK to ALBANY’s PALACE
Modern-rock group My Morning Jacket brings its unique blend of roots-rock and soul with experimental and psychedelic touches to the Palace Theatre in Albany, N.Y., on Wednesday, October 25, at 8pm. My Morning Jacket is often grouped with such other innovative, forward-facing rock groups as Radiohead and Wilco. (Wed, Oct 25)
VIOLIN-PIANO DUO BRING JANACEK, BEETHOVEN, MORE to PS21
Violinist Miranda Cuckson and pianist Blair McMillen, two internationally celebrated young artists noted for their innate expressivity, musical dexterity, and boundlessly evident love for music and live performance, return to PS21 in Chatham, N.Y., on Friday, October 27, at 7pm, with a program that includes works by Janacek, Beethoven, Prokofiev, and Ross Lee Finney. (Fri, Oct 27)
MICHELLE BRINGS SOULFUL INDIE-POP to MASS MoCA
New York indie-pop collective Michelle brings its jazzy melodies and R&B-influenced vocal to the Hunter Center at MASS MoCA in North Adams on Saturday, October 28, at 8pm. Michelle makes slick dream-pop with beats derived from the pounding of the city streets. Think of a more relaxed version of alt-rap group Luscious Jackson with 1990s vocal group-style harmonies. (Sat, Oct 28)
JOJO ABOT BRINGS MULTIMEDIA OPERA to RACE BROOK LODGE
Ghanaian artist Jojo Abot makes her Berkshires debut at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield, Mass., on Sunday, October 29, at 7pm. Born in Ghana and currently residing in Los Angeles, Jojo Abot is an interdisciplinary healer exploring evolving themes of spirituality, identity and community through music, film, fine art, fashion photography, and other expressions. Jojo will be in residence at Race Brook musically expanding on her immersive opera piece A God Of Her Own Making. (Sun, Oct 29)
ALSO OF NOTE:
Swedish soprano Camilla Tilling and pianist Emanuel Ax at Union College (Sun, Oct 29, 3pm)
Tom Gold Dance brings new works The Sandman and The Golem to Shakespeare & Company (Sat, Oct 28, 2pm)
West Stockbridge Chamber Players play works by Mozart, Eva Wasserman-Margolis, and Gideon Klein at Old Town Hall in West Stockbridge (Sun, Oct 29, 6pm)
Violinist Jamecyn Morey and pianist Noah Palmer play works of mid-20th century American Romantic Modernism at Roe Jan Library in Copake, N.Y. (Sun, Oct 29, 3pm)
Blood, Sweat & Tears cofounder Steve Katz and indie-rocker Patti Rothberg play the Linda in Albany, N.Y. (Fri, Oct 27, 8pm)
The Grammy Award-nominated Wood Brothers bring American roots music to Albany's Palace Theatre (Sat, Oct 28, 8pm)
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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