The Rogovoy Report: Berkshire and Hudson Valley Cultural Preview
Mar 21-30, 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 …
BRUCE HORNSBY PLAYS SOLO at TROY MUSIC HALL
Singer-songwriter and pianist Bruce Hornsby returns to Troy (N.Y.) Savings Bank Music Hall for a solo performance on Thursday, March 23, at 7:30pm. Best known for his huge debut hit, "The Way It Is," Hornsby also helped make Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can't Make You Love Me” a hit in 1991. Additionally, Hornsby was a part-time member of the Grateful Dead from 1990 to 1992, and he has appeared on albums by Bob Dylan, Don Henley, Stevie Nicks, Bob Seger, Chaka Khan, Bon Iver, Sting, Mavis Staples, and Willie Nelson. Hornsby will back in the region on June 23, when he warms up the crowd for the Steve Miller Band at Tanglewood. (Thu, Mar 23)
AMADOU & MARIAM BRING AFROPOP SOUNDS to THE BARDAVON
Afropop duo Amadou & Mariam bring their cool, funky and soulful fusion of traditional Malian sounds and contemporary electronic dance music to the Bardavon in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., on Friday, March 24, at 8pm. The husband-and-wife duo have collaborated with the likes of Damon Albarn, TV on the Radio, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. (Fri, Mar 24)
BEPPE GAMBETTA BRINGS ACOUSTIC GUITAR FLAIR to CAFFE LENA
World-renowned guitarist Beppe Gambetta brings his acoustic flatpicking skills to Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., on Friday, March 24, at 8pm. A native of Genoa, Italy, where he still lives, Gambetta fell in love with the sounds of Doc Watson, and has performed with the likes of David Grisman, Gene Parsons, Norman Blake, and Tony Trischka. (Fri, Mar 24)
EMMA DONOVAN BRINGS AUSTRALIAN FUNK-PROTEST to TROY
Emma Donovan and the Putbacks bring their blend of funk and soul music with the protest music of indigenous Australia to the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in Troy, N.Y., on Friday, March 24, at 7:30pm. (Fri, Mar 24)
PAOLA PRESTINI TAKES ON HEMINGWAY’S ‘OLD MAN’ at MASS MoCA
Composer and National Sawdust co-founder Paola Prestini returns to MASS MoCA in North Adams on Saturday, March 25, at 8pm, with a work-in-progress preview of her new opera, The Old Man and the Sea. The piece interweaves Hemingway’s classic fable with original portraits of quotidian life to create a look at aging, legacy, and our relationship to oceans. (Sat, Mar 25)
BINDLESTIFF FAMILY CIRKUS PLAYS HUDSON HALL
Hudson’s own Bindlestiff Family Cirkus returns to Hudson Hall in Hudson, N.Y., on Saturday, March 25, for two programs, a family-friendly matinee at 3pm and a cabaret-style show for adults at 7pm. Both feature aerial acts, acrobatics, balancing feats, sword swallowing, juggling, physical comedy, and more performed by internationally renowned street performers, acts from Cirque du Soleil, Ringling Brothers, and artists made known by America's Got Talent. Live music will be provided by Sabrina Chap, and the evening show will feature burlesque artist Boo Boo Darlin’. (Sat, Mar 25)
CONCERTS IN THE VILLAGE MAKES BERKSHIRE DEBUT in STOCKBRIDGE
Concerts in the Village makes its Berkshire debut on Saturday, March 25, at 2:30pm, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Churchin Stockbridge, Mass., with a program called Singing with Strings, featuring works by Barber, Butterworth, Puccini, Vaughn Williams, and Verdi. Vocalists include Eric Finbarr Carey, Hailey McAvoy, and Jonathan Lawlor, accompanied by the Broad Street Chamber Players. The program will be repeated at CITV’s home base at Van Buren Hall in Kinderhook, N.Y., on Sunday, March 26, at 3pm. (Sat, Mar 25/Sun Mar 26)
BLUES-ROCK LEGEND STEVE KATZ BRINGS STORY and SONG to SPENCERTOWN
Guitarist and singer Steve Katz, a founding member of the Blues Project and Blood Sweat & Tears, brings his Night of Story and Song to the Spencertown Academy in Spencertown, N.Y., on Saturday, March 25, at 8pm. The Brooklyn-born Katz got his start in show biz in the late fifties on a local Schenectady, N.Y., television program called Teenage Barn. Accompanied by piano, he would sing such hits of the day as “Tammy” and “April Love.” (Sat, Mar 25)
A CLOSE ENCOUNTER WITH MUSSORGSKY at THE MAHAIWE
Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition,” a work in ten movements inspired by a visit to an art exhibition that challenges the greatest of piano soloists, is on tap when Close Encounters with Music performs at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington, Mass., on Sunday, March 26, at 4pm. Braving the 88 keys will be Max Levinson, accompanied by soprano Danielle Talamantes and cellist Yehuda Hanani. The program will also include works by Liszt and Debussy. (Sun, Mar 26)
PAUL LEWIS PLAYS SCHUBERT PIANO SONATAS at UNION COLLEGE
World-renowned pianist Paul Lewis will present the second half of a two-part survey of Schubert’s piano sonatas at Union College’s Memorial Chapel in Schenectady, N.Y., on Sunday, March 26, at 3pm, as part of the Capital Region Classical series. (Sun, Mar 26)
AL STEWART BRINGS 1970s SOFT-ROCK HITS to THE EGG
Singer-songwriter Al Stewart, whom you will recall for his 1970s soft-rock hits “Time Passages” and “Year of the Cat,” will be joined by Chicago-based roots rockers the Empty Pockets for a concert at the Egg in Albany, N.Y., on Sunday, March 26, at 7pm. (Sun, Mar 26)
Roll Call: Founding Members
Anne Fredericks
Anonymous (3)
Erik Bruun
Benno Friedman
Richard Koplin
Steve and Helice Picheny
Rhonda Rosenheck
Elisa Spungen and Rob Bildner/Berkshires Farm Table Cookbook