Arts & Culture

WAMC's Brian Shields speaks with Nippertown's Greg Haymes about his weekend music picks:

1. Rick Rourke & Lost Wages' "Rose-Colored Glasses" from his album Three Sides to Every Story,   performing at the Albany Tulip Festival on the Lakehouse Stage in Washington Park at 3:30 on Saturday.

2. Eastbound Jesus' "Waitin' On the Sun" from their new album Northern Rock, performing at the Albany Tulip Festival on the Lakehouse Stage in Washington Park at 4:45 on Sunday.

    The inaugural Orpheum Dance Festival is hosting the residency of the Paul Taylor 2 Dance Company (Taylor 2), the outreach and education wing of the Paul Taylor Dance Company, at the Orpheum Performing Arts Center in Tannersville, NY for three weeks through May 26th.

    Comedian and multi-media powerhouse, Mo’Nique, will perform four shows at Levity Live in West Nyack, NY this weekend - two on Friday and two on Saturday.

In 1999, Mo’Nique’s career took a quantum leap once she landed the starring role as Nikki Parker on UPN’s hit television series, “The Parkers.” Mo’Nique was also the first female to host NBC’s nationally televised program, “Showtime at the Apollo” in 2002. She carried the legendary torch for three consecutive seasons. In 2010 she won the Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for the film, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire.

    In 1983, Huey Lewis and The News released their third album, Sports.

The songs on Sports are "The Heart of Rock & Roll," "Heart and Soul," "Bad Is Bad," "I Want a New Drug," “Walking on a Thin Line," "Finally Found a Home," "If This Is It," “You Crack Me Up," and "Honky Tonk Blues" (of course, a Hank Williams song). The band aimed each song toward becoming a radio single - during a time in the music industry when that what made the difference between sales and slipping into oblivion.