Retro-soul chanteuse Kat Edmonson brings her unique, self-described “vintage pop” sounds to Club B-10 at MASS MoCA on Saturday at 8pm. A sweet singer with a uniquely expressive voice, Edmonson’s style defies easy categorization, rooted in jazz but pulling liberally from rock, classic pop, country, classical, ethnic music, and folk. To me, her vocals sound like a blend of Billie Holiday, Macy Gray and Emmylou Harris.
Pianist Andre-Michel Schub will play works by Beethoven, Schubert and Chopin in a free recital in Chapin Hall at Williams College as part of the Williams Visiting Artist series on Sunday, at 3pm.
The film “Darius Goes West,” which received the Berkshire International Film Festival Audience Award and Jury Prize Award for Best Documentary in 2007, gets a free, encore screening at the Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington on Sunday at 11am, as part of BIFF’s 10th anniversary season “Best of Fest” programming. Tracy Seckler, founder of Charley’s Fund, who is featured in the film, will be in attendance for a Q&A immediately following the film.
New-folk singer-songwriters Richard Shindell and Lucy Kaplansky, longtime friends and collaborators, will bring their new duo effort, the Pine Hill Project – devoted to performing the music of their contemporaries, including Gillian Welch, Dave Carter, the Band and U2 – to Club Helsinki Hudson on Saturday at 9pm. Americana icon and multi-instrumentalist Larry Campbell, a mainstay of the Woodstock music scene who produced the duo’s upcoming album, “Tomorrow You’re Going,” will warm up the crowd in a duo setting with his wife and musical partner, Teresa Williams, before leading the Pine Hill Project band.
Folk duo Anna & Elizabeth will bring their repertoire of Appalachian mountain tunes, ballads and stories to Dewey Hall in Sheffield on Tuesday, March 17, at 7pm.
“The Lives of Hamilton Fish,” a cinematic rock opera with live music performed by writer and director, Rachel Mason – who was interviewed by Joe Donahue right here on WAMC just yesterday - will be performed at the Hudson Opera House on Saturday at 7pm. For this performance, Mason will sing all of the songs live, synced to the film’s backing soundtrack.
And on Saturday evening from 6 to 8, it’s a veritable art crawl in downtown Hudson, with opening receptions taking place in at least half a dozen of the city’s most exciting art galleries.
At Carrie Haddad Gallery, “Richard Merkin: His Favorite Things,” a solo exhibit featuring definitive selections from the estate of the celebrated American painter, illustrator, and arts educator, Richard Merkin, will go on view through April 19. Merkin’s portfolio is a prolific survey of American art, music, literature and sports spanning four decades from the 1960s through the 2000s.
There will be an opening reception for solo exhibitions of paintings by Duncan Hannah and paintings and sculptures by Meg Lipke at Jeff Bailey Gallery on Saturday. The work by both artists will remain on view through April 19. Duncan Hannah is well known for his paintings of ships, cars and women. Meg Lipke’s new body of work began with a straightforward challenge: how to move beyond painting on a rectangular support.
Works by five artists exploring their unique visions and interior explorations go on view at Concepto Hudson on Saturday, and remain on exhibit through April 11. Artists featured in the show include Jane Dell, Fred Fleisher, Joan Fitzsimmons, Brant Moorefield, and MeridithPassabet. There are also openings at McDaris Fine Art and at Retrospective Gallery.
Seth Rogovoy is editor of Berkishire Daily and the Rogovoy Report, available online at rogovoyreport.com.