The weekend’s cultural highlights in the region include the return of new-wave legends; the conclusion of a monthlong dance festival; a reggae legend, art openings; chamber music; and a whole lot more.
The curtain comes down on the third annual Chatham Dance Festival, a month-long celebration of American dance at PS21 in Chatham, N.Y, with Parsons Dance, in its 11th consecutive appearance at PS21, tonight and Saturday night at 8pm. The modern dance ensemble will present new work as well as company repertoire by artistic director David Parsons.
Reggae legend Everton Blender brings his signature fusion of classic roots and dancehall rhythms to Courtyard C at MASS MoCA in North Adams, Mass., on Saturday at 8pm. Everton Blender is best known for his spiritually uplifting themes that infuse deeply rooted cultural pride, making him a powerful presence in the world of Jamaican culture.
The summerlong party continues at Tanglewood in Lenox, Mass., tonight at 8pm, when new-wave avatars the B-52s are joined by Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops Orchestra for a trip back to the early 1980s, when the then-Athens, Ga.-based band ruled MTV with their creative videos for their danceable, space-rock hits including “Love Shack,” “Rock Lobster,” “Private Idaho,” and “Roam.” Thirty-five years later, the group still boasts the front line of founding vocalists Kate Pierson, Fred Schneider and Cindy Wilson. Some say they’re from Mars. But I know they came from Planet Claire.
Spencertown Academy’s 11th annual Festival of Books, featuring a giant used book sale, two days of discussions with and readings by authors, and a children’s program, takes place this weekend from Saturday through Monday. Featured authors this year include Elizabeth Brundage, Michelle Hoover, Courtney Maum, Ruth Reichl, Russell Shorto, Will Swift, Mark Wunderlich, and Steve Yarbrough.
Works by Melissa Matsuki Lillie will be featured in the BerkshireNow gallery space at Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, Mass., starting today and running through Sunday, November 20. The exhibition opens with a reception this evening from 5 to 8pm, in conjunction with Pittsfield’s First Fridays Artswalk, when the museum’s BerkshireNow gallery is open to the public at no cost.
Leading players of The Orchestra Now and the Juilliard School will perform works by Charles Ives, Elliott Carter, and AntoninDvorak on the Spencer Terrace of the Lunder Center at Stone Hill at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Mass., on Saturday at 3 pm. The chamber music repertoire in this free concert is inspired by the Clark’s exhibition “Sensing Place: Reflecting on Stone Hill,” which remains on view through October 10.
Dave and Phil Alvin, who cofounded seminal early LA punk-roots band The Blasters in 1979, bring their brotherly reunion tour to Club Helsinki Hudson on Saturday at 9pm. The brothers are making up for lost time, which also happens to be the name of their most recent album, “Lost Time.” Helsinki Hudson’s favorite goddess of twang-rock, Sarah Borges, will warm up the crowd for this celebration of the enduring power of brotherly love.
Carrie Haddad Gallery celebrates the new exhibition “Abstraction,” featuring painting, sculpture, and collage by Robert C. Morgan, Jack Walls, Bruce Murphy, Gabriel de la Portilla, and Joe Wheaton, with an artist’s reception on Saturday from 5 to 7pm, and remains on view through October 16.
Seth Rogovoy is editor of Berkishire Daily and the Rogovoy Report, available online at rogovoyreport.com
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