The cultural highlights in our region this weekend include a living legend of folk-gospel; Grammy Award-winning bluegrass; choral music; Americana music; Florence Foster Jenkins; and a whole lot more.
Mavis Staples, a scion of America’s first family of socially conscious soul-gospel music and a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, brings her unique blend of gospel, soul, folk, pop, R&B, blues, and rock to the Hunter Center at MASS MoCA in North Adams, Mass., on Saturday at 8pm. If you’ve never seen Mavis Staples, now would be a good time.
Grammy Award-winning outfit Steep Canyon Rangers brings its distinctive brand of modern bluegrass to the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington, Mass., on Sunday at 7pm. Joining them will be special guest banjoist Noam Pikelny of Punch Brothers. Perhaps best known as Steve Martin’s backup band, the Steep Canyon Rangers on their own are at the top of the contemporary bluegrass heap.
Artist Setsuko Sato Winchester will discuss “The Yellow Bowl Project,” her new conceptual work exploring freedom, at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Mass., on Saturday at 5:30pm. Ms. Winchester will be joined and interviewed during the evening by her husband, noted author and journalist Simon Winchester.
The Cantilena Chamber Choir will showcase the music of Bach, Brahms, and other composers at Saint James Place in Great Barrington, Mass., on Sunday at 3pm. The concert will highlight the more famous works by these two composers as well as their contemporaries.
“30under30,” a multimedia exhibition featuring works by 30 young artists – most of them still in their mid-20s and hailing from or currently living in or around the Berkshires - is on view at No. Six Depot Gallery in West Stockbridge Mass., now through Sunday, April 30.
Interlock, an exhibit that explores the tensions of color and contrast in minimal abstraction, featuring contemporary paintings by artists Donise English, Paul Katz, and Ralph Stout, as well as paintings on canvas and paper from the estates of Edward Avedisian and Stephen Brophy, is on view at Carrie Haddad Gallery in Hudson, N.Y., now through Sunday, April 30. A reception for the artists takes place on Saturday from 5 to 7pm.
Alt-country singer-songwriter Langhorne Slim brings his poignant, confessional lyrics and his melodic style to Club Helsinki Hudson on Sunday at 8pm. Caroline Spence, a country-based singer-songwriter from Virginia, warms up the crowd for Slim.
“Souvenir: A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins,” a musical about history’s worst opera singer, runs this weekend at Bridge Street Theatre in Catskill, N.Y. Playgoers may be familiar with the story of Jenkins from last year’s film starring Meryl Streep.
Seth Rogovoy is editor of Berkishire Daily and the Rogovoy Report, available online at rogovoyreport.com