The cultural highlights for our region this weekend include classical music, reggae, lots of jazz, film music, theater … plus a whole lot more.
Skip Marley honors the legacy of his grandfather, Bob Marley, with an energetic blend of rock, rap, pop, and reggae, in concert at MASS MoCA in North Adams, on Saturday at 8pm. Be sure to arrive on time so as not to miss Philly-based rapper and producer Ivy Sole, who kicks off the evening with her funky, jazzy blend of urban storm, soul, and hip-hop.
Nina Simone: Four Women begins performances tonight at 7pm Outside In The Courtyard at The Unicorn Theatre in Stockbridge, Mass., and runs through Sunday, September 5, at 2pm. In the aftermath of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in 1963, singer, composer and pianist Nina Simone rocked the nation with “Four Women,” her tribute in song to the four young girls murdered. “Nina Simone: Four Women” meditates on Simone’s transition from a singer to an activist.
Two new productions are up and running at Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield. “Boca,” a collection of short comedies about seniors in the Sunshine State, portrays a group of retirees who, between rounds of golf, bridge and Botox, can be found bickering, gossiping and living it up like they’re teenagers all over again. “Sister Sorry,” by Alec Wilkinson, is loosely based on a stunning true crime confession, inspired by Wilkinson’s investigation, “The Confession,” originally published in The New Yorker.
At Tanglewood tonight, John Williams and Keith Lockhart share the podium for the perennially popular John Williams Film Night, performed by the Boston Pops Orchestra with excerpts from the films on the large screens.
The Knights, the adventurous young classical music ensemble founded by brothers Eric and Colin Jacobsen, perform Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring at Hancock Shaker Village’s Summer Gala on Saturday evening.
Project Grand Slam — the rock, jazz, and Latin fusion band led by acclaimed bassist/composer and longtime Stockbridge resident Robert Miller -- performs a benefit concert at the Tina Packer Playhouse at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox next Tuesday, August 17, at 8:30.
Berkshires Jazz presents its first outdoors headliner concert at the Gateways Inn in Lenox on Sunday at 4pm with Svetlana and the Delancey Five. The Russian-born Svetlana is an acclaimed New York City-based vocalist, composer, and bandleader, and her quintet, the Delancey Five, blends swing, straight-ahead jazz, and original material.
Speaking of jazz, the 15th Annual Hudson Jazzworks Concert, featuring Armen Donelian and Marc Mommaas with special guest bassist Rufus Reid and participants of the 2021 Hudson Jazz Workshop, takes place on Sunday at 4pm at the Hudson Opera House. Hudson Sankofa Black Arts & Cultural Festival & Parade 2021 celebrates sixty years in the Hudson Community this weekend. Events on Saturday and Sunday include theater, jazz, percussion ensembles, circus performers, spoken word, and gospel music.
Weekend Two of The Bard Music Festival addresses “The 20th-Century Legacy of Nadia Boulanger,” the pioneering Parisian pedagogue, composer, conductor, pianist, organist and indomitable personality who shaped more than a generation of musicians.
Seth Rogovoy is editor of the Rogovoy Report, available at rogovoyreport.com
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