Tonight at 8 at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington, Mass., the Dirty Dozen Brass Band from New Orleans pairs up with the Squirrel Nut Zippers and their eclectic blend of 1930s-era jazz, swing, and folk, which will see the bands performing separately and together. (Fri, Nov 4)
Sophie Regina Allison, better known by her stage name Soccer Mommy, brings her melodic, highly personal blend of indie-rock and techno-folk to MASS MoCA in North Adams on Saturday at 8 p.m. Ethereal indie trio Lightning Bug from Vermont warms up the crowd for Soccer Mommy. (Sat, Nov 5)
Music by the obscure but influential and fascinating British avant-folk/neoclassical ensemble the Penguin Cafe Orchestra is on tap at the Avalon Lounge in Catskill, N.Y., tonight at 8. The group, Simon’s Dream, includes original Penguin Cafe Orchestra members Jennifer Maidman and Annie Whitehead, accompanied by an all-star cast of Hudson Valley musicians including Scott Petito, Jerry Marotta, Jonathan Talbott, and Liam Singer. (Fri, Nov 4)
Close Encounters With Music opens its new season at the Mahaiwe on Sunday at 4 p.m. with the Borromeo String Quartet playing Schubert as well as collaborating in the world premiere of “One Earth” by Israeli composer Tamar Muskal. The new piece includes a rapper/beatbox artist along with a string quintet, tabla player, and women’s choir. (Sun, Nov 6)
Clarion Concerts concludes its fall season with Baroque and Beyond, featuring keyboardist Anthony Newman and friends performing works by Bach, Mozart, and Haydn at St. James Place in Great Barrington on Sunday at 3 p.m. (Sun, Nov 6)
The Gare St. Lazare Ireland theater company brings The Beckett Trilogy, a three-hour one-man show starring Conor Lovett performing theatrical renditions of excerpts from the Nobel Prize winner’s novels Molloy, Malone Dies, and The Unnamable, to Hudson Hall in Hudson, N.Y., tonight and Saturday night at 7. (Fri-Sat, Nov 4-5)
Uncaged, a centennial celebration of John Cage, featuring Tan Dun leading the Bard Conservatory Orchestra, takes place at the Bard Fisher Center tonight at 8. The program includes some of Cage’s most notable works, including Credo in US, Third Construction, 4′ 33″, and Atlas Eclipticalis. Tan Dun’s own Percussion Concerto, The Tears of Nature, is also on the bill. (Fri, Nov 4)
French-Algerian guitarist Pierre Bensusan brings his brilliant acoustic guitar stylings to the Falcon in Marlboro, N.Y., tonight at 7. Bensusan is known for his eclectic, cross-cultural fusions and non-standard tunings of his instrument, lending his music a unique and highly personal sound. (Fri, Nov 4)
Speaking of guitarists, virtuoso rock guitarist Steve Vai brings his Grammy Award-winning hard-rock guitar styles to the Egg in Albany on Saturday at 8 p.m. Vai has released eight solo albums and has recorded and toured with David Lee Roth and Whitesnake, as well as recording with artists including Public Image Ltd, Mary J. Blige, Spinal Tap, Alice Cooper, and Motörhead. (Sat, Nov 5)
Choreographer and dancer Adam Weinert premieres his latest work, Anthem, at EMPAC at RPI in Troy, N.Y., tonight at 8. The performance, which rewrites the American anthem from a dance perspective, considers the failed narratives and failed hopes of our country. (Fri, Nov 4)
And finally, the Hudson Valley Philharmonic performs Richard Einhorn’s 1994 oratorio, Voices of Light, accompanying a screening of Carl Theodor Dreyer’s 1928 silent film classic The Passion of Joan of Arc, at the Bardavon in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., on Saturday at 8 p.m. (Sat, Nov 5)
Seth Rogovoy is editor of the Rogovoy Report, available at rogovoyreport.com.
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