Neo-soul artist Ravyn Lenae brings her smooth, dreamy, atmospheric sounds and her delicate, sensual vocals to the Hunter Center at MASS MoCA in North Adams tonight at 8pm. Lenae brings to mind classic modern R&B artists such as Sade, Anita Baker, and Stevie Wonder, with beats courtesy of hip-hop producer Steve Lacy. (Fri, Apr 28)Singer-songwriter Carsie Blanton brings her mischievous, playful songbook to the Linda, WAMC’s Performing Arts Studio, in Albany, N.Y., tonight at 8pm, as part of the Women’s Voices series. Blanton’s key influences include Nina Simone, John Prine, and Randy Newman, and her songs encompass a wide range of genres, from sultry, jazzy pop to punk-tinged Americana. (Fri, Apr 28)
In Search of the Bridges, featuring twentieth-century and contemporary choral works, including a world premiere by the Berkshires’ own John Myers, will be performed at Trinity Church in Lakeville, Conn., tonight at 7:30pm, and at St. James Place in Great Barrington, Mass., on Sunday at 4:30pm, presented by Crescendo. (Fri, Apr 28; Sun, Apr 30)
Singer-songwriter Amanda Palmer, back home in the Hudson Valley after a two-year lockdown in New Zealand, takes the stage for a rare solo performance at the Bardavon in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., tonight at 8pm. Palmer will perform a blend of old favorites and new songs in her singular, brash, dramatic cabaret-rock style. (Fri, Apr 28)
The Tyler Blanton Group ft. Helio Alves brings its vibraphone- and piano-based jazz sounds with a Brazilian flair to the Stissing Center in Pine Plains, N.Y., tonight at 7pm. (Fri, Apr 28)
Three-time Grammy Award-winning jazz drummer, composer and producer Terri Lynne Carrington headlines the Williams College Jazz Festival at the Williams ‘62 Center in Williamstown, Mass., on Saturday at 7pm. Carrington and her trio will perform compositions by the late Wayne Shorter as well as works by female composers including Brandee Younger, Anat Cohen, Abbey Lincoln, and Carla Bley. (Sat, Apr 29)
Singer-songwriter Alan Walker will perform songs from his terrific new album of original, pop-rock compositions, Something Up My Sleeve, at Luthier’s Co-op in Easthampton, Mass., on Saturday at 6pm. Walker’s literate songs, familiar to longtime fans of his band the Brilliant Mistakes, are catchy and inventive and bring to mind the work of the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and Elvis Costello. (Sat, Apr 29)
Hudson Valley musician Robert Burke Warren brings his I’m Your Man: A Tribute to Leonard Cohen program to the Colony Cafe in Woodstock, N.Y., on Saturday at 8pm. The concert, featuring a bevy of Hudson Valley musical talents, spans Cohen’s entire career, from 1960s classics like “Bird on the Wire” and “Suzanne” to latter-day epics like “Everybody Knows,” “Hallelujah,” and “You Want It Darker.” (Sat, Apr 29)
The Orchestra Now performs Before and After Soviet Communism, a program examining seldom-heard works of Eastern European music, at Bard Fisher Center on Saturday at 7pm, and Sunday at 2pm, under the baton of conductor Leon Botstein. (Sat-Sun, Apr 29-30)
Pianist Emmet Cohen will team up with legendary hard-bop saxophonist Houston Person to bring the curtain down on the Pittsfield CityJazz Festival at the Colonial Theatre on Sunday, at 4pm. (Sun, Apr 30)
Burmese-American soprano Robin Steitz will be featured in The Cheerful, the Thoughtful, and the Moderate Man, featuring a rare performance of Handel’s oratorio-ode, at Kinderhook [N.Y.] Reformed Church, on Sunday at 2:30pm, in a presentation of Concerts in the Village. (Sun, Apr 30)
And Irish folksinger Lisa O’Neill - profiled just last month in the New York Times as one of a new wave of artists reimagining that island’s music -- brings her stark, rootsy sound and her haunting vocals to the Foundry in West Stockbridge, Mass., on Tuesday, May 2, at 7pm. (Tues, May 2)
Missed any of that? You can revisit the Rogovoy Report on WAMC’s website at wamc.org, where you will find a complete transcript plus links to artist and venue websites as well as ticket links.
Seth Rogovoy is editor of the Rogovoy Report, available at rogovoyreport.substack.com.
The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or its management.