Paul Taylor Dance Company returns to PS21 in Chatham, N.Y., tonight at 8, with signature works including Mercuric Tidings, danced to Schubert, A Field of Grass, featuring songs sung by Harry Nilsson, and Piazzolla Caldera, a tango-inspired piece with music by Astor Piazzolla. (Thu-Fri, Jun 22-23)
Bard SummerScape’s 20th anniversary season, Breaking Ground, opens tonight at 7:30, with the world premiere of Illinois, a new, full-length music-theater work based on the 2005 concept album of the same name by Grammy- and Oscar-nominated singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens. Commissioned by SummerScape, the musical has been called “an ecstatic pageant of storytelling, theater, dance, and live music that takes audiences on a wild ride through the American heartland.” Sufjan Stevens’ Illinois album enjoys cult status for its lush orchestrations and wildly inventive portrayal of the state’s people, landscapes, and history, complete with UFOs, zombies, and predatory wasps. The musical runs through Sunday, July 2. (Fri, Jun 23-Sun, Jul 2)
The Devil’s in the Tales, a revival of the partnering of two morality tales – by Scarlatti and Stravinsky’s “L’Histoire du Soldat” -- will be presented by Aston Magna at St. James Place in Great Barrington, Mass., on Saturday at 6 p.m. The concert features soprano Kristen Watson and tenor Frank Kelley. (Sat, Jun 24)
Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Aimee Mann brings her impeccable and literate songcraft, her poignant vocals, and her charming stage presence to the Bardavon in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., on Saturday at 8 p.m. Comedic singer-songwriter Jonathan Coulton warms up the crowd for Aimee Mann. (Sat, Jun 24)
Dancer and choreographer Mikhail Baryshnikov is the focus of a daylong 75th birthday tribute at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park in Tivoli, N.Y., on Sunday starting at 2 p.m. The event will feature an afternoon concert of influential musicians of the 20th and 21st centuries whose work has inspired Baryshnikov throughout his life in the U.S. Among the performers are American avant-garde artist, composer, and musician Laurie Anderson, Canadian jazz pianist and singer Diana Krall, and Russian–born American singer, songwriter, and pianist Regina Spektor. The program will also feature a musical performance by choreographer Mark Morris. (Sun, Jun 25)
Mandy Patinkin, the Tony Award-winning Broadway legend as well as a star of the silver screen and the home TV screen, brings his Being Alive concert program to Barrington Stage in Pittsfield, Mass., on Tuesday at 8 p.m. The concert will feature a fusion of Broadway tunes and songs by contemporary composers including Randy Newman, Stephen Sondheim, Harry Chapin, and Rufus Wainwright. (Tues, June 27)
Guitar duo Hermanos Gutiérrez kicks off a five-part outdoor concert series at the Clark in Williamstown, Mass., with a free performance on Wednesday, June 28, at 6 p.m. The Ecuadorian-Swiss Gutiérrez brothers, Alejandro and Estevan, transport their audiences to landscapes inspired by the sounds of surf guitar, spaghetti Westerns, indie-rock, and Latin folk. (Wed, Jun 28)
Vieux Farka Touré, often referred to as “the Hendrix of the Sahara,” brings his Malian-bred Afrofunk to Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield, Mass., on Thursday, June 29, at 7 p.m. His father, Ali Farka Touré, is considered a pioneer of African desert blues. Straddling the tightrope between Middle Eastern, West African, and downtown NYC improv aesthetics, Trio Xalam, led by oud wizard Brandon Terzic, will warm up the crowd for Touré. (Thu, June 29)Acclaimed mandolinist Chris Thile accompanies the contemporary orchestral ensemble The Knights in a program featuring works by Bartok, Jessie Montgomery, and George Enesco in Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood in Lenox, Mass., on Thursday, June 29, at 8 p.m. The concert also features Thile’s composition, ATTENTION!, a narrative song cycle for extroverted mandolinist and orchestra, two of whose movements are titled “Lord Starbucks” and “Carrie Freaking Fisher.” (Thu, Jun 29)
Seth Rogovoy is editor of the Rogovoy Report, available at rogovoyreport.substack.com.
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