Typically Thanksgiving weekend is a quiet time on stages around the region, but this weekend there are in fact a wealth of very promising concerts from which to choose.
Boston native Ali McGuirk brings her soulful, bluesy brand of original music to Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., tonight at 8pm. McGuirk’s vocals recall the likes of Amy Winehouse, Joss Stone, and Janis Joplin, and she is also hailed for her deft command of the electric guitar. Ali also plays at Bombyx in Florence, Mass., on Sunday at 7pm. (Fri, Nov 24; Sun, Nov 26)
Gina Coleman, Leslie Barkman, and Robin O’Herin join forces for Blues Women of the Capital Region II, at Spencertown Academy in Spencertown, N.Y., as part of the venue’s Roots & Shoots Concerts Series, on Saturday at 7:30pm. Coleman is the lead singer and founder of Misty Blues, a Berkshires-based blues group with hints of jazz, soul, funk, and tent revival gospel. Leslie Barkman is a vocalist, songwriter, and piano player who will sing both “lady blues covers” and originals. Robin O’Herin is a touring blues and gospel musician, specializing in original and traditional American roots music. (Sat, Nov 25)
Lukas Nelson brings his band, Promise of the Real (POTR) and his country-inflected roots-rock to UPAC in Kingston, N.Y., on Saturday at 8pm. The son of country legend Willie Nelson, Lukas has carved his own space in the Americana idiom with his compelling vocals and timeless melodies. (Sat, Nov 25)
Buffalo Stack brings its blend of Americana and roots music to the Falcon in Marlboro, N.Y., on Saturday at 7:30pm. Led by guitarist/vocalist Andy Stack, the group includes guitarist/vocalist Adrien Reju, keyboardist Jeremy Baum, bassist Brandon Morrison, and Lee Falco on drums. Like the Band before them, the Hudson Valley-based Buffalo Stack plays a unique, soulful fusion of blues, folk, rock, and country. (Sat, Nov 25)
Pianist Boris Giltburg will perform works by Beethoven, Liszt, and Rachmaninoff at Union College in Schenectady, N.Y., on Sunday at 3pm, as part of the Capitol Region Classical series. The Moscow-born, Israeli pianist has been a Naxos recording artist since 2015, and is widely hailed as a leading interpreter of Rachmaninoff. (Sun, Nov 26)
Comedian and ‘Late Night’ TV host Seth Meyers will entertain audiences at the Egg in Albany, N.Y., on Sunday, with two shows at 5pm and 8pm. Meyers joined the cast of ‘Saturday Night Live’ in 2001 and became a writer on the show in 2005. In 2013, Meyers succeeded Jimmy Fallon as host of ‘Late Night,’ where just last week he welcomed back the program’s OG host, David Letterman, as a guest. (Sun, Nov 26)
Preservation Hall Jazz Band brings its Creole Christmas program, featuring New Orleans classics and holiday selections with a Big Easy twist, to Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in Troy, N.Y., on Wednesday, November 29, at 7:30pm. (Wed, Nov 29)
Seth Rogovoy is editor of the Rogovoy Report, available at rogovoyreport.substack.com.
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