Americana rockers The National Reserve bring their classic, rootsy sounds to the Egremont Barn in South Egremont, Mass., tonight at 7:30pm. The Brooklyn-based outfit’s blend of guitar-driven country-rock, blues, soul, and old-time rock ‘n’ roll should appeal to fans of Little Feat, The Band, Neil Young, the Rolling Stones, and the Allman Brothers Band. (Fri, May 3)
Berkshire Chamber Players, featuring Yevgeny Kutik and Robyn Quinnett on violins, will perform the New England premiere of Leonard Bernstein’s recently unearthed “Music for String Quartet” along with works by Mozart, Beethoven, and Schumann at Stockbridge Congregational Church in Stockbridge, Mass., on Saturday at 7pm. (Sat, May 4)
Crescendo concludes its 20th anniversary season with two semi-staged performances of light opera compositions by the famous English duo of Gilbert and Sullivan. The program showcases some of their most beloved choral numbers and a few of the most famous solo roles from several of their fourteen operettas, including popular selections from The Mikado, Patience, The Pirates of Penzance, H.M.S. Pinafore, Iolanthe, Princess Ida, and The Gondoliers, loosely tied together by brief narration, plus the complete one-act operetta Trial by Jury. The program takes place at Trinity Chuch in Lakeville, Conn., on Saturday at 6pm, and at St. James Place in Great Barrington, Mass., on Sunday at 4pm. (Sat, May 4; Sun, May 5)
Singer-songwriter Laura Wetzler brings her Songs of the Lost Communities program to the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, Mass., on Sunday at 2pm, in a concert presented by the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires. Wetzler’s Holocaust remembrance program features songs created by prewar Jewish communities in both Ashkenazi and Sephardic lands. Wetzler herself is the daughter of a Holocaust survivor. Following the concert, there will be a candle lighting, prayers, and a moment of silence in memory of those murdered in the Holocaust. (Sun, May 5)
Indie-pop collective Constant Smiles brings its hypnotic synth-pop to The Clark in Williamstown, Mass., on Sunday at 5pm. Its latest release, Kenneth Anger, evokes the eponymous filmmaker with dreamy, 1980s-inspired groove-based numbers that examine how rituals and community can heal feelings of isolation. (Sun, May 5)
Two-time Grammy Award-winner Rickie Lee Jones -- best known for her 1979 top 5 hit, “Chuck E.’s in Love” -- brings her unique blend of pop, folk, soul, and jazz to The Egg in Albany, N.Y., on Wednesday, May 8, at 7:30pm. Jones won the 2024 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for Pieces of Treasure, featuring covers of pre-rock pop standards by the likes of Comden and Green, Harold Arlen, Sammy Cahn, and the Gershwins. (Wed, May 8)
Also of note:
Blues singer-guitarist Chris Beard brings his hardcore blues to the Stationery Factory in Dalton, Mass., tonight at 7:30pm.
Jazz trumpeter Eddie Henderson leads his quartet at The Clark in Williamstown, Mass., on Saturday at 6pm.
Jazz trumpeter Haneef Nelson brings his quartet to the West Stockbridge Historical Society on Saturday at 7pm.
Seaside Pumpkins brings its melodious electro-folk-pop to Park Theater in Hudson, N.Y., on Saturday at 8pm.
Chicago-based country-rockers Minor Moon bring their impressionistic sounds and apocalyptic visions to Tourists in North Adams, Mass., on Sunday at 8pm.
Seth Rogovoy is editor of the Rogovoy Report, available at rogovoyreport.substack.com.
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