Margot Leverett, one of the greatest living exponents of klezmer clarinet, will be joined by her trio for a free concert, open to the public, at the Chatham Synagogue in Chatham, N.Y., tonight at 7:45pm. A founding member of the Grammy Award-winning modern klezmer group the Klezmatics, a cofounder of the all-women klezmer supergroup Mikveh, and the leader of Margot Leverett and the Klezmer Mountain Boys, Leverett has been performing klezmer – the festive music based in the sounds of Eastern-European Jewish wedding bands of the 19th century — for more than 40 years. (Fri, May 31)
Pop-rock singer-songwriter Joe Jackson brings his Two Rounds of Racket tour to the Egg in Albany, N.Y., tonight at 8pm. The program consists of a solo set of Joe Jackson’s beloved power-pop, including such hits as “Is She Really Going Out with Him?”, “Steppin’ Out,” and “It’s Different for Girls,” and a tribute to the fictional English music-hall performer Max Champion, for which Jackson will be joined by a nine-piece band. (Fri, May 31)
The Berkshire International Film Festival takes place this weekend at the Triplex in Great Barrington, Mass., featuring over five dozen films from around the world, including UnBroken, which documents the true story of the plight of the seven Weber siblings who, following their mother’s murder at Auschwitz, evaded certain capture and death as mere children in war-torn Nazi Germany. The film will be screened on today at 1:30pm, and will include a Q&A with director Beth Lane. (Fri, May 31)
Multi-instrumentalist Hubby Jenkins brings his unadulterated, virtuosic roots music to the Guthrie Center in Great Barrington, Mass., on Saturday at 8pm. A former member of the Grammy Award-winning roots-music ensemble Carolina Chocolate Drops who still works with Rhiannon Giddens, Jenkins follows the thread of African American history that wove itself through country blues, ragtime, fiddle and banjo, and traditional jazz. (Sat, Jun 1)
Wisconsin-based singer-songwriter Arum Rae brings her haunting, rootsy indie-rock to the Park Theater in Hudson, N.Y., on Saturday at 8pm. (Sat, Jun 1)
Guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Tinsley Ellis will celebrate the release of his first-ever solo acoustic album, Naked Truth, swapping out the blistering, electric blues for which he is best known in favor of the folk blues traditions of Skip James, Son House, Robert Johnson, and Leo Kottke, with a live solo acoustic performance at Caffé Lena in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., on Sunday at 7pm. (Sun, Jun 2)
Great Barrington, Mass.-based singer-songwriter Rees Shad brings his new album, The Galahad Blues, to Studio 9 at the Porches Hotel in North Adams, Mass., on Tuesday, June 4, at 7pm. The Galahad Blues reimagines the story of The Knights of the Round Table, recast as gangsters in King Arthur’s Camelot as a 1940s Chicago nightclub. (Tue, Jun 4)
Hudson, N.Y.-based singer-songwriter Kendra McKinley brings her ethereal, rootsy chamber-folk to the Down County Social Club at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield, Mass., next Thursday, June 6, at 8pm. (Thu, Jun 6)
Also of note:
The Lovestruck Balladeers bring their blend of old-time jazz, swing, country, waltzes, ragtime, vaudeville, music hall, and more to Spencertown Academy in Spencertown, N.Y., tonight at 8pm.
Morgan O’Kane and Ezekiel Healy bring their singular brand of roots and bluegrass music infused with punk energy to the Dream Away Lodge in Becket, Mass., on Saturday at 8pm.
World-renowned sitar virtuoso Ustad Shafaat Khan brings the sounds of northern Indian classical music to Bridge Street Theatre in Catskill, N.Y., on Saturday at 7:30pm.
Cellist Peter Stumpf and pianist Xiaohui Yang perform sonatas by Beethoven, Debussy, and Chopin at the Darrow School in New Lebanon, N.Y., on Saturday at 7:30pm, as part of the 2024 Tannery Pond Season presented by Capital Region Classical.
Typically we don’t talk about tribute acts or cover bands here, but this week I’m making an exception for the exceptional Robert Burke Warren, who will perform his loyal and loving interpretations of the music of David Bowie with his five-piece band for “Bowie Bash” at WAMC’s Performing Arts Studio the Linda on Saturday at 8pm.
Six-time Grammy Award winner Don Was brings his new jazz-funk band, the Pan-Detroit Ensemble, to Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, N.Y., on Saturday at 8pm.
Cellist Michael Finckel headlines a concert paying tribute to Vermont composers including Louis Calabro, Derrick Jordan, Lionel Nowak, and Allen Shawn at the Bennington Museum on Sunday at 2pm.
Berkshire Lyric performs Bruckner’s Mass in F Minor along with works by Brahms and Arvo Pärt in Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood in Lenox, Mass., on Sunday at 3pm.
And Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, and guitarist Bonnie Raitt brings her “Just Like That” tour, featuring her unique blend of blues, R&B, rock, and pop, to the Palace Theatre in Albany, N.Y., on Tuesday, June 4, at 8pm.
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.