The cultural highlights for our region this weekend include roots music, contemporary opera, chamber music, folk-rock, jazz, dance … plus a whole lot more.
American roots music superstar Chris Thile performs at the Colonial Theatre outside under the tent in the parking lot on Saturday for two shows at 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. Multiple Grammy Award winner and MacArthur Fellow, a member of Punch Brothers and Nickel Creek, and former host of the radio program, Live from Here, Thile is a mandolin virtuoso, composer and vocalist. With his broad musical outlook, Thile creates a new musical aesthetic all his own.
Heartbeat Opera has been in residence at PS21 in Chatham, N.Y., all month, developing The Extinctionist, which will premiere in the Pavilion Theater at PS21 this weekend, as part of PS21’s Modern Opera Fest. The Extinctionist is a 60-minute one-act opera, scored for four singers and four multi-instrumentalist players, asking the difficult question of whether to bring children into a world threatened with environmental apocalypse. The opera will be staged on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m.
The West Stockbridge Chamber Players continue their hugely popular series of “open air” concerts outdoors at TurnPark Art Space in West Stockbridge, Mass., on Sunday at 5 p.m. The program includes works by Glazunov, Dohnányi, and Carl Maria von Weber. For more info, visit http://www.weststockbridgehistory.org/
English singer-songwriter and cult idol James Maddock has a two-night stand live at the Egremont Barn in South Egremont, Mass., beginning tonight at 8. His sound reminds me of early Rod Stewart, back when Stewart was a great, raw-voiced soulful folk-rock singer. He also has a touch of Bruce Springsteen to him, and the Boss is apparently a fan of Maddock’s. Maddock should especially appeal to fans of longstanding folk-rocker Steve Forbert. Maddock appears tonight on a double bill with Brian Mitchell, and Saturday night doubling with Aaron Comess.
Hudson Hall reopens this weekend with back-to-back jazz concerts featuring Camille Thurman and The Darrell Green Trio on Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 5 p.m. Camille Thurman is a multiple threat boasting a four-octave vocal range and prowess on tenor saxophone. Thurman is also applauded for her work as a composer. The Darrell Green Trio will accompany Thurman, whose recent albums feature songs by Sarah Vaughan, Wayne Shorter, Wes Montgomery, Hoagy Carmichael, Cole Porter, and others. Visit hudsonhall.org for details.
The band Sexmob was founded by slide trumpeter Steven Bernstein 20 years ago, and they’re back on the circuit celebrating two decades of musicmaking, stopping at the Falcon in Marlboro NY on Sunday at 7 p.m. With Briggan Krauss on saxophones, Tony Scherr on bass, and Kenny Wollesen on drums, the downtown all-star outfit takes popular hits like Prince’s “Sign O’ the Times”, the Grateful Dead’s “Ripple”, the Rolling Stones’ “Ruby Tuesday”, Paul McCartney’s “Live and Let Die” and ABBA’s “Fernando” and puts them through the unique, avant-garde Sexmob blender.
The inaugural Kaatsbaan Spring Festival continues this weekend at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park in Tivoli, N.Y., with a dynamic program of leading artists from the worlds of dance, music, poetry, sculpture, and the culinary arts. Saturday night’s performers include the Martha Graham Dance Company and indie-rock avatars Yo La Tengo. Visit kaatsbaan.org for more details.
Seth Rogovoy is editor of the Rogovoy Report, available at rogovoyreport.com
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