Hudson Valley-based Afrobeat group Armo brings its Fela Kuti-derived party music to Barrington Hall at Crissey Farm in Great Barrington, Mass., tonight at 7:30 p.m. Founded by longtime Antibalas collaborators, Armo is a fluid collective built around spontaneous, high-energy interpretations of the Afrobeat canon, drawing from the music of Fela Kuti, Tony Allen, Ebo Taylor, Ornette Coleman, and others, alongside original, rhythm-driven compositions and jams. (Fri, Jan 16)
Welsh singer-songwriter Cate Le Bon brings her moody, hypnotic indie-rock to Basilica Hudson in Hudson, N.Y., on Saturday at 8 p.m. Cate’s wide range of musical styles include baroque pop, dreamy folk, and the kind of gritty, New York City rock that appeals to fans of the Velvet Underground. (It’s no surprise she has collaborated with John Cale.) Between her cryptic lyrics, her glassy guitar sound, her gauzy production aesthetic, and her song architecture that mimics the human breath, Cate Le Bon plays experimental music that retains an attachment to gorgeous melody. Imagine Sonic Youth crossed with the Roches. (Sat, Jan 17)
The Hudson Milliner Art Salon in Hudson, N.Y., hosts an artist’s reception for Nation Faces: Reimagining Americana, a new group exhibition, on Saturday from 5 p.m to 8 p.m. The multimedia show features new works by painters Maggie Kotuk and Victoria Selbach, alongside evocative photographs by John Verner and short films by Adison Norbury, Peter Freund, and Mohamed Thara. The exhibit invites audiences to explore the multifaceted textures of American identity through painting, photography, and film. The exhibition remains on view through March. (Sat, Jan 17)
The renowned Brentano Quartet will perform Haydn’s complete Opus 33 Quartets at Union College’s Memorial Chapel in Schenectady, N.Y., on Sunday at 3 p.m., as part of the Capital Region Classical series. The Brentano is one of the world’s premier chamber ensembles, celebrated for their technical brilliance and deeply intellectual interpretations of both classical and contemporary music. Critics often describe their playing as having a "telepathic" sense of communication and a rare ability to make centuries-old music feel as though it is being composed on the spot. (Sun, Jan 18)
Also of note:
Comedian David Drake will perform at the Mahaiwe’s Indigo Room in Great Barrington, Mass., on Saturday at 8 p.m, as part of the ongoing Indigo Comedy Night series. Drake has been featured on Comedy Central, HBO, Sirius XM, Cracked, Don’t Tell, and Fox.
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of its debut album, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah brings its New York City rock to Assembly in Kingston, N.Y., on Saturday at 8 p.m. The show is part of frontman Alec Ounsworth’s “Piano & Voice” solo tour.
The Cantilena Chamber Choir presents its annual Martin Luther King Concert at Trinity Church in Lenox, Mass., on Sunday at 3 p.m. Dr. King will be remembered in a combined-choir performance featuring the choral music of composer Paul Halley and spirituals by Moses Hogan and William Dawson.
Greg Hawkes, keyboardist for the legendary New Wave group the Cars, will be on hand for a screening of Musikladen: The Cars in Concert, at Upstate Films in Saugerties, N.Y., on Monday, January 19, at 7 p.m. Hawkes will be joined by local author and Chronogram arts editor Peter Aaron, whose latest book, Moving in Stereo, is a biography about the band’s frontman, Ric Ocasek.
Seth Rogovoy is editor of the Rogovoy Report, available at rogovoyreport.substack.com.