The upcoming cultural highlights in our region include cutting-edge electronica, new classical, instrumental pop, folk-rock, jazz, choral music … and the circus comes to town….
Hong Kong native Ian Chang, who now calls New York City home, has been on the cutting edge of experimental electronic music for the past decade. A member of Son Lux and Landlady, Chang has also performed with Joan As Policewoman, Dave Douglas, and Rubblebucket. The composer-drummer collaborates with visual duo Endless Endless to create a mesmerizing world of integrated sound, light, and projection – in which Chang’s electronic sample-based drum kit triggers visuals that respond to each strike of the stick -- in Club B10 at MASS MoCA in North Adams on Saturday at 8pm.
The Williams College Department of Music is presenting I/O Fest '20, it free, annual, festival of new music, today through Sunday at various venues in Williamstown, including the college’s ’62 Center and the Clark Art Institute.
Singer-songwriter Jesse Harris, best known for writing several of Norah Jones's greatest hits, brings his newest all-instrumental project, Cosmo, to the Egremont Barn tonight at 8pm. Blending folk, soul, Brazilian and rock music, Cosmo is instrumental pop in the classic tradition of Burt Bacharach, given Harris’s indelible stamp.
Jazzy singer-songwriter Vance Gilbert brings his pointed compositions and humorous banter to the Towne Crier in Beacon, N.Y., tonight, at 8:30pm. Alisa Amador warms up the crowd for Gilbert.
Caldecott Medalist Jerry Pinkney will share his creative process illustrating his new book, A Place to Land, about Martin Luther King Jr. and how he came to write his legendary “I Have a Dream” speech, at Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Mass., on Saturday at 1pm.
Acclaimed sister folk-pop duo The Nields are at Spencertown Academy in Spencertown, N.Y., in its Roots & Shoots Concert series on Saturday at 8pm. Nerissa and Katryna are known for their hook-heavy folk-pop tunes and their close sisterly harmonies.
Hudson’s own Bindlestiff Family Cirkus returns to Club Helsinki Hudson on Saturday, at 9pm, with the kickoff of its annual, monthly wintertime Cabin Fever Cabaret Series.
The Wallace Roney Quintet brings jazz to the Falcon in Marlboro, N.Y., on Sunday at 8pm. Roney kicked off his career as a member of Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers before being mentored by Miles Davis, on his way to becoming one of the original “Young Lions” of jazz in the 1980s and early 1990s.
And finally, the Cantilena Chamber Choir will present its annual Martin Luther King Concert with a special tribute to Rep. Elijah Cummings at Trinity Church in Lenox, Mass., on Sunday at 3pm. Special guests include a return appearance by the Urban Choral Arts Society from Baltimore. Dr. King will be remembered in a combined choir performance of Robert Ray’s Gospel Mass and the choral music of composer Adolphus Hailstork. Members of the Baltimore Choir will give a special tribute to the late Rep. Elijah Cummings through personal testimonies.
Seth Rogovoy is editor of Berkishire Daily and the Rogovoy Report, available at rogovoyreport.com