The highlights of the cultural weekend in our region include Louisiana roots music, musical comedy, classical and contemporary music, rockabilly, blues … plus a whole lot more.
Four-time Grammy Award-nominated fiddler, singer, accordionist, and songwriter Cedric Watson brings his unique blend of Cajun, Creole, and zydeco music to Dewey Hall in Sheffield, Mass., on Sat at 7:30pm. With an apparently bottomless repertoire of songs at his command, Watson plays everything from forgotten Creole melodies and obscure reels to more modern Cajun and zydeco songs, occasionally even throwing in a bluegrass fiddle tune or an old string band number.
Marcelle Davies-Lashley brings her one-woman show “Liberian Girl in Brooklyn” to MASS MoCA in North Adams on Saturday at 8pm. “Liberian Girl” offers a portrait of Marcelle’s family history and West African roots, brought to life with live original music, dance, and powerful storytelling.
Husband-and-wife duo The Fremonts bring their comedic-musical show, “The Failure Cabaret,” to the Foundry in West Stockbridge, Mass. tonight and Saturday night at 8pm. In this one-hour comedy cabaret, Stephanie Dodd from Fremont, Nebraska & Justin Badger from Fremont, California, perform their original music and tell their story of meeting in New York, performing on Broadway, accidentally moving to Boulder, Colorado, and doing everything in their power to stay sane and married at the same time.
Violinist Joanna Kurkowicz performs works by Vivaldi, Bartok, Ligeti, and Arvo Pärt in Brooks-Rogers Recital Hall at Williams College on Saturday at 7:30pm. For this free concert, Joanna will be joined by the Axxea String Quartet, pianist Doris Stevenson, and some really good Williams student musicians.
Albert Cummings, the Berkshires’ answer to Stevie Ray Vaughan, headlines in his hometown region when he brings his distinctive blues sounds to the stage of the Colonial in Pittsfield on Saturday at 7:30pm.
Jungian analyst Melinda Haas discusses “Three Gentlemen of Vienna — Beethoven, Schubert and Mahler” as part of Close Encounters with Music’s “Conversations with....” series at Seven Hills Inn in Lenox, Mass., on Sunday at 3pm.
"Pipeline," first presented by WAM Theatre as a Fresh Takes reading in August 2018, returns as a WAM MainStage performance, having in the meantime garnered an Obie for its Tony-nominated playwright Dominique Morisseau. The play complete its run at Shakespeare & Co. in Lenox tonight and Saturday night.
Author and artist Barbara Slate will read from her recently published “The Mueller Report Graphic Novel" at Time and Space Limited in Hudson tonight at 7pm.
Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys bring the sounds of rockabilly and early rock ‘n’ roll back to Club Helsinki Hudson tonight at 9pm.
Authors Marco Rafalà, Chloe Caldwell, and Nick Flynn will read in the free monthly Volume Reading and Music series at Spotty Dog Books & Ale in Hudson on Saturday at 7pm. DJ Kate Hewett will spin tunes for the crowd immediately following the reading.
Hip-hop pioneer Grandmaster Flash brings his multimedia show ‘Hip-Hop, People, Places & Things’ to UPAC in Kingston, N.Y., tonight at 7pm.
Capitol Region blues artist Amy Ryan fronts her band at Spencertown Academy in Spencertown, N.Y., on Saturday at 8pm.
Hudson Valley author Akiko Busch will read from her terrific new book, “How to Disappear: Notes on Invisibility in a Time of Transparency,” at Roeliff Jansen Community Library in Copake, N.Y., on Saturday at 5pm.
Seth Rogovoy is editor of Berkishire Daily and the Rogovoy Report, available at rogovoyreport.com