A highly selective preview of cultural events taking place this weekend in the greater Berkshire region, including Angelique Kidjo and Richard Nonas at MASS MoCA; the Wailers at the Colonial; jazz and 10-minute plays at 10X10 Festival; more jazz at Spencertown Academy; Georgia O’Keefe at Norman Rockwell Museum, and more…
Angelique Kidjo
ANGELIQUE KIDJO BRINGS JAZZY AFROPOP to MASS MoCA
(NORTH ADAMS, Mass.) — Grammy Award-winning Afropop singer-songwriter Angelique Kidjo brings her unique world music blend to the Hunter Center at MASS MoCA for an intimate acoustic performance on Saturday, February 13, at 8pm. A native of the West African nation of Benin, Kidjo is noted for her eclectic blend of traditional Beninese styles with jazz, gospel, Latin, American R&B, funk and rock.
The Wailers
THE WAILERS BRING VINTAGE REGGAE to COLONIAL THEATER
(PITTSFIELD, Mass.) – The legendary reggae group The Wailers – led by founding bassist Aston “Family Man” Barrett – bring their patented Jamaican riddims to the Colonial Theater on Friday, Sunday, February 14, at 8pm. Best known for their groundbreaking work with the late Bob Marley, the Wailers have also played or performed with international acts like Sting, the Fugees, Stevie Wonder, Carlos Santana, and Alpha Blondy, as well as reggae legends such as Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, and Burning Spear. As the greatest living exponents of Jamaica’s reggae tradition, the Wailers have played to an estimated 24 million people across the globe.
Director John Miller Stephany and actor Andrew May (photo Barrington Stage)
5TH ANNUAL NEW PLAY FESTIVAL PART of 10X10 UPSTREET ARTS FESTIVAL
(PITTSFIELD, Mass.) – The fifth annual 10X10 New Play Festival at Barrington Stage Company kicks off on Thursday, February 11, and runs for three weekends through Sunday, February 28, as part of the 10X10 Upstreet Arts Festival. The new play festival features ten new 10-minute plays performed at BSC’s St. Germain Stage at 36 Linden St. Showtimes are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm, with matinees Saturday and Sunday at 3pm. There is an added performance on Sunday, February 21, at 7:30pm.
Colleen Webster as Georgia O’Keeffe (photo Jack T. Douglas)
GEORGIA O’KEEFFE PORTRAYED in ONE-WOMAN SHOW at ROCKWELL MUSEUM
(STOCKBRIDGE, Mass.) – Actress Colleen Webster will portray Georgia O’Keeffe at Norman Rockwell Museum as part of its Meet the Artists performance series on Saturday, February 13, at 5:30pm. In “Georgia O’Keeffe: Portrait of the Artist,” Webster will bring to life the 20th-century painter known for her significant contributions to American Modernism. Projected paintings and photographs will accompany the interactive performance and showcase the American master’s work, known for its depictions of flowers, cityscapes, landscapes, and images of the stark desert of New Mexico.
Rob Fisch
ALL-STAR JAZZ GROUP to PAY TRIBUTE to 1960S BLUE NOTE ERA at SPENCERTOWN ACADEMY
(SPENCERTOWN, N.Y.) — Intentional Jazz, a six-piece ensemble boasting a cast of Northeast U.S. jazz all-stars, will perform a tribute to the Blue Note era, featuring music by the likes of Art Blakey, Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, and Horace Silver, in the kickoff of a four-concert jazz series at Spencertown Academy Arts Center on Saturday, February 13, at 7:30pm. Led by trumpeter Rob Fisch, the group includes Aaron Dean, (sax), Dave Pickard (trombone), David Bartley (piano), Dave Christopolis (bass), and Steve Collins (drums).
Richard Nonas, Steel Drawing, 5 Plates: One Red, One Yellow, 1988. Oil paint on steel.
RICHARD NONAS GETS FIRST LARGE-SCALE EAST COAST MUSEUM EXHIBITION SINCE 1985 at MASS MoCA
(NORTH ADAMS, Mass.) — “The Man in the Empty Space,” the first East Coast museum exhibition of works by artist Richard Nonas in thirty years opens in Building 5’s football-field-sized largest gallery at MASS MoCA on Saturday, February 13, with a reception for the artist from 4:30pm to 6pm. The exhibition features both a survey of past works and a new site-specific commission for some 15,000 square feet of space. For five decades, Richard Nonas has created work whose terse, reduced vocabulary belies its power to fundamentally alter our sense of landscape and architecture. His totemic sculptures — made from earthy and industrial materials that take on a timeless character and transcend their historical associations (wooden railroad ties, granite curbstones, massive boulders, thick steel plates) — have reimagined space and terrain all over the world.
Stephanie Nakasian
VOCALIST STEPHANIE NAKASIAN to PAY TRIBUTE to 10 GREAT LADIES of JAZZ
(PITTSFIELD, Mass.) – Vocalist Stephanie Nakasian will perform with the Hod O’Brien Trio at Panchos Mexican Restaurant on Saturday, February 13, at 8pm, in a program paying tribute to 10 of the great historic jazz singers, including Ethel Waters, June Christy, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Billie Holiday, and Abbey Lincoln. The program is presented by Berkshires Jazz as part of Pittsfield’s 10×10 Upstreet Arts Festival.