A highly selective preview of cultural events taking place this weekend in the greater Hudson, N.Y. region, includes a concert by a Grammy Award-winning Cajun outfit; a cutting-edge dance concert; an exhibition of landscape photography; and a classic-rock band out of Queens, N.Y.
Scene from ‘Easy Win’ by Dance Heginbotham (photo Amber Star Merkens)
PS21 DANCE FEST CONTINUES with DANCE HEGINBOTHAM
(CHATHAM, N.Y.) – Contemporary ensemble Dance Heginbotham brings its vibrant athleticism, humor, and theatricality to this summer’s Chatham Dance Festival, a month-long celebration of American dance at PS21 on Friday and Saturday, August 26 and 27, at 8pm. After a successful 14-year tenure as a dancer with Mark Morris Dance Group, artistic director John Heginbotham founded his own company in 2011, creating work known for its “tight formal structure and inventive movement, bolstered by a disarming wit and strangeness” (The New Yorker).
The program includes:
“Waltz Ending,” a guided tour of Scott Joplin’s beautiful, varied Harmony Club Waltz. A bittersweet solo featuring a chorus of six interrupters.
“Rockefellers,” a charmingly witty duet to music Raymond Scott, Manhattan Research, Inc.;
“Diamond,” a solo dance to music by Darius Milhaud performed live on stage
“Easy Win,” a collaboration between John Heginbotham and jazz pianist and composer Ethan Iverson, inspired by John and Ethan’s shared experiences with formal ballet class.
BeauSoleil
BEAUSOLEIL BRINGS BAYOU SOUNDS to HELSINKI HUDSON
(HUDSON, N.Y.) – Grammy Award-winning Cajun outfit BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet will bring its mix of Cajun, Creole and zydeco sounds to Club Helsinki Hudson on Friday, August 26, at 9pm. For over 40 years, BeauSoleil have blended the rich Cajun traditions of Louisiana with elements of zydeco, New Orleans Jazz, country and blues to become the most esteemed Cajun group in music. A twelve-time Grammy Award nominee and two-time Grammy award winner (1998 & 2010), BeauSoleil were the first Cajun Band ever to win a Grammy and have released 25 albums. Perhaps no single band is more responsible for popularizing the unique Cajun sounds of the Louisiana bayou than BeauSoleil.
Jerry Freedner, ‘Grazing Sheep’
LANDSCAPES by PHOTOGRAPHER JERRY FREEDNER GO on VIEW at CHATHAM BOOKSTORE
(CHATHAM, N.Y.) – “The Farmer’s Art,” an exhibition of landscapes by photographer Jerry Freedner goes on view at the Chatham Bookstore with an opening reception on Friday, August 26, from 5 to 7 p.m. The show remains on view through September 6, 2016.
A landscape photographer, Jerry Freedner is currently focusing his energy on the rural lands and farms of the Hudson Valley. His photographs reflect a vision of the farmer as an artist and the land as art. In his written statement, he says the exhibit at the Chatham Bookstore celebrates “the farmer – as much the artist as the sculptor, the plow as the chisel and the earth as the stone.”
Hollis Brown
HOLLIS BROWN to BRING CLASSIC ROCK SOUNDS to HELSINKI HUDSON
(HUDSON, N.Y.) – Hollis Brown brings its classic rock sounds to Club Helsinki Hudson on Saturday, August 27, at 9pm. The group should appeal to fans of the Rolling Stones and Lou Reed. Named after a Bob Dylan song (“The Ballad of Hollis Brown”), Hollis Brown, from Queens, N.Y., released their debut album “Ride on the Train” in 2013, garnering song and video premieres from Rolling Stone, Paste, and American Songwriter, along with music placements on Direct TV’s “Kingdom,” Showtime’s “Shameless,” MTV’s “Real World,” and the Willem Dafoe/Matt Dillon film “Bad Country.” The group’s unique update of classic rock variously recalls the Steve Miller Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Let It Bleed”-era Rolling Stones, the Byrds, Neil Young, doo-wop, the Boss, you name the influence (pretty much every great band and artist except for Bob Dylan).