A selective, curatorial view of the cultural highlights of the upcoming weekend in the greater Berkshire region.

 

 

ELIZABETH & the CATAPULT BRINGS FOLK-POP to THE BARN

(SOUTH EGREMONT, Mass.) – Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Elizabeth Ziman, who performs as Elizabeth and the Catapult, brings her cutting-edge folk-pop to the Barn at the Egremont Village Inn on Sat, Dec 16, at 8pm. Ziman’s smart, sophisticated style betrays her conservatory training and her work with jazz artists such as Patti Austin and Esperanza Spalding, Ben Folds, and members of Lucius, Bon Iver, and the Shins. RIYL Aimee Mann, Jonatha Brooke, Regina Spektor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

STEFFANI JEMISON and JUSTIN HICKS PREMIERE MIKROKOSMOS at MASS MoCA

(NORTH ADAMS, Mass.) – Composer Justin Hicks and artist Steffani Jemison perform the U.S. debut of Mikrokosmos, in which the two map vocal pitches and gestures to the syllables of contemporary Black American music, including Gil Scott-Heron’s “We Almost Lost Detroit,” in Club B10 at MASS MoCA on Sat, Dec 16 at 3pm. Artist talk follows.

 

 

 

 

 

REGGIE HARRIS & SCOTT AINSLIE CELEBRATE CIVIL RIGHTS in MUSIC at MONUMENT MOUNTAIN REGIONAL HIGH

(GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.) – Folksinger Reggie Harris and blues guitarist Scott Ainslie join forces in Long Time Comin’, a free concert weaving together spirituals, songs of the Underground Railroad, Civil Rights anthems, work and slave songs, blues, and originals, at Monument Mountain Regional High School on Tues, Dec 19, at 7pm. Long Time Comin’ takes its name from Sam Cooke’s landmark civil rights song, “A Change Is Gonna Come,” and refers to both the spirit and the content of the dialogue that takes place between these two friends – Ainslie, a white bluesman, and Harris, a black folksinger. Presented by the W.E. B. Du Bois Educational Series – Great Barrington.

 

 

 

 

 

COMING SOON: JOHN PIZZARELLI & CATHERINE RUSSELL PAY TRIBUTE to BILLIE HOLIDAY & FRANK SINATRA at MAHAIWE

(GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.) – Soul-jazz vocalist Catherine Russell teams with the John Pizzarelli Quartet in “Billie & Blue Eyes,” paying tribute to Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra, at the Mahaiwe on Sat, Dec 23, at 8pm. The evening features soulful interpretations of chart-topping classics like “All of Me,” “God Bless the Child,” “Witchcraft,” and “One More for My Baby.”