A selective, curatorial view of the cultural highlights of the upcoming weekend in the greater Hudson, N.Y., region.

 

 

JOSEPH KECKLER BRINGS ALT-CABARET SOUNDS to HELSINKI HUDSON

(HUDSON, N.Y.) – Alt-cabaret vocalist Joseph Keckler, whom the New York Times calls “an operatic singer whose range shatters the conventional boundaries of classical singing,” brings his rich, versatile three-plus octave voice and his sharp wit back to Club Helsinki Hudson on Saturday, February 24, at 9pm. Keckler is a widely-acclaimed singer, writer, songwriter, and artist. His compelling performances combine humor, autobiography, and classical themes from a unique perspective. Keckler’s style, voice, and approach may remind listeners of Rufus Wainwright and Antony Hegarty aka Anohni.

 

 

 

 

CHARLES BUSCH RELIVES THE ‘60s at BRIDGE STREET THEATRE

(CATSKILL, N.Y.) – Award-winning cabaret performer Charles Busch brings his one-man show, “My Kinda ‘60s,” to the Bridge Street Theatre on Saturday, February 24, at 4pm. Busch interweaves personal tales of a childhood and adolescence spent coming of age under the guidance of his indomitable Aunt Lillian, with songs by such artists as Burt Bacharach, Jimmy Webb, the Beatles, Henry Mancini, Bob Dylan, Stephen Sondheim, and Kander and Ebb. Tom Judson accompanies on piano.

 

 

 

 

‘WOMEN AND POWER’ CERAMICS EXHIBIT at CHATHAM BOOKSTORE

(CHATHAM, N.Y.) – “Women and Power,” an exhibition of works by ceramic artist Mary Anne Davis inspired by the manifesto of the same name by Mary Beard, opens at the Chatham Bookstore with a reception on Friday, February 23, from 5 to 7pm. The exhibit runs through April 6. The exhibit features a group of women Davis represents in decorated porcelain. Each of the women articulated in these whimsical representations held a certain kind of power. Many were trailblazers, such as Katherine Graham, Brooke Astor, and Dorothy Draper.

 

 

 

 

SCHUMANN and SCHUBERT WORKS at VAN BUREN HALL

(KINDERHOOK, N.Y.) – “Music and the Progression of Life,” a chamber music program featuring Robert Schumann’s Kinderszenen cycle for piano and Franz Schubert’s haunting Winterreise song cycle, will be performed by tenor Jon Morrell and pianists Noah Palmer and David Smith at Van Buren Hall on Saturday, February 24, at 4pm, as part of the Concerts in the Village series.

 

 

 

 

 

BEETHOVEN CELEBRATED at SPENCERTOWN ACADEMY

(SPENCERTOWN, N.Y.) – “The Global Impact of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony,” an afternoon of film and music about the great composer, features a screening of “Following the Ninth: In the Footsteps of Beethoven’s Final Symphony” — including a Q&A with co-producer Greg Mitchell — and a Beethoven sonata performed by pianist Lincoln Mayorga, at Spencertown Academy on Saturday, February 24, at 4pm.

 

 

 

 

‘HUDSON VALLEY CURIOSITIES’ AUTHOR READS at CHATHAM BOOKSTORE

(CHATHAM, N.Y.) – Author Allison Guertin Marchese discusses her new book, “Hudson Valley Curiosities: The Sinking of the Steamship Swallow, the Poughkeepsie Seer, the UFOs of the Celtic Stone Chambers and More” at the Chatham Bookstore on Saturday, February 24, at 5pm. A conversation with Thomas Chulak from the bookstore and Q&A will follow a brief reading. The Malden Bridge author’s second history book features many of the stories she discovered while researching “The Hidden History of Columbia County, N.Y.” It contains some of the Hudson Valley’s most suspenseful, curious stories and features some of the most famous and infamous people to step foot in the region.

 

 

 

 

 

 

HUDSON HALL EXHIBIT CELEBRATES ‘THE TENTH’

(HUDSON, N.Y.) – The BlkQueer Romantics, an exhibition curated by the Hudson-based creative team behind The Tenth, a biannual publication documenting the history, culture, ideas and aesthetics of the black LGBTQ community, is on view at Hudson Hall through March 18. The exhibition showcases the artists who have contributed to The Tenth’s fifth edition: an homage to the natural landscape and the architectural structures of the Hudson River Valley, from Hudson’s Dr. Oliver Bronson House and a quaint guest house in the Catskills to the Vanderbilt Mansion at Hyde Park, places to which many African-American artists and entertainers escaped at the turn of the 19^th century.

 

Taking its name from a W.E.B DuBois essay titled “The Talented Tenth”, The Tenth champions black LGTBQ voices via photographic essays, in-depth interviews, prose, and events. Since the magazine’s first edition was released in 2015, it has received widespread acclaim for its presentation of counternarratives of black gay and bisexual lives and for its ability to push boundaries and offer stunning visual imagery of and by black LGBTQ artists. The Tenth has curated launch events, exhibitions and symposium with notable partners such as MoMA PS1, the Ace Hotel, and the Provincetown Film Festival, where they partnered with HBO to present UNTAGGED, a photography exhibition that explored the relationship between perceived and projected identity and to celebrate the premiere of HBO’s new documentary, Suited.

 

The BlkQueer Romantics edition and exhibition showcases photography shot in and around the Hudson Valley, including the Dr. Oliver Bronson House and Stables in Hudson. Photographed by Erik Carter, the cover features world-famous Beyoncé impersonator, artist, and transgender advocate Michell’e Michaels. Known on social media as Miss_Shalae, Michaels made headlines in 2016 with “Lemonade Served Bitter Sweet,” a transgender version of Beyoncé’s latest Grammy Award-winning album.

NPR on The Tenth.