Pretenders MASS MoCA North Adams, Mass. Friday, July 26, 2019 Review by Seth Rogovoy NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – Forty-one years ago, after several false starts, Akron, Ohio-native Chrissie Hynde — having long since moved to London — finally succeeded in forming a band that could realize onstage and in the recording studio the sounds she…
Ani DiFranco With Haley Heynderickx Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center Great Barrington, Mass. June 17, 2018 Review and photos by Seth Rogovoy (GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass., June 18, 2018) – For nearly 30 years, Ani DiFranco has been firing off manifestos-in-song about politics as well as odes to love and heartbreak (and, more recently, reflections on motherhood).…
The Orchestra Now Leon Botstein, conductor Peter Serkin, Anna Polonsky, soloists Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium May 3, 2018 Review by Seth Rogovoy (NEW YORK, N.Y., May 4, 2018) – The Orchestra Now (TON), an orchestra of young professionals based at Bard College, presented an adventurous and challenging program of 20th-century music at Carnegie Hall…
The Orchestra Now (TON) Hudson Hall Hudson, N.Y. Sunday, March 18, 2018 Review by Seth Rogovoy (HUDSON, N.Y.) – Conductor James Bagwell and The Orchestra Now (TON) brought what as far as anyone knows was the first orchestral performance ever to Hudson Hall, formerly known as the Hudson Opera House, on Sunday afternoon,…
David Byrne Ulster Performing Arts Center (UPAC) Kingston, N.Y. Saturday, March 10, 2018 Review and photo by Seth Rogovoy (KINGSTON, N.Y., March 10, 2018) – Unlike most of his rock ‘n’ roll peers in their mid-60s or older, David Byrne showed no signs of waning creativity or imagination in his terrific, sold-out concert at…
Review by Seth Rogovoy If I’m lucky, I stumble upon one new (or new to me) musical artist per year who captures my attention in such a way as to make me an instant fan and a believer that there are still musical discoveries to be made and new voices that can vie with…
by Seth Rogovoy This article was originally published in Hadassah Magazine in the April/May 2015 issue. Subsequently, I was awarded a 2016 Simon Rockower Award from the American Jewish Press Association for excellence in arts and criticism for this piece. ARTIST OF THE YEAR, songwriter of the year, and “fan choice” of the year. Katy Perry?…
Composer Portraits: John Zorn Miller Theatre at Columbia University October 20, 2016 by Seth Rogovoy (NEW YORK, N.Y.) – In the program notes for the powerful and stunning concert of new works, including five world premieres, presented at the Miller Theatre on Thursday night, composer John Zorn writes of a few of them: “These pieces…
Benjamin Clementine Hunter Center MASS MoCA North Adams, Mass. October 15, 2016 by Seth Rogovoy (NORTH ADAMS, Mass.) – About once every few years, if I’m lucky, I see a performer for the first time who leaves me breathless and reminds me why I got into this business in the first place. Over the years,…
Boston Pops Orchestra with Special Guest the B-52s Tanglewood Lenox, Mass. Saturday, September 2, 2016 Review and photos by Seth Rogovoy (LENOX, Mass.) – In one of the odder and perhaps less successful pairings in a series of such performances, new-wave rock avatars the B-52s joined the Boston Pops Orchestra as “special guests” in…
