Céline Cassone and Alexander Hille of Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal; photo Benjamin Von Wong, courtesy of Jacob’s Pillow Dance
CANADIAN CONTEMPORARY BALLET TROUPE PERFORMS at MASS MoCA
(NORTH ADAMS, Mass.) – The world-renowned contemporary ballet ensemble Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal performs at MASS MoCA’s Hunter Center on Saturday, March 2, 2013, at 8pm and Sunday, March 3, 2013, at 3pm, in a co-production with Jacob’s Pillow. The Montréal-based dance company blends a variety of dance styles, influences, and music in three diverse works by prominent, international choreographers: Wen Wei Wang of Canada, Spain’s Cayetano Soto, and Israeli-American dancemaker Barak Marshall. This co-presentation coincides with the final month of MASS MoCA’s Oh, Canada exhibit, the largest survey of Canadian contemporary art ever produced outside of Canada.
AMY HELM STEPS OUT ON HER OWN at CLUB HELSINKI HUDSON
(HUDSON, N.Y.) –If ever there was a rock musician to the manor born, it’s Amy Helm – the daughter of the late, great Levon Helm, of The Band, and singer/songwriter Libby Titus – who makes the case for herself as more than an heiress but – with her first solo album due out in a manner of weeks — as an artist in her own right at Club Helsinki Hudson on Friday, March 1, 2013, at 9 p.m. A founding member of the roots band Ollabelle, with whom she has recorded three CDs, Helm has also performed live with scores of notable musicians like Warren Haynes, the Wood Brothers, and her stepfather, Donald Fagen, and her distinctive voice can be heard on recordings by artists ranging from Mercury Rev to Marc Cohn.
Campbell Brothers
‘SACRED STEEL’ GROUP THE CAMPBELL BROTHERS HEADLINE MCLA GOSPELFEST
(NORTH ADAMS, Mass.) — The Campbell Brothers bring their signature “sacred steel” guitars to Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) as they headline this year’s GospelFest on Saturday, March 2, 2013, at 7pm, in the MCLA Church Street Center. In addition to the Campbell Brothers, who will perform with vocalist Katie Jackson, Harold “Zion” Edwards and MCLA’s own awarding-winning Allegrettos will perform.
Suzi Banks Baum (photo Christina Rahr Lane)
FESTIVAL OF WOMEN WRITERS KICKS OFF THIS WEEKEND WITH ‘BABES’
(THE BERKSHIRES) – Out of the Mouths of Babes: An Evening of Mothers Reading to Others, hosted by Suzi Banks Baum and Gina Hyams and focusing on the complex relationship between mothering and creativity, and featuring readings by Baum and Hyams as well as Michelle Gillett, Janet Elsbach, Nichole Dupont, Jenny Laird and Alana Chernila, kicks off the monthlong Berkshire Festival of Women Writers on Friday, March 1, 2013, at 7pm, at Dewey Hall in Sheffield, Mass.
OPERA SINGER BENJAMIN LUXON TO DISCUSS CELEBRATED INTERNATIONAL CAREER
(LENOX, Mass.) — Berkshire resident Benjamin Luxon will share anecdotes of his rich and varied career as an opera singer on Sunday, March 3, 2013, at 2pm at the Lenox Club (111 Yokun Avenue). Luxon will also discuss his artistic credo and the current state of the music and opera world in “An Afternoon with Benjamin Luxon,” one in a series of conversations about music and ideas presented by Close Encounters with Music
James McMurtry
JAMES McMURTRY BRINGS HIS LITERATE ROCK to CLUB HELSINKI
(HUDSON, N.Y.) – Award-winning rock singer-songwriter James McMurtry returns to Club Helsinki Hudson for a solo concert on Sunday, March 3, 2013, at 8pm. The literate, politically charged songwriter and guitarist has a strong cult following, and he has been recognized for his work the American Indie Awards (Best Americana Album), the Americana Music Awards (Best Album and Best Song) and the Grammy Awards (nomination for his long-form music video, “Where’d You Hide The Body”).