ROBERT KLEIN HEADLINES WOODSTOCK COMEDY FESTIVAL
(WOODSTOCK, N.Y.) – Robert Klein will headline the 2015 Woodstock Comedy Festival (WCF), which will be held Friday-Sunday, September 18-20. The Grammy-, Tony-, and Emmy Award-nominated comedian and actor Klein, along with a world-class lineup of comedians and comedy filmmakers, will appear during festival weekend at venues throughout the town of Woodstock. The third annual Woodstock Comedy Festival continues its mission of “comedy for a cause,” donating its net profits to charities that aid survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking.
(NORTH ADAMS, Mass.) – Trad-country-rocker Dwight Yoakam, bluegrass legends the Del McCoury Band, Indiana alt-country rockers Houndmouth, Malian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Vieux Farka Touré, jam-band avatars Leftover Salmon, Boston-based trio the Ballroom Thieves, and acoustic roots band Cat and The Moon, and The Man in Grass, an all-star tribute to Johnny Cash, headline Freshgrass, the annual three-day bluegrass and roots music festival at MASS MoCA that takes place this year Friday-Sunday, September 18-20.
POET REBECCA WOLFF and NOVELIST ANDREA KLEINE to READ at THIRD FLOOR GALLERY
(HUDSON, N.Y.) – Poet Rebecca Wolff and novelist Andrea Kleine will read from their work at Third Floor Gallery on Sunday, September 27, at 3pm. Both are celebrating the publication of new books: Wolff’s new poetry collection, “One Morning” (Wave Books), and Kleine’s gripping debut novel, “Calf” (Soft Skull Press). The reading, presented by Karen Schoemer, Bookseller, is free and open to the public.
BUFFALO STACK BRINGS BLUESY ROOTS-ROCK to HELSINKI HUDSON
(HUDSON, N.Y.) – Hudson’s own Buffalo Stack brings its bluesy brand of roots-rock to Club Helsinki Hudson on Friday, September 25, at 9pm. With slide blues guitar, gospel organ chords, New Orleans-style horns, and group harmonies, Buffalo Stack can’t help but recall Woodstock heroes the Band. In fact, it was at Levon Helm’s barn in Woodstock that husband-and-wife Andy and Tania Stack (a Grammy and Juno award- winning fiddle player) – at the time performing as a duo called the Stacks – met bassist Brandon Morrison, drummer Lee Falco, and guitarist Connor Kennedy, the other musicians who would soon join them to become Buffalo Stack, who at their hardest hitting and blues-rockingest recall Black Keys or White Stripes.
SPENCERTOWN ACADEMY EXHIBITION SHOWCASES REGIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY WINNERS
(SPENCERTOWN, N.Y.) – Spaces and Moments: Images by Marcia Powdermaker and B. Docktor, a photography exhibition by the winners of last year’s Spencertown Academy Arts Center juried regional art exhibition, opens on Saturday, September 26, with a reception from 4 to 6pm. The show will remain on display through October 18.
ALL-STAR ROCK GROUP to PAY TRIBUTE to STEELY DAN at HELSINKI HUDSON
(HUDSON, N.Y.) – An all-star group of rock ‘n’ roll talent, including Jules Shear, Gail Ann Dorsey, Rick and Jerry Marotta, and Scott Petito, will pay tribute to the Hudson Valley’s most famous rock group ever in “Reelin’ in the Years: The Music of Steely Dan” at Club Helsinki Hudson on Saturday, September 26, at 9pm. Years ago, Donald Fagen settled down not far from Bard College, in the Bearsville section of Woodstock, and he has been a steady presence on the region’s music scene, playing a recurring role in Levon Helm’s Ramble. The “Reelin’ in the Years” tribute includes a coterie of Woodstock-area musicians, some of whom have performed with Steely Dan and Fagen, including Rick Marotta, the original drummer on many of the group’s hits. The Reelin’ in the Years band includes singer-songwriter Jules Shear, who in addition to his own cult recordings on his own and with Jules and the Polar Bears, wrote hits for Cyndi Lauper (“All Through The Night”) and The Bangles (“If She Knew What She Wants”).
AMERICAN WEST EXHIBITION OPENS at BERKSHIRE MUSEUM
(PITTSFIELD, Mass.) – American West, a dual exhibition of photography and objects, opens at the Berkshire Museum on Friday, September 25. Included are the travelling exhibition “National Geographic Greatest Photographs of the American West,” featuring stunning photography from the last 125 years, and “Go West,” organized by the Berkshire Museum, and including objects, artwork, and interactive stations pertaining to the grand adventure of the American West. The pair of exhibitions will be on view Saturday, September 26, 2015, through Sunday, January 3, 2016. The Preview Party for American West takes place Friday, September 25, from 5:30 to 7:30pm.