A highly selective preview of cultural events taking place this weekend in the greater Hudson, N.Y., region, including readings by Andrea Wulf and Barney Hoskyns, new artworks, an American Idol, and humorist David Sedaris.
Andrea Wulf
AUTHOR ANDREA WULF to SPEAK on ‘THE INVENTION OF NATURE’ at HUDSON HIGH
(HUDSON, N.Y.) – Andrea Wulf, author of the momentous “The Invention of Nature: Alexander von Humboldt’s New World,” will present an illustrated lecture based on her book at Hudson High School on Saturday, April 9, at 4pm. The event, sponsored by The Olana Partnership, will be Wulf’s first East Coast stop on her United States and United Kingdom tour, and will include a booksigning. “The Invention of Nature” reveals the extraordinary life of the visionary German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) and how he created the way we understand nature today. Perceiving nature as an interconnected global force, he turned scientific observation into poetic narrative, and inspired Frederic Church on numerous levels.
Crystal Bowersox
AMERICAN IDOL FINALIST CRYSTAL BOWERSOX to PERFORM at HELSINKI HUDSON
(HUDSON, N.Y.) – Folk-country singer-songwriter Crystal Bowersox, an American Idol finalist who was the first contestant in the program’s history to have one of her original songs played on the show, returns to Club Helsinki Hudson on Saturday, April 9, at 9pm. Bowersox is critically acclaimed for her considerable vocal prowess – her soulful audition pieces on Idol included songs by Aretha Franklin, Erma Franklin, Gladys Knight and LaVern Baker – and she has gone on to enjoy a successful post-American Idol career of originality and authenticity, along the way winning the endorsement of Jakob Dylan, who duetted with Bowersox on “Stitches,” a rootsy ballad the two co-wrote for her 2013 album “All That for This.”
Barney Hoskyns
ROCK HISTORIAN BARNEY HOSKYNS to READ from NEW WOODSTOCK BOOK at SPOTTY DOG
(HUDSON, N.Y.) – Barney Hoskyns will read from his new book, “Small Town Talk: Bob Dylan, The Band, Van Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Friends in the Wild Years of Woodstock,” at Spotty Dog Books & Ale on Thursday, April 7, at 6:30pm. Hoskyns is also the author of “Across the Great Divide,” a biography of the quintessential Woodstock rock group, The Band, as well as “Hotel California: Singer-Songwriters & Cocaine Cowboys in the L.A. Canyons” and biographies of Led Zeppelin, Montgomery Clift and Tom Waits.
Courtney Maum
COURTNEY MAUM, JENNY OFFILL, and SHIRA DENTZ to READ at SPOTTY DOG
(HUDSON, N.Y.) – Authors and poets including Courtney Maum, Jenny Offill, and Shira Dentz will read from their works at Spotty Dog Books & Ale on Saturday, April 9, at 7pm, as part of Volume, the free monthly reading and music series every second Saturday of the month. The readings will be followed by a set by DJ Joe Moore.
“Horizon Shifting,” Dai Ban
CONTEMPORARY WORKS on VIEW in GROUP SHOW at CARRIE HADDAD GALLERY
(HUDSON, N.Y.) – Works by Christopher Engel, Scott Nelson Foster, Dai Ban, and Paul Chojnowski are on display at Carrie Haddad Gallery now through Sunday, May 22. There will be an opening reception for “Points of Intersection” on Sunday, April 10, from 2 to 4pm.
David Sedaris
HUMORIST DAVID SEDARIS BOOKENDS REGION at MAHAIWE and BARDAVON
(GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass., and POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y) – Bestselling humor writer David Sedaris bookends our region with performances at the Bardavon in Poughkeepsie on Friday, April 8, at 8pm, and the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington on Sunday, April 10, at 7pm. Sedaris will read from his work and answer questions. A book signing will take place in the theater lobby after the show.