A highly selective preview of cultural events taking place this weekend in the greater Berkshire region, including a string quartet; a jazz saxophonist; a folk-rock jam band; and a Texas singer-songwriter.
Dover Quartet
DOVER QUARTET to PLAY BEETHOVEN, DVORAK and BERG at MAHAIWE
(GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.) – The Dover Quartet, dubbed by the New Yorker “the young American string quartet of the moment,” will perform works by Beethoven, Dvorak and Alban Berg at the Mahaiwe on Saturday, May 14, at 6pm, as part of the Close Encounters With Music chamber series.
Grace Kelly
SAXOPHONIST GRACE KELLY to PAY TRIBUTE to PHIL WOODS at BARRINGTON STAGE
(PITTSFIELD, Mass.) – Alto saxophonist Grace Kelly will front the Phil Woods Quintet in a memorial concert paying tribute to the late jazz saxophonist, one of her mentors, at Barrington Stage Company on Saturday, May 14, at 8 pm, in a presentation by Berkshires Jazz. The tribute will be performed by a gathering of the NEA Jazz Master’s quintet, with Brian Lynch (trumpet), Bill Mays (piano), Steve Gilmore (bass), and Bill Goodwin (drums).
Rusted Root
RUSTED ROOT BRINGS FOLK-ROCK JAMS to THE COLONIAL
(PITTSFIELD, Mass.) – Folk-rock jam-band Rusted Root brings its world-music-influenced sounds to The Colonial on Saturday, May 14, at 8pm. Originally from Pittsburgh, the group is known for its fusion of acoustic, rock, world and other styles of music, with a strong percussion section that draws from African, Latin American, and Native American influences.
Sam Baker (photo C Lawrence)
SAM BAKER BRINGS SONGS of TRAGEDY and HOPE to HELSINKI HUDSON
(HUDSON, N.Y.) – It’s tempting to overemphasize Sam Baker’s backstory over his music, because his story is one of the nightmares of living in the modern world. As a survivor of a deadly terrorist attack, Baker has a unique perspective, one that inevitably finds its way into his music, but one that doesn’t overwhelm the music, but rather informs it, and, to my ears, gives it a singular, direct quality and import – a conviction borne of rare experience. The Austin-based singer-songwriter brings his music of grace born out of tragedy to Club Helsinki Hudson on Thursday, May 12, at 8pm. Red House recording artist Carrie Elkin will warm up the crowd for Baker, as well as accompany him during his set.