A highly selective preview of cultural events taking place this weekend in the greater Berkshire region, including a rare concert by indie-rock avatars; a cutting-edge brass band; paintings of nudes by Old Masters; and early musical modernists.
The National
THE NATIONAL BRING BROOKLYN INDIE-ROCK to MASS MOCA
(NORTH ADAMS, Mass.) — The National brings its distinctive brand of indie-rock to Joe’s Field at MASS MoCA on Saturday, June 11, at 8pm, in its only northeast headline show in all of 2016. All proceeds from the concert benefit Hawthorne Valley Association – a 400-acre farm and cultural center integrating agriculture, education, and art in its mission of social and cultural renewal – in Ghent, N.Y., and MASS MoCA itself. San Francisco-based, post-pop band Yassou will warm up the crowd for the National.
Cocek! Brass Band
COCEK! BRASS BAND to PLAY DEWEY HALL
(SHEFFIELD, Mass.) – Cocek! Brass Band, a quintet that blends the best brass band traditions of the Balkans, New Orleans, Afrobeat, klezmer with elements of reggae and Western art music, brings it dynamic fusion to Dewey Hall on Thursday June 9, at 7pm. The Boston-based ensemble is inspired by acts like Fanfare Ciocarlia, Fela Kuti, Miles Davis, Rebirth Brass Band, traditional Balkan songs, and the chamber brass repertoire.
![Titian (Tiziano Vecelli) (Italian [Venetian], c. 1488–1576), Venus with an Organist and Cupid, c. 1550–1555. Oil on canvas, 59 1/8 x 85 7/8 in. © Photographic Archive. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid](https://rogovoyreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Venus-with-an-Organist-and-Cupid-300x208.jpg)
Titian (Tiziano Vecelli) (Italian [Venetian], c. 1488–1576), Venus with an Organist and Cupid, c. 1550–1555. Oil on canvas, 59 1/8 x 85 7/8 in. © Photographic Archive. Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid
(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.) – “Splendor, Myth, and Vision: Nudes from the Prado,” the summer’s major exhibition at the Clark Art Institute, consisting of 28 Old Master paintings of the nude, twenty-four of which have never traveled to the United States, opens on Saturday, June 11, and remains on view through Monday, October 10. The exhibition, co-organized by the Clark and the Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, examines the collecting of 16th- and 17th-century paintings of the nude at the Spanish court, exploring the histories of these works and their display in the Spanish Royal Collections, and reconsidering the significant role of the nude in European art.
Alison Larkin
EARLY MODERNISM SHOWCASED in CHAMBER MUSIC CONCERT at MAHAIWE
(GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.) – A trio of Close Encounters with Music (CEWM) stalwarts, including pianist Michael Chertock, violinist Yehonatan Berick, and CEWM artistic director Yehuda Hanani on cello, will perform works by Beethoven, Stravinsky, Debussy, Messiaen, George Antheil, Fernand Léger and Paul Schoenfield, joined by special guest narrator Alison Larkin, for “Music That Shook the World,” a gala concert at the Mahaiwe on Saturday, June 11, at 6pm.
Holly Miranda
HOLLY MIRANDA BRINGS SOULFUL ORIGINAL ROCK TO HELSINKI HUDSON
(HUDSON, N.Y.) – Brooklyn-based rock singer-songwriter Holly Miranda, whose soulful, sensual vocals were one of the distinguishing characteristics of the sound of much-beloved, Brooklyn-based indie-rock band the Jealous Girlfriends, brings her pointed and outspoken songs to Club Helsinki Hudson on Friday, June 10, at 9pm. New England singer-songwriter Sonya Kitchell warms up the crowd for Miranda, who should appeal to fans of Cat Power, Feist, Jeff Buckley, Liz Phair, and Nina Simone.