A highly selective preview of cultural events taking place this weekend in the greater Hudson, N.Y., region, including a heavy-rock and art festival; a huge bluegrass and roots-music festival; a solo piano recital; a world music scion; and a whole lot more.
Angel Olsen
GUITARS, ARTWORKS and READINGS FEATURED at BASILICA SOUNDSCAPE
(HUDSON, N.Y.) – Minimalist-metal duo Bell Witch, black-metal duo Wolves in the Throne Room, indie-folk rocker Angel Olsen, and Texas post-rockers Explosions in the Sky headline this year’s Basilica SoundScape festival, at Basilica Hudson on Friday, September 16 through Sunday, September 18. Artists featured include Cal Lane, Heather Benjamin, and Lisa Laratta. Spoken-word performers, reading from the rafters, will include Genesis Breyer P-Orridge and Amber Tamblyn.
Performances take place beginning at 6pm on Friday and 5pm on Saturday. On Sunday, the doors open to Basilica for free for a brunch prepared by Nicole LoBue of Alimentary Kitchen accompanied by a Mini Basilica Farm & Flea.
Vieux Farka Toure
VIEUX FARKA TOURÉ to BRING WORLD MUSIC SOUNDS to CLUB HELSINKI HUDSON
(HUDSON, N.Y.) – Singer-songwriter Vieux Farka Touré will bring his signature blend of Malian blues and world-music fusion to Club Helsinki Hudson on Friday, September 16, at 9pm. On his own and with collaborators from all over the world, Vieux Farka Touré has forged a distinctive musical blend, drawing on the music of his native Mali, and particularly that of his father, the late legendary Malian guitar player Ali Farka Touré, with rock, Latin music, and other sounds from around the world. In particular, his music explores the tonalities of West African music that is echoed in American blues.
Glen Hansard
ROSANNE CASH, RICKY SKAGGS, OLD CROW, and GLEN HANSARD HEADLINE FRESHGRASS at MASS MoCA
(NORTH ADAMS, Mass.) – Rosanne Cash, Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, Old Crow Medicine Show, Glen Hansard, the Devil Makes Three, the Infamous Stringdusters, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, and Aoife O’Donovan headline this weekend’s FreshGrass Festival of bluegrass and progressive roots music at MASS MoCA, on Friday-Sunday, September 16-18.
Also on the bill at the annual festival – a 2014 International Bluegrass Music Association Awards nominee for “Event of the Year” – are festival favorite Alison Brown, Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen, Stephane Wrembel, John Reischman and the Jaybirds, Mr. Sun, UK experimental folk group Lau, mandolin virtuoso Sierra Hull, Texas blues and roots sensation Ruthie Foster, Northampton-based alt-folk group Parsonsfield, and Mexican bluegrasser Rana Santacruz, as well as 2015 FreshGrass Award winners Old Salt Union, Zoe & Cloyd, and Mile Twelve.
Groundbreaking event for Lumberyard
DANCE INSTITUTE’S SNEAK PEAK EVENT INTRODUCES NEW ‘LUMBERYARD’
(CATSKILL, N.Y.) – Dancer-choreographers Jodi Melnick, Steven Reker, and Dan Hurlin will perform excerpts from their work at American Dance Institute’s “End of Summer Shindig” – which will also mark the debut of the organization’s reinvention as a multidisciplinary performing arts organization called Lumberyard, paying tribute to the new space being renovated at a former lumberyard on the village waterfront – on Saturday, September 17, from 5 to 8pm. The event will also feature live music provided by Buckeye Rooster.
Lumberyard is at 62 Water Street in Catskill, N.Y., 12414.
Simone Dinnerstein (photo Lisa Marie Mazzucco)
PIANIST SIMONE DINNERSTEIN to PLAY WORKS by SCHUBERT and GLASS at MEETING HOUSE
(NEW MARLBOROUGH, Mass.) – Renowned concert pianist Simone Dinnerstein will perform a solo recital of works by Franz Schubert and Philip Glass in the Music & More Series at the Historic Meeting House on Saturday, September 17, at 4:30pm.
Simone Dinnerstein is a critically lauded pianist whose thoughtful and compelling interpretations have captivated audiences all over the world. The Independent praises the “majestic originality of her vision” and NPR reports, “She compels the listener to follow her on a journey of discovery filled with unscheduled detours . . . She’s actively listening to every note she plays and the result is a wonderfully expressive interpretation.”