With so much going on culturally speaking in our region, this is my highly selective, curated snapshot of some of the most promising events happening this weekend …

FRESHGRASS BRINGS GARY CLARK JR., YOLA and TANYA TUCKER to MASS MoCA

The annual FreshGrass Festival of roots music at MASS MoCA in North Adams takes place today through Sunday, featuring dozens of performers on four stages, including Gary Clark Jr., Old Crow Medicine Show, Tanya Tucker,Trampled by Turtles, the Del McCoury Band, Yola, Taj Mahal, the Jerry Douglas Band, and Aoife O’Donovan. (Fri-Sun, Sep 23-25)

 

 

 

 

 

SINGER-SONGWRITER AL OLENDER BRINGS POP-FOLK to EGREMONT BARN

Hudson Valley singer-songwriter Al Olender brings her emotionally naked and vulnerable vocals and her confessional folk-pop songs from her new album, Easy Crier, to the Egremont Barn in South Egremont, Mass., tonight at 7:30pm. (Fri, Sep 23)

 

 

RICK McLAUGHLIN BRINGS JAZZ TRIO to WEST STOCKBRIDGE

Bassist Rick McLaughlin brings his jazz trio to Old Town Hall in West Stockbridge?, Mass., on Saturday at 8pm. Presented by the West Stockbridge Historical Society, McLaughlin’s trio includes guitarist Sheryl Bailey and drummer Yoron Israel. McLaughlin was a member of the Grammy Award-nominated post-bop/avant-garde big band Either/Orchestra, and has performed with such jazz greats as Don Byron, Steve Lacy, John Medeski, Danilo Perez, and John Zorn.  (Sat, Sep 24)

 

 

BASSIST STEPHAN CRUMP BRINGS MOODY JAZZ to POUGHKEEPSIE

Grammy-nominated bassist/composer Stephan Crump brings his adventurous jazz to Cunneen-Hackett Arts Center in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., tonight at 8pm in a concert presented by Elysium Furnace Works. With 15 albums to his credit, Stephan is also known for his work with Patti Austin, Jorma Kaukonen, Lucy Kaplansky, Sonny Fortune, and as a long-standing member of Vijay Iyer Trio and Sextet and Jen Chapin Band. (Fri, Sep 23)

 

 

 

LITTLE FEAT BRINGS ROOTS-ROCK to UPAC in KINGSTON, N.Y.

Little Feat brings its eclectic mix of roots-rock to UPAC in Kingston, N.Y., tonight at 8pm. The group still features keyboardist Bill Payne and guitarist Fred Tackett and is backed by the Midnight Ramble Horns. (Fri, Sep 23)

 

 

DEBRA VOGEL BRINGS ONE-WOMAN SHOW to ROCK TAVERN, N.Y.

Cabaret artist Debra Vogel brings her one-woman show, It’s a Jungle Out There, to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Rock Tavern (N.Y.) on Saturday at 7pm. Vogel’s show includes songs by Stephen Sondheim, Tom Waits, Randy Newman, and Mary Chapin Carpenter. (Sat, Sep 24)

 

 

 

 

 

SARA EVANS BRINGS COUNTRY HITS to TROY (N.Y.) SAVINGS BANK MUSIC HALL

Country music star Sara Evans brings her five number-one country hits–including “Suds in the Bucket,” a kind of country music retelling of the story the Beatles sang about in “She’s Leaving Home”—to the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in Troy, N.Y., on Saturday at 7:30.  (Sat, Sept 24)

 

 

 

 

MICHAEL ECK CELEBRATES 40 YEARS of MUSIC-MAKING at CAFFE LENA

Roots music songwriter and musician Michael Eck celebrates 40 years as a performer with a show at Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., on Sunday at 7pm. Michael has been a linchpin of the regional music scene for decades, as a performer, writer, music critic, publicist, and all-around great guy. (Sun, Sep 25)

 

 

 

 

BANJOIST TONY TRISCHKA BRINGS ‘NEW’ BLUEGRASS to THE LINDA

Speaking of roots music, banjoist Tony Trischka, who some consider the father of modern bluegrass, brings his eclectic stylings to The Linda, WAMC’s Performing Arts Studio in Albany, on Sunday at 7pm. (Sun, Sep 25)