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 …
Pianist Noah Palmer (courtesy Cantilena)
PALMER TRIO JOINS CANTILENA CHOIR for DANCE-RELATED PROGRAM
Music at Trinity and the Cantilena Chamber Choir present Music for the Dance, a program combining choral and instrumental chamber music, including works by Piazzolla, Elizondo, Brahms, and Monteverdi, featuring the Palmer Trio, at Trinity Church in Lenox, Mass., on Sunday at 3. (Sun, Oct 16)
Takács Quartet (courtesy Capital Region Classical)
TAKÁCS QUARTET to PERFORM BARTÓK and BEETHOVEN at UNION COLLEGE
The Takács Quartet, which has been performing for nearly half a century, will play works by Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel, Bartók, and Beethoven on Sunday at 3pm in Union College’s Memorial Chapel, in a presentation by Capital Region Classical. (Sun, Oct 16)
Eric Siepkes (courtesy Saugerties Pro Musica)
ERIC SIEPKES PLAYS SOLO PIANO CONCERT in SAUGERTIES
Saugerties Pro Musica presents pianist Eric Siepkes in a solo piano concert performing works by Beethoven, Mozart, Ravel, and Liszt, in a free concert at Saugerties United Methodist Church on Sunday at 3. (Sun, Oct 16)
Ronnie Marmo (courtesy artist)
RONNIE MARMO PORTRAYS LENNY BRUCE in ONE-MAN SHOW at THE MAHAIWE
Ronnie Marmo brings his one-man show, I’m Not a Comedian… I’m Lenny Bruce, to the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington, Mass., tonight and Saturday at 8pm. The authorized show chronicles the life and death of the groundbreaking comedian, social satirist, and political martyr. (Fri-Sat, Oct 14-15)
ZZ Top (courtesy artist)
ZZ TOP BRINGS BOOGIE-ROCK (AND BEARDS) to ALBANY’S PALACE
ZZ Top brings their beards and their signature brand of boogie-rock to Albany’s Palace Theatre tonight at 8. They will also be down at the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, N.Y., on Tuesday. (Fri, Oct 14; Tue, Oct 18)
Jake Blount (photo Tadin Brown/courtesy Dewey Hall)
JAKE BLOUNT EXPLORES AMERICANA’s BLACK ROOTS at DEWEY HALL
Roots musician Jake Blount, a scholar of Black American music who emphasizes the African roots of the banjo and the subtle, yet profound ways African Americans have shaped and defined the amorphous categories of roots music and Americana, performs a benefit concert for the W.E.B. Du Bois Center for Freedom and Democracy, at Dewey Hall in Sheffield, Mass., next Thursday, October 20, at 7pm. (Thu, Oct 20)
Al Bilali Soudan
AL BILALI SOUDAN BRINGS ‘DESERT BLUES’ to HUDSON’s HALF MOON
Al Bilali Soudan, a close-knit Tuareg family ensemble from Timbuktu, bring their fusion of traditional music and electric blues-rock to the Half Moon in Hudson, N.Y., on Saturday at 9pm and the Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy, N.Y., on Sunday at 7pm. (Sat-Sun, Oct 15-16)
Matt Wilson (photo John Abbott / courtesy artist)
MATT WILSON QUARTET BRINGS ENGAGING JAZZ to THE FALCON
The Matt Wilson Quartet brings its idiosyncratic style, infectious humor, joyous swing and an indomitable spirit of surprise to the Falcon in Marlboro, N.Y., on Sunday at 7, to perform its “Good Trouble Suite,” dedicated to the late Rep. John Lewis and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. (Sun, Oct 16)
Armen Donelian (courtesy artist)
ARMEN DONELIAN DUETS WITH PETE TOIGO at GATEWAYS INN
Pianist Armen Donelian and bassist Pete Toigo team up for the October Duos series at Gateways Inn in Lenox, Mass., tonight at 6pm. (Fri, Oct 14)
Susan Werner (courtesy artist)
SINGER-SONGWRITERS SUSAN WERNER and ERIN McKEOWN at THE COLONIAL
Singer-songwriters Susan Werner and Erin McKeown, both known for their musical eclecticism, bring their virtuoso talents as singers, songwriters, and instrumentalists to the Colonial in Pittsfield, Mass., tonight at 7:30pm. (Fri, Oct 14)
Lucy Kaplansky (courtesy artist)
SINGER-SONGWRITER LUCY KAPLANSKY at CAFFE LENA
Singer-songwriter Lucy Kaplansky brings her finely honed, rootsy folk-pop to Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., on Saturday at 8. (Sat, Oct 15)
Colbie Caillat
SINGER-SONGWRITER COLBIE CAILLAT BRINGS FOLK-POP to THE EGG
Rootsy singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat, who has won two Grammy Awards and has sold over four million albums, and who reminds me of Shawn Colvin, is at the Egg in Albany tonight at 8. (Fri, Oct 14)
Tommy Sands (courtesy Eighth Step)
TOMMY SANDS BRINGS IRISH FOLK-PROTEST to THE EIGHTH STEP
Irish singer, songwriter, award-winning radio host and social activist Tommy Sands brings his political protest music to the Eighth Step at Proctors in Schenectady, N.Y., on Saturday at 7:30. (Sat, Oct 15)