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 …
Dirty Dozen Brass Band (photo Chris Monaghan / courtesy artist)
DIRTY DOZEN BRASS BAND and SQUIRREL NUT ZIPPERS at MAHAIWE
Tonight at 8pm at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington, Mass., the Dirty Dozen Brass Band from New Orleans pairs up with the Squirrel Nut Zippers and their eclectic blend of 1930s-era jazz, swing, and folk, which will see the bands performing separately and together. (Fri, Nov 4)
Soccer Mommy (courtesy MASS MoCA)
SOCCER MOMMY and LIGHTNING BUG at MASS MoCA
Sophie Regina Allison, better known by her stage name Soccer Mommy, brings her melodic, highly personal blend of indie-rock and techno-folk to MASS MoCA in North Adams on Saturday at 8pm. Ethereal indie trio Lightning Bugfrom Vermont warms up the crowd for Soccer Mommy. (Sat, Nov 5)
Simon’s Dream plays the music of the Penguin Cafe Orchestra
PENGUIN CAFÉ ORCHESTRA MUSIC at AVALON LOUNGE
Music by the obscure but influential and fascinating British avant-folk/neoclassical ensemble the Penguin Cafe Orchestra is on tap at the Avalon Lounge in Catskill, N.Y., tonight at 8. The group, Simon’s Dream, includes original Penguin Cafe Orchestra members Jennifer Maidman and Annie Whitehead, accompanied by an all-star cast of Hudson Valley musicians including Scott Petito, Jerry Marotta, Jonathan Talbott, and Liam Singer. (Fri, Nov 4)
Borromeo String Quartet (courtesy artist)
BORROMEO STRING QUARTET PLAYS SCHUBERT and TAMAR MUSKAL WORLD PREMIERE at MAHAIWE
Close Encounters With Music opens its new season at the Mahaiwe on Sunday at 4pm with the Borromeo String Quartet playing Schubert as well as collaborating in the world premiere of “One Earth” by Israeli composer Tamar Muskal. The new piece includes a rapper/beatbox artist along with a string quintet, tabla player, and women’s choir. (Sun, Nov 6)
Keyboardist Anthony Newman (courtesy Clarion Concerts)
BACH, MOZART and HAYDN at St. JAMES PLACE
Clarion Concerts concludes its fall season with Baroque and Beyond, featuring keyboardist Anthony Newman and friends performing works by Bach, Mozart, and Haydn at St. James Place in Great Barrington on Sunday at 3pm. (Sun, Nov 6)
Samuel Beckett (courtesy Hudson Hall)
THREE-HOUR ONE-MAN SHOW of BECKETT PROSE WORKS at HUDSON HALL
The Gare St. Lazare Ireland theater company brings The Beckett Trilogy, a three-hour one-man show starring Conor Lovett performing theatrical renditions of excerpts from the Nobel Prize winner’s novels Molloy, Malone Dies, and The Unnamable, to Hudson Hall in Hudson, N.Y., tonight and Saturday night at 7pm. (Fri-Sat, Nov 4-5)
Tan Dun (courtesy Bard Fisher Center)
TAN DUN DIRECTS JOHN CAGE CENTENNIAL CONCERT at BARD FISHER CENTER
Uncaged, a centennial celebration of John Cage, featuring Tan Dun leading the Bard Conservatory Orchestra, takes place at the Bard Fisher Center tonight at 8pm. The program includes some of Cage’s most notable works, including Credo in US, Third Construction, 4? 33?, and Atlas Eclipticalis. Tan Dun’s own Percussion Concerto, The Tears of Nature, is also on the bill. (Fri, Nov 4)
Pierre Bensusan (courtesy artist)
PIERRE BENSUSAN BRINGS VIRTUOSO ACOUSTIC GUITAR to THE FALCON
French-Algerian guitarist Pierre Bensusan brings his brilliant acoustic guitar stylings to the Falcon in Marlboro, N.Y., tonight at 7pm. Bensusan is known for his eclectic, cross-cultural fusions and non-standard tunings of his instrument, lending his music a unique and highly personal sound. (Fri, Nov 4)
Steve Vai (courtesy The Egg)
STEVE VAI BRINGS HARD-ROCK GUITAR STYLINGS to THE EGG
Speaking of guitarists, virtuoso rock guitarist Steve Vai brings his Grammy Award-winning hard-rock guitar styles to the Egg in Albany on Saturday at 8pm. Vai has released eight solo albums and has recorded and toured with David Lee Roth and Whitesnake, as well as recording with artists including Public Image Ltd, Mary J. Blige, Spinal Tap, Alice Cooper, and Motörhead. (Sat, Nov 5)
Adam Weinert’s ‘Anthem’
ADAM WEINERT’s ‘ANTHEM’ GETS WORLD PREMIERE at EMPAC
Choreographer and dancer Adam Weinert premieres his latest work, Anthem, at EMPAC at RPI in Troy, N.Y., tonight at 8pm. The performance, which rewrites the American anthem from a dance perspective, considers the failed narratives and failed hopes of our country. (Fri, Nov 4)
Actress Renée Jeanne Falconetti as the title character in the 1928 French silent film ‘The Passion of Joan of Arc’ (courtesy Bardavon)
HUDSON VALLEY PHIL PLAYS LIVE MUSIC to SCREENING of JOAN of ARC SILENT FILM
And finally, the Hudson Valley Philharmonic performs Richard Einhorn’s 1994 oratorio, Voices of Light, accompanying a screening of Carl Theodor Dreyer’s 1928 silent film classic The Passion of Joan of Arc, at the Bardavon in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., on Saturday at 8pm. (Sat, Nov 5)