Cowboy Junkies’ rootsy Americana at Club Helsinki Hudson
Hudson, N.Y. — Canada’s legendary Cowboy Junkies return to Club Helsinki Hudson on Thursday, October 1 at 8 p.m. with their patented, hypnotic style of country-roots rock. The family-based band, featuring three Timmins siblings and fronted by sister Margo Timmins, is celebrating its 30th year of making alt-country Americana music.
What they were was one of the original bands to give birth to the 1990s genre that became known as “No Depression,” “Americana” or “alt-country.” For more than three decades, the Cowboy Junkies have remained true to their unique artistic vision and to the introspective, quiet intensity that is their musical signature, creating a critically acclaimed body of original work that has endeared them to an audience unwavering in its loyalty.
For more information and tickets, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or call the club at (518) 828-4800.
–E.E.
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Performance project inspired by female prisoners
Pittsfield — Berkshire Community College (BCC) will host a performance of “In My Shoes,” a Judy Dworin Performance Project (JDPP) inspired by female prisoners. The performance will be held in BCC’s Boland Theatre on Fri., Oct. 2 at 7:30 p.m.
“In My Shoes” brings the voices of women in and outside of prison to the stage in spoken word, dance, and song. The piece challenges viewers to explore issues of criminal justice from the perspective of a larger vision of humanity.
Performed by women who have reentered the community from York Correctional Institution and joined by members of the JDPP Ensemble, “In My Shoes” presents a journey through the walk to prison and back and what it means to be truly free.
A post-performance talk led by Dworin and the performers will invite audience questions and discussion of criminal and social justice, strengths-based intervention programs in penitentiaries, and the role of the arts as an agent of change.
Tickets are $5 for BCC students, $10 for general admission and $12 at the door. See the Berkshire Edge calendar for more information.
–E.E.
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October First Fridays Artswalk to feature 17 art shows
Pittsfield — The October First Fridays Artswalk will encompass 17 different art shows featuring work by more than 20 accomplished regional artists in the Upstreet Cultural District. The Artswalk will kick off with opening receptions and artists present throughout from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, October 2. There will be a guided walking tour beginning at 5 p.m. at the Intermodal Center at BRTA. The evening will culminate with an Afterwalk Dance Party from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Whitney Center for the Arts.
“South,” an exhibition of photographs taken in the southern U.S. in the 1940s and 1950s by Clemens Kalischer of Stockbridge, will be on display at the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts through the end of October. Shire City Sanctuary will host an opening reception for “MISTRESSES OF MAYHEM and A FEW GOOD MEN” with complimentary refreshments and a meet-and-greet with artist Carri Skoczek. At 7 p.m., Shire City Sanctuary present music by acoustic quartet the Hands Free.
NUarts gallery + studios will have open studios during Artswalk, exhibiting works in a variety of media including painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, and jewelry.
New shows from local artists will also be displayed at the following locations as part of First Fridays Artswalk: the Marketplace Café, Berkshire Medical Center, Dottie’s Coffee Lounge, the Berkshire Museum, Unusual Wedding Rings & More, Berkshire Paint and Sip, Steven Valenti’s Clothing for Men, DEIDRE’S Special Day, Bagels Too, the Kinderhook Group Real Estate, and the Whitney Center for the Arts.
First Fridays Artswalk is presented by Downtown Pittsfield, Inc. For more information call (413) 443-6501.
–E.E.
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“Williams Reads” author Sonia Nazario to speak
Williamstown — Sonia Nazario ’82, the author of this year’s Williams Reads book Enrique’s Journey, will speak at Williams College on Wednesday, September 30, at the ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance. The free event starts at 7:30 p.m. and is open to the public. A book signing will follow the event. While this event is free, tickets are required and can be obtained by contacting the box office at (413) 597-2425.
Enrique’s Journey is based on Nazario’s Pulitzer Prize-winning series of articles published in the Los Angeles Times in 2002. The lecture is one of the main events for this year’s Williams Reads program, a campus-wide initiative that aims to foster new connections among the members of the Williams College community through a common reading experience.
Nazario began her career at the Wall Street Journal reporting on large social issues in the U.S., including hunger, drug addiction, and immigration. She has a master’s degree in Latin American studies from the University of California, Berkeley and honorary doctorates from Mount St. Mary College and Whittier College.
For building locations on the Williams campus, please consult the online map.
–E.E.
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“The Writing Life” with Ruth Sidransky
Pittsfield — On Thursday, October 1, at 10:45 a.m., Ruth Sidransky will speak about writing and her memoir of being the daughter of profoundly deaf parents, straddling the worlds of the hearing and hearing impaired. The book about her experience, In Silence, was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. The talk at Congregation Knesset Israel is part of the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires’ Connecting With Community series.
Sidransky’s other works include the Holocaust-themed Reparations: A Novel of War and Rebirth and A Women’s Primer: A Book Of Positive Essays About the Attributes of Living Life. She is currently at work on book about writing.
For more information, call the Jewish Federation of the Berkshires at (413) 442-4360 x10.
–E.E.
