Tanglewood Popular Artist Series presents Robert Plant and Alison Krauss with special guest JD McPherson
Lenox— On Sunday, July 2nd at 7:30 p.m., Tanglewood Popular Artist Series presents Robert Plant and Alison Krauss with special guest JD McPherson on the “Raising the Roof 2023” tour.
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss’ return to the road, which included sold-out shows at NYC’s Beacon Theatre and LA’s Greek Theatre as well as headline slots at major music festivals, has been heralded by “Variety” as “a collaboration that should last for ‘Evermore’”.
Backed by an all-star band of guitarist JD McPherson, drummer Jay Bellerose, bassist Dennis Crouch, string player Stuart Duncan, and Viktor Krauss on keyboards and guitar, setlists have included favorites from both “Raising Sand” and “Raise the Roof”, as well as reimagined arrangements of Led Zeppelin classics.
“Raise the Roof” is currently nominated for three GRAMMY Awards and was the #1 most-played album at Americana radio in 2022, having occupied the #1 spot on the Americana radio chart for 21 consecutive weeks. Last week, “Raise the Roof” was named Best International Album at the UK Americana Awards ceremony in London. Since its release, the record has amassed critical acclaim.
The concert is on Sunday, July 2nd at 7:30 p.m. at the Koussevitzky Music Shed at Tanglewood on West Street in Lenox. Tickets are $79 for shed seats, $39 for lawn seats, and $20 for lawn seats for ages 2 to 17. There is a four-ticket limit per purchase for this event. Tickets and more information can be found by visiting Tanglewood online.
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Orphan Wisdom presents ‘Night of Grief & Mystery’, an improbable, ceremonial night of words, wonder, and spirit work
Sheffield— On Friday, July 21st at 7:30 p.m., Orphan Wisdom presents “Night of Grief & Mystery”, an improbable, ceremonial night of words, wonder, and spirit work at Dewey Hall.
“A Night of Grief & Mystery” combines stories and observations by author/culture activist Stephen Jenkinson, drawn from his decades of work in palliative care, with original songs/sonics by recording artist Gregory Hoskins. This unexpected partnership with Hoskins gives him another way of working the death trade work. They are bracing, blessing-laced encounters with the dark roads and the rough gods of these times, with the ways of human making and human being. The year will bring the pair to Israel ,USA, Scandinavia, UK/Scotland, Australia/New Zealand before traveling across our home country, Canada.
Jenkinson and Hoskins have crafted a new genre of performance in “Nights of Grief & Mystery”, “Concerts for Turbulent Times”. They are not poets, maybe, but the evenings are poetic. Love letters to life are written and read aloud. There’s some boldness in them. These nights have the mark of our time upon them, and they’re timely, urgent, alert, and steeped in mortal mystery. They’re quixotic. They have swagger. What would you call such a thing? They called it “Nights of Grief & Mystery”.
Audiences are transfixed and have been quoted saying things like, “The show was beautiful and dark and compelling and cathartic. Educational yet humbling. Strange yet familiar. It was a singular experience. I’m still kinda dumbstruck by the whole thing.”; “Last night’s performance was exquisite. The blend of tenors, rhythms, voices, emotions…such heightened, intuitive, aligned arrangements.”; ”So utterly heartbreaking and beautiful.”; “Extraordinary! It was a beautiful and unravelling intimate night.”; and “Wow. Just wow. What a beautiful, heart wrenching, funny, brilliant show. I was astounded by the eloquence and poetic nature of the oratory style, and by the (for lack of a better word) TOTAL BAD-ASS-NESS of it all.”
The performance is on Friday, July 21st at 7:30 p.m. at Dewey Hall on Main Street in Sheffield. Tickets are $45 general admission, $30 early bird general admission, and $25 early bird group admission. Tickets and more information can be found by visiting Orphan Wisdom online.
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‘Yidstock, the Festival of New Yiddish Music’ returns with performances by the Klezmatics, David Krakauer’s Mazel Tov Cocktail Party, and Frank London and the Yidstock All-Stars
Amherst— From Thursday, July 13th to Sunday, July 16th, the Yiddish Book Center presents the 11th Annual “Yidstock: The Festival of New Yiddish Music” at the Yiddish Book Center.
The Klezmatics, the Grammy Award-winning modern klezmer band, will kick off the festival on Thursday, July 13th at 8 p.m. The four-day festival features a diverse lineup of new performers and audience favorites and promises to be an unforgettable event for fans of Yiddish music and culture.
On Saturday, July 15th at 8 p.m., “Yidstock” favorite David Krakauer will return with his latest project, David Krakauer’s Mazel Tov Cocktail Party, which showcases an international crew of performers including Iranian percussionist Martin Shamoonpour, jazz bassist Jerome Harris, Montreal rapper Sarah MK, and electric guitarist Yoshie Fruchter.
On Sunday, July 16th at 7 p.m., the festival will culminate with the “Yidstock All-Stars”, led by Frank London. This once-in-a-lifetime grouping will perform a globally oriented program called “Yidstock All-Stars: The Finale” that features klezmer and Yiddish talent including vocalist Eleanor Eleanor Reissa, Montreal-based Josh Dolgin, aka Socalled, the de facto godfather of “klezmer hip hop,” clarinetist Merlin Shepherd, vocalistsSasha Lurje, Lorin Sklamberg, Eleonore Weill, and Lauren Brody, plus many others.
“Yidstock” Artistic Director, Seth Rogovoy curated this year’s lineup. In addition to the music performances, the festival includes workshops, talks, films, and conversations with the artists. The 11th annual “Yidstock” also introduces a new program called “Festival Artists-in-Residence.” This inaugural year features Eleanor Reissa and Socalled, who will make surprise appearances with other performers and lead short, casual sessions exploring their creative process.
“Yidstock is always a highlight of the year at the Yiddish Book Center,” said Susan Bronson, executive director of the Yiddish Book Center. “Once again we are thrilled to bring together a remarkable group of musicians for a jam-packed program of concerts, talks and workshops and welcoming audiences from near and far.”
The festival runs from Thursday, July 13th to Sunday, July 16th at the Yiddish Book Center on West Street in Amherst. Tickets and more information can be found by visiting the Yiddish Book Center online.
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The Norfolk Chamber Music Festival and Yale Summer School of Music present ‘Instrumental Insights | Echoes: Ukraine | Russia’, a look into the musical history of Ukraine and Russia
Norfolk— On Friday, July 7th at 8 p.m., the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival and Yale Summer School of Music present “Instrumental Insights | Echoes: Ukraine | Russia”, a look into the musical history of Ukraine and Russia.
The concert features Mykola Lysenko’s “Prayer for Ukraine”, Vasyl Barvinski’s “Piano Trio No. 1 in a minor”, and a Tchaikovsky piece to be announced. Performing with the Norfolk Fellows, Misha Amory is on viola, Monica Ellis is on bassoon, Solomiya Ivakhiv is on violin, and Nina Lee is on cello.
The concert is on Friday, July 7th at 8 p.m. at the Norfolk Festival Music Shed on Litchfield Road in Norfolk. Tickets are $35 to $70, $10 for young adults (age 19-35), and free for children under age 19. Programs and artists are subject to change without notice. Tickets and more information can be found by visiting the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival and Yale Summer School of Music online.
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OLLI: The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Berkshire Community College presents “Ukraine’s Summer Offensive and Russia’s Future”, an online discussion with former New York Times foreign correspondent and former Ukraine reporter James Brooke
Online— On Wednesday, July 26th at 7 p.m., OLLI: The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Berkshire Community College presents “Ukraine’s Summer Offensive and Russia’s Future”, an online discussion with former New York Times foreign correspondent and former Ukraine reporter James Brooke.
Veteran foreign correspondent James Brooke is back to give OLLI another in-depth analysis of the war in Ukraine. Jim draws on a total of 14 years living and working Kyiv and Moscow – as a foreign correspondent for the New York Times, the Voice of America, Bloomberg and several business news outlets. In earlier talks with OLLI members, Jim went beyond the headlines to explain Russian intentions and flawed assumptions, Ukrainian capacity to resist, and the impact of the war around the world.
The discussion is on Wednesday, July 26th at 7 p.m. This is an online event via Zoom and it is free and open to all who wish to attend. This event will be also recorded and posted to OLLI’s YouTube channel. The Zoom link and more information can be found by visiting OLLI online.
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Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum presents a Tea & Talk, ‘Mary Todd Lincoln as Hostess and Housewife’
Lenox— On Tuesday, July 11th at 4 p.m., Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum presents a Tea & Talk, “Mary Todd Lincoln as Hostess and Housewife”.
Louise Levy, local Chesterwood tour guide and a lifelong student of Abraham Lincoln history will talk about the life of Mary Todd Lincoln and how she went from western belle to frugal housewife to First Lady of the United States. A tea will be served after her presentation.
Mary Todd Lincoln went from western belle to frugal housewife to First Lady of the United States, enduring grief, war, and illness along the way. She learned to manage her own household, consulting the latest ladies’ magazines and cookbooks, while her husband was gone for months at a time riding the circuit as an aspiring lawyer and politician. As a girl she predicted she would someday marry the President of the United States, and she did everything she could to help get her husband elected.
Our speaker will also touch upon the spiritualist movement that was gaining popularity at the time. He will discuss how Mary Todd Lincoln sought comfort, reaching out to her loved ones through séances and mediums and how Robert Todd Lincoln stepped in to navigate the family legacy through the Gilded Age, including having Mary briefly committed in a sanatorium for the insane, and how a female attorney/activist stepped in to help her regain her freedom.
The tea will include recipes based on Miss Leslie’s Instructions for Cookery as well as other Civil War era treats, including some of Abraham Lincoln’s favorites.
The tea and talk is on Tuesday, July 11th at 4 p.m. at the Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum on Walker Street in Lenox. Tickets are $30 for members and with advance reservation, $35 on the day of the talk; and $22 for students age 22 and under. Seats are limited and reservations are strongly encouraged. Walk-ins will be accommodated as space allows. For reservations, visit Ventfort Hall online or call 413-637-3206. All tickets are nonrefundable and non-exchangeable.
