4AD to present Tune-Yards, U.S. Girls at MASS MoCA
North Adams — Independent record label 4AD will present Tune-Yards and U.S. Girls at MASS MoCA Tuesday, Oct. 30, at 8 p.m.
Tune-Yards’ highly acclaimed new album “I can feel you creep onto my private life” was released earlier this year. Entertainment Weekly called the album “politically urgent”; the New York Times praised it as “a sleek, radical evolution”; and NPR Music said it’s “Tune-Yards’ most sophisticated album to date.” The band performed “Heart Attack” and “Look At Your Hands” on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and “ABC 123” on “Conan” in January.
U.S. Girls’ new album, “In A Poem Unlimited,” is a dancing Trojan horse for introspection. The New Yorker ran a multi-page critic’s essay on the themes of Meg Remy’s work and Pitchfork gave it both Best New Music and Best New Track nods. GQ said it’s “a compulsively listenable tour de force that’s one of the best pop records of 2018 so far” and after the band, which performs as an eight-piece, sold out three shows in one night at New York City’s Baby’s All Right, Stereogum called their sets “a revelation.”
Tickets are $25–$45. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or contact MASS MoCA at (413) 662-2111 or info@massmoca.org.
–E.E.
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UNICO dinner to honor Pignatelli, Michaels
Pittsfield — The Brien Center for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services will honor Rep. William “Smitty” Pignatelli, D-Lenox, and Dr. Jennifer Michaels at its annual UNICO dinner Thursday, Nov. 1, at 5:30 p.m. at Berkshire Hills Country Club.
Michaels has been at the Brien Center for 23 years and has served as medical director since 2007. While she is stepping away from that role, she will continue on as medical director of the agency’s adult and family services division. She is also a staff psychiatrist at Berkshire Medical Center, an adjunct professor of psychiatry at the UMass Medical School, and has her own private practice.
Pignatelli is a longtime Brien Center partner, friend and advocate who was instrumental in securing more addiction recovery beds in the Berkshires through advocacy at the State House in Boston. His efforts, including constant phone calls and weekly in-person visits, ensured that state officials were aware of the Brien Center’s work. Pignatelli’s advocacy led to state funding for the Brien Center’s Keenan House for Women recovering from addiction, including space for postpartum women and their babies.
Tickets are $50. The event is open to the public, but reservations are requested. For tickets and more information, contact Mary Murphy at (413) 629-1272 or mary.murphy@briencenter.org.
–E.E.
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Ottmar Liebert and Luna Negra to perform at Infinity Hall
Norfolk, Conn. — Infinity Music Hall & Bistro will present guitarist Ottmar Liebert and Luna Negra Sunday, Oct. 28, at 7:30 p.m.
Born in Cologne, Germany, Liebert began playing guitar at the age of 11. After pursuing his dreams of playing rock music in Boston, he settled in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Liebert founded the first incarnation of his band, Luna Negra, in 1989. His debut album, “Nouveau Flamenco,” recorded for less than $3,000 on an old analog machine in a shack beside a gravel pit, became an international sensation establishing Liebert’s unique border-style flamenco, and becoming the best-selling instrumental acoustic guitar album of all time. Liebert has since become one of the most successful instrumental artists of the past decades, entertaining audiences around the world and releasing a catalog of 33 albums. He has played more than 2,000 concerts worldwide and has been nominated for five Grammy Awards.
Tickets are $34–$49. For tickets and more information, see the Berkshire Edge calendar or contact Infinity Music Hall & Bistro at (866) 666-6306.
–E.E.
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BCC to host presentation of cliff swallows
Pittsfield — Berkshire Community College will host a presentation by wildlife biologist Mara Silver on threats to native cliff swallow populations in New England Monday, Oct. 29 at noon in Hawthorne Hall, room 317.
Cliff swallow populations have dropped significantly due to large-scale agricultural practices, loss of nesting and foraging habitats, and competition from house sparrows. Silver will discuss reasons for the decline as well as strategies that can reverse the trend of population decline.
Silver holds a master’s degree in wildlife and fisheries conservation from the University of Massachusetts, and has been involved in swallow conservation projects for over 25 years. She has extensive experience researching swallow behavior and has been involved in many regional conservation efforts related to providing swallow-friendly habitats.
The talk is free and open to the public. For more information, contact ckaminsi@berkshirecc.edu.
–E.E.