Special Events
Sept 6–7: Dirt Farmer Festival
The Hudson Valley’s premiere throwback rock’n’roll fest returns. Some of the 2019 standouts include soulful maestro Phil Cook, Amy Helm’s all-star band, as well as a tribute to late New Orleans genius Dr. John.
Arrowood Farm-Brewery, Accord, www.dirtfarmfestival.com
Sept 8: Barry Hopkins Run
This 3.8-mile run follows the many scenic carriage roads at Frederic Church’s Olana, and all proceeds support arts education in the Catskill Central School District as well as the Olana Partnership. $20 per adult, $15 for members.
Olana Historic Site, Hudson, 518.828.0135, www.olana.org
Sept 22: Skywalk Festival
Celebrate the newly-renovated skywalk on the Rip Van Winkle Bridge with a day of activities spread between the Olana and Thomas Cole Historic Sites.
Olana Historic Site, Hudson, 518.828.0135, www.olana.org
Music
Sept 4: Tuba Skinny
This collective of street musicians supercharges the music of New Orleans with tight grooves and atypical arrangements. Expect to hear music as varied as Depression-era blues, ragtime, and spirituals performed as you’ve never heard it before.
Colony Woodstock, Woodstock, 845.679.7625, www.colonywoodstock.com
Sept 7: Johnny Lang
Guitar prodigy interprets the early blues through a “Guitar Hero” focus on solos. With opener Zane Carney.
The Egg, Albany, 518.473.1845, www.theegg.org
Sept 13: John Medeski’s Mad Skillet
Keyboardist extraordinaire – most famously of Medeski, Martin & Wood – brings his New Orleans jazz project to Pawling for a night of blues, psychedelic rock, and deep grooves from a virtuoso foursome.
Daryl’s House Club, Pawling, 845.289.0185, www.darylshouseclub.com
Sept 14: Roger McGuinn
As a founding member of The Byrds, McGuinn provided lead vocals on many of Gene Clark’s best songs, and his reedy tenor is as indelibly ’60s as his chiming Rickenbacker guitar. Will perform songs from the Byrds days as well as his substantial solo career.
Emelin Theatre, Mamaroneck, 914.698.0098, www.emelin.org
Sept 14: The John Hall Band
Saugerties local, Orleans-founder, and former Congressman John Hall will perform classics like “Still The One” and “Half Moon,” and might tell a story or two of his time in U.S. politics.
Rockland Center for the Arts, West Nyack, 845.358.0877, www.rocklandartcenter.org
Sept 15: Music for Humanity Benefit
Music for Humanity is a nonprofit that has, to date, granted more than $100,000 in arts scholarships. This intimate benefit is headlined by the Slam Allen Band, with support from John Shain and FJ Ventre. Tickets are $25.
Towne Crier Café, Beacon, 845.855.1300, www.townecrier.com
Sept 18: Vanessa Collier
The Blues Music Award-winning saxophonist, songwriter, and singer blends blues, funk, and soul into her powerful playing.
Daryl’s House Club, Pawling, 845.289.0185, www.darylshouseclub.com
Our Picks
|
Sept 20: 420 Funk Mob
An all-star collection of musicians given time to shine after years spent backing David Bowie, D’Angelo, Bootsy Collins, Outkast, and more. A returning favorite.
Colony Woodstock, Woodstock, 845.679.7625, www.colonywoodstock.com
Sept 20-21: Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams
These songwriters and multi-instrumentalists were longtime members of Levon Helms’s backing band before releasing their debut duo album in 2015. They will be recording a live album alongside a band including Justin Guip, Jesse Murphy, and Brian Mitchell.
Levon Helm Studios, Woodstock, 845.679.2744, www.levonhelm.com
Sept 21: Three Dog Night
’70s survivors perform hits like “Black and White” and “Joy to the World.”
The Egg, Albany, 518.473.1845, www.theegg.org
Sept 21: Jonatha Brooke
Brooke will perform her many solo songs as well as music composed for artists like Katy Perry and the Courtyard Hounds.
Emelin Theatre, Mamaroneck, 914.698.0098, www.emelin.org
Sept 21: Chris Thile
World-class mandolinist and MacArthur Genius Thile is a true virtuoso in every sense of the word, writing songs for the Punch Brothers, composing music for mandolin and orchestra, and hosting NPR’s Live From Here show. The artist is also a true charmer and a hell of a player; this special intimate show should be a treat.
Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, Bethel, 866.781.2922, www.bethelwoodscenter.org
Sept 21: Cheryl Wheeler
Wheeler mixes powerful, touching folk poetry with caustic wit, alternating penetrating insights with political screeds. Her powerful voice holds the whole enterprise together.
Towne Crier Café, Beacon, 845.855.1300, www.townecrier.com
Sept 21: Olana As Music
Composer Bob Lukomski makes music out of the Olana landscape with his own specially built technology for a unique concert experience.
Olana Historic Site, Hudson, 518.828.0135, www.olana.org
Sept 22: Graham Nash and Band
In addition to several intimate shows around the Hudson Valley this fall, Nash will bring his full band to Poughkeepsie for full-throated renditions of tracks from his days in the Hollies as well as a key member of the Crosby, Stills & Nash extended universe.
Bardavon, Poughkeepsie, 845.473.2072, www.bardavon.org
Sept 27: California Guitar Trio
The self-described “World’s Greatest Acoustic Band” covers the whole spectrum: folk, surf, classical, jazz; if it can be played on six strings, they’ll try it. And unlike most virtuoso supergroups, these guys know how to share a stage, so the solo-averse need not beware.
Towne Crier Café, Beacon, 845.855.1300, www.townecrier.com
Sept 29: Old Blind Dogs
Recommended if you like Scottish roots music, fiddles, bagpipes, songs about kings and down-on-their-luck loners.
Towne Crier Café, Beacon, 845.855.1300, www.townecrier.com
Theater, Dance, and Comedy
Aug 30-Sept 15: Jesus Christ Superstar
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s canonical musical reinterprets the Gospels through a brash pop lens, picturing the life of Jesus as a countercultural holdover. Directed by Sean Matthew Whiteford.
Center for the Performing Arts at Rhinebeck, Rhinebeck, 845.876.3080, www.centerforperformingarts.org
Sept 20-22: Boiler Room Girls
This special performance is a workshop of the brand-new musical by Kevin Archimbault and Cheryl B. Engelhart. This “mystery meets social commentary” looks at the stories of six women at the end of the 1960s, and the bond that forms when they intersect at a moment of unrest. Each performance will be followed by a talk-back so that audience members can provide feedback.
Center for the Performing Arts at Rhinebeck, Rhinebeck, 845.876.3080, www.centerforperformingarts.org
Our Picks
|
Sept 24: Olivia Gatwood
Gatwood is a slam poet, writing teacher, and anti-sexual assault activist. Her reading will include support from Florida songwriter Ari Chi, and is presented by Celebrate Womxn 845.
BSP, Kingston, 845.481.5158, www.bspkingston.com
Sept 27: The Ivy League of Comedy TV Special Taping
Comics including Wali Collins, Ophira Eisenberg, and Karen Bergreen record their first-ever group stand-up special. Performances are followed by a Q&A, for which audiences are asked to have questions prepared.
Emelin Theatre, Mamaroneck, 914.698.0098, www.emelin.org
Sept 27-Oct 6: The Fantasticks
The world’s longest-running musical comes to Rhinebeck. Written by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones, this story of coerced and ultimately embraced love features toe-tappers like “Try to Remember” and “Soon It’s Gonna Rain.” Appropriate for all ages.
Center for the Performing Arts at Rhinebeck, Rhinebeck, 845.876.3080, www.centerforperformingarts.org
Sept 29: Bianca Del Rio
Ru Paul’s Drag Race winner Del Rio is a self-proclaimed “clown in a dress,” mixing sizable helpings of raw absurdity into her New Orleans-inspired drag and comedy routines.
The Egg, Albany, 518.473.1845, www.theegg.org
Art
Through Sept 30: RR Pollak – A Cavalcade of Newspaper Comic Strip Art
Ellenville’s own R Robert Pollak is a prolific cartoonist whose weekly “Ellen’s Adventures at the Shadowland” strip can be found in the Shawangunk Journal. The New York Cartoonist Hall of Fame member has assembled a collection of his own strips as well as choice selections from his own archives of illustrations from Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, and more.
Ellenville Public Library and Museum, Ellenville, 914.420.5739, www.eplm.org
Aug 31-Oct 27: Collaborative Chronicles Farm Project
This special project juxtaposes large-scale sculpture in a distinctly agrarian environment. Artists like Linda Schmidt and Max Yawney place site-specific artworks in the middle of a cow field, leading to unexpected – and frequently enlightening – interactions between the two. Admission is free from 10 a.m. to dusk.
Saunders Farm, Garrison, 845.528.1797, www.collaborativeconcepts.org
Sept 7-29: Chronicles of a Life – The Art of Sergio Castillo
This special exhibition from the Rockland Living Museum spotlights the work of local artist Castillo. Born deaf in a hearing household, Castillo used Living Museum classes as therapeutic creation, leading to collage-like paintings on display all September.
Rockland Center for the Arts, West Nyack, 845.358.0877, www.rocklandartcenter.org
Film
Sept 11: In a Lonely Place Humphrey Bogart finds himself falsely accused of murder in this understated noir classic. But as suspicion grows, so does Bogart’s violent reaction to it, leading the audience to wonder whether the distinction between guilt and innocence might not matter for him at all.
Jacob Burns Film Center, Pleasantville, 914.747.5555, www.burnsfilmcenter.org
Sept 11–17: To Love and Be Loved: 10 Films by Abbas Kiarostami
This series will include rare shorts, documentaries, as well as the late Iranian filmmaker’s masterpiece The Cherry Tree and recently restored copies of The Koker Trilogy.
Jacob Burns Film Center, Pleasantville, 914.747.5555, www.burnsfilmcenter.org
Sept 21: Phantom of the Opera
Come see this silent classic, starring Lon Chaney in his most iconic role, in the newly renovated environs of the Stissing Center. A live organist will accompany the film.
The Stissing Center, Pine Plains, 518.771.3339, www.thestissingcenter.org
Our Picks
|
Family
Sept 15: The Imagination Movers
This New Orleans-based group’s groovy pop songs speak to kids. The foursome translate their Daytime Emmy-winning Disney television show to the stage with high-energy tunes and comic asides
The Egg, Albany, 518.473.1845, www.theegg.org
Sept 7: Mario the Magician
Mario’s child-friendly magic will be familiar to viewers of his performances on Sesame Street and his opening act for avowed fan David Blaine. His personal inventions and DIY robotics will endear him to creative kids.
Rockland Center for the Arts, West Nyack, 845.358.0877, www.rocklandartcenter.org
Sept 13: Peppa Pig Live!
Costumes and life-sized puppets bring the popular TV characters to life as part of an all-new Peppa’s Big Adventure story. Fans will see Suzy Sheep, Pedro Pony, and Gerald Giraffe in the cloth as they sing, dance, and play through an educational odyssey.
UPAC, Kingston, 845.339.6088, www.bardavon.org
Workshops/Classes/Lectures
Sept 1: Mingled Flower Garden Tour with Mary Hughes
Olana’s master gardener leads a special tour through the Mingled Flower Garden as part of her “Rewilding Nature” project.
Olana Historic Site, Hudson, 518.828.0135, www.olana.org
Sept 2–5: Catskill Lit – Words and Music Revival
A special three-day writers retreat combining prose with melody. Daily writing hikes and writing sessions are matched by night-time performances and open mics.
Ashokan Center, Olivebridge, 845.657.8333, www.ashokancenter.org
Sept 7: Aromatic Olana – Fragrant Landscape Tour
Artist Alexis Elton focuses on the olfactory side of Church’s home and gardens in her guided scent-walk through the gardens and along the carriage roads.
Olana Historic Site, Hudson, 518.828.0135, www.olana.org
