Spencertown Academy Festival of Books
September 1-4 at the Spencertown Academy
If you’re a book lover, look no further than the 2023 Festival of Books at the Spencertown Academy Arts Center. The free children’s program on September 2 allows kids of all ages to meet Lyle the Crocodile and listen to Lyle’s books read by storyteller Ann Gainer. Adults can gather for the giant book sale, from September 2-4, where more than 15,000 affordable, gently used books and audiobooks are ready to be browsed. Fans of Eleanor Henderson, Jonathan Darman, Daphne Kalotay: look out for the free author presentations on September 2 and 3.
“Penelope”
September 3-17 at the HV Shakespeare Festival
“I could wait for you forever, if you told me what forever was for.” Eva Steinmetz’s “Penelope” is a retelling of “The Odyssey” through the eyes of Odysseus’s wife, who spent 10 long years fending off suitors waiting for him to return from Troy. “Penelope” is a musical love letter to all those that wait for someone they love with hopes that waiting will create a better end. This explosive and intimate theater piece with music by Alex Bechtel will be running as part of the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival from September 3-17 in Garrison.
Ex Hex
September 5 at Colony Woodstock
Purveyors of power pop with a vengeance, indie trio Ex Hex, who here come to Colony, set the scene ablaze with their addictively anthemic 2014 debut, Rips, and 2019 sophomore set, It’s Real. Fronted by guitarist and singer Mary Timony (Helium, Autoclave, Wild Flag) and also featuring bassist Betsy Wright (Bat Fangs, Chain and the Gang) and drummer Laura Harris (Death Valley Girls, the Aquarium), the band blasts out bright, crunchy, radio-ready singalong jams with enough ear-snagging hooks to fill Ric Ocasek’s swimming pool. (Dirty Fences rock September 14; Superchunk slams September 15.) 8pm. $29.02.
Squeeze/Psychedelic Furs
September 7 at the Egg
This evening at the Egg unites two of the 1980s’ biggest new wave hitmakers. Squeeze topped the charts in their native UK with singles like “Cool for Cats” and “Up the Junction” before finding massive success in the US with “Tempted” and “Black Coffee in Bed.” Fellow Britons the Psychedelic Furs were already a top postpunk name when their rerecorded version of “Pretty in Pink” blew up MTV via its inclusion on the soundtrack of the film of the same name and “Love My Way” repeated the feat. (Grace Potter plays September 17; the Fab Four do you-know-who September 29.) 8pm. $79.50, $89.50. Albany.
Basilica SoundScape Presents: Godspeed You! Black Emperor
September 9 at Basilica Hudson
In what the venue is describing as “either a condensed version of our expansive fall music festival or an expanded Saturday-evening concert,” Basilica Hudson this month presents the return of Montreal’s psychedelic postrock steamroller, Godspeed You! Black Emperor. Along with an epic performance by the headliner, the event also features sets by Zannie and Irreversible Entanglements; readings by Shanekia McIntosh and Hanif Abdurraqib; an “activation” by John Doe Records; art by Niagara Detroit; the midnight Audiofemme Afterparty; food; vendors; and more. 5pm. $50; $60 day of show. Hudson.
In the Pines Festival
September 9 at the University Settlement Camp in Beacon
“Bands, beer, Beacon”—that’s the theme of this day-long outdoor music festival organized by singer-songwriter, educator, and indefatigable local music booster Stephen Clair at the park at University Settlement Camp. In the Pines’ packed roster includes Liz Kelly and the Better Half, Harrison Manning, Noga, Barnaby!, M Roosevelt, Watson, Marigold, the Lousin Brothers, Ears with Eyes, the Stephen Clair Band, and even more. Food and drink by Hudson Valley Brewery and Number Seven Sandwich Hub are part of the program as well. 2pm. $25. Beacon.
Hudson Valley Wine & Food Festival
September 9-10 at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds
Wineries, cideries, distilleries, and breweries from across the state join more than 100 gourmet specialty food distributors and lifestyle vendors to bring the region’s best flavors to the Dutchess County Fairgrounds. Not only is the Wine & Food Festival chock-full of delicious brews and bites, but there will be live music, cooking demonstrations, and seminars on wine tastings, food pairings, and gourmet foods.
“Off Peak” at Shadowland
September 15-October 1 at Shadowland Stages
Brenda Withers’s new play “Off Peak” is about forgiving, forgetting, and the healing power of time. When two old flames run into each other, they start to discuss different views of the same past, threatening to derail their rekindled connection. This intimate two-hander gives audience members a peek into the past and present relationship of Sarita and Martin, a musician and a writer, stuck on a train, wading through memories. The play runs at Shadowland Stages September 15 through October 1.
Art Walk Kingston
September 16-17 in Kingston
Kingston’s studio tour weekend is one of the largest in the Hudson Valley, with over 150 artists at 50 locations across the city. Attendees are invited to immerse themselves in various media: Paintings, photographs, drawings, sculptures, and jewelry are just a few of the options that home studios and galleries will be offering across the city. Some locally acclaimed participating artists include Amy Fenton, working with mixed-media, paintings, and collages; acclaimed photographer Andrew Moore; and Deborah Mills Thackery, who prints her colorful photographs on textiles.
A Celebration of James Ivory
September 16-17 at Hudson Hall
Multi-award-winning director, screenwriter, and producer James Ivory is being feted at Hudson Hall this month. Celebrations will include film screenings, Q&As, and special events, not to mention special guests producer Peter Spears and Firoza Jhabvala, screenwriter Ruth Prawer, Jhabvala’s daughter. There will be screenings of The Bostonians, Call Me By Your Name, and Shakespeare Wallah.
Neil Alexander’s X Ensemble
September 17 at Wallkill Center for the Arts
Local fusion keyboard king Neil Alexander leads X Ensemble, a modern chamber music ensemble of variable size and instrumentation that encompasses everything from strings, piano, wind instruments, synthesizers, digital music tools, and beyond. To celebrate its 15th year as a Hudson Valley nonprofit arts organization, the Wallkill Center for the Arts recently launched the Arthur Patchett Memorial Music Series, which is running through the first week of November in Orange County and welcomes X Ensemble for this early evening concert of Alexander’s new original compositions. (Daniel Villegas presents “Rhythms and Rhymes: Hip-Hop Poetry, Salsa, Afro/Latin Drums” November 4.) 5pm. Suggested donation $20. Montgomery.
Woodstock Community Festival of Awakening
September 22-24 in Woodstock
Find some inner peace with two nights and three days of music, dance, spiritual exercises, communal atunings, and more at the Woodstock Community Festival of Awakening. Friday night will consist of the opening ceremony, a community meal, an ecstatic dance, a fireside jam, and a Kundalini-Gong meditation at the Woodstock Community Center, The Nest, and the Mountainview Studio.
Soon Is Now
September 23 at the Long Dock Park, Beacon
An annual immersive day of climate change and eco-themed live performance, art and activism, performers at Soon Is Now include Raven Chacon, Edwin Torres, Koyoltzintli, Jaanika Peerna. Resistance Revival Chorus will close the day with a concert at 5pm.
Berkshire Pottery Tour
September 23-24 in the Southern Berkshires
The Berkshire Pottery Tour is hosting their annual ceramics celebration, offering self-guided tours and sales. Among the artists are potters and sculptors Paula Shalan, Ellen Grenadier, and Lorimer Burns. There will also be guest potters present, including Connie Talbor, Sidney Schatzky, Mark Rowntree, and Rie McCarthy. Be sure to pick up a plate from Daniel Bellow, a variety of vases from Ben Evans, or a simplistic sculpture from Linda Skipper.
Welcome to Night Vale
September 26-27 at the Colony, Woodstock
“Turn on your radio and hide.” A funky blend of the macabre and the mundane is presented in the “Welcome to Night Vale” podcast, a twice-monthly community update for a fictional town. Here, you can hear about the weather, dark-hooded figures with supernatural powers, news, announcements from the Sheriff’s Secret Police, and cultural events for the desert town of Night Vale. The creators of Night Vale return to Colony to commune with fans of the weirdness.
An Evening with Al Franken
September 29 at the Ulster Performing Arts Center
Some people might know Al Franken’s name because of his five Emmys, two Grammys, four New York Times best-sellers, or because he’s a former United States Senator. But he might be less known as the satirical voice behind the political scripts for “Saturday Night Live.” As a 15-season “SNL” veteran, Franken wrote the lion’s share of political humor with Jim Downey, serving viewers with unbiased political comedy. Franken’s live shows are wide-ranging, improvisational affairs, drawing on his long history in politics and entertainment.
Hudson Valley Garlic Festival
September 30-October 1 in Saugerties
The Hudson Valley Garlic Festival turns 35 this year. Kiwanis Club of Saugerties is once again hosting the annual festival of the “stinking rose” at Cantine Field. While you have the chance to get garlic and eat garlic if you go, there will also be opportunities to participate in chef demonstrations and lectures, browse various crafts by local artisans, shop at the farmers’ market, all while listening to live music. But really, if you go, you have to try Wild Bill’s old fashioned root beer, including a vanilla garlic flavor; Lemon Love’s garlic lemonade; and of course, the garlic ice cream.
The Persian-Tuned Piano
October 3 at SUNY New Paltz
Inspired by the microtonally-tuned piano music of the influential Iranian pianist Morteza Mahjoubi, the Persian-Tuned Piano is a project featuring contemporary works by Ramin Zoufonoun (piano), Amir Abbas (percussion), and Hafez Modirzadeh (saxophone and 2024 SUNY New Paltz Davenport Composer in Residence). Joined by guest pianist and SUNY music professor Alex Peh, the trio will converge for this special concert at the college campus’s Studley Theater with a selection of new world premieres, improvisations, and standard practice works for piano and percussion. 7:30pm. $10. New Paltz.
This article appears in September 2023.
