Garth Hudson Plays in Kingston This Sunday

The Band’s magic maestro, Garth Hudson, who turned 81 last August, understandably doesn’t play out as much as he used to. Thus, any chance to see the legendary keyboardist live should be considered, whether it’s somewhere in his Hudson Valley home or elsewhere. This Sunday, you’ll have one of those rare chances to catch the rock ’n’ roll icon when he and High Water (AKA multi-instrumentalist Will Epstein) appear in BSP Kingston’s front room to perform live soundtracks to the experimental films of Harry Smith and Jordan Belson.

Smith and Belson met in Berkley, California, in the late 1940s and, together and individually, developed an abstract aesthetic that influenced the psychedelic era of the 1960s. Smith is also revered as the pioneering record collector who compiled the landmark Anthology of American Folk Music, which was originally issued by the Smithsonian Folkways label in 1952. For the BSP event, Garth Hudson and his wife, Sister Maud Hudson, will perform songs from the Anthology as well as music by the Band, Bob Dylan, and others.

Watch Harry Smith’s 1956-1957 film No. 11: Mirror Abstractions accompanied by the original recorded version of Thelonious Monk’s “Misterioso”:

Garth Hudson and High Water will perform to the films of Harry Smith and Jordan Belson at BSP Kingston in Kingston, New York, on October 28 at 7pm. Peter Silberman (the Antlers) will open the show. Tickets are $25. For more information, call (845) 481-5158 or visit http://bspkingston.com/.

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