Shorts Galore
September 5 at Maverick Concert Hall, Woodstock
A comic torrent of brevity and wit floods Maverick Concert Hall as Actors & Writers, plus a constellation of friends, unleash “Shorts Galore”—an evening of quick-hit theater from some of the Hudson Valley’s sharpest pens. Laura Shaine Cunningham, Davis Hall, Mikhail Horowitz, Adam LeFevre, Nicole Quinn, Nina Shengold, Mark St. Germain, Lori Wilner, and more serve up miniature worlds packed with punchlines, absurdities, and human truths. Each short play is its own amuse-bouche of character and conflict, performed by the authors themselves and fellow conspirators. Admission is by donation. 6:30pm.
Big Star Quintet
September 5-6 at the Bearsville Theater in Bearsville
After, arguably, the Velvet Underground and the Ramones, Big Star is the foremost example of a band that’s proven far more influential in their afterlife than when they were together. Ignored during their early 1970s existence, the Memphis group pioneered power pop across three sublime studio albums. Founding singer and guitarists Alex Chilton and Chris Bell and bassist Andy Hummell are all gone, but drummer Jody Stephens is keeping the Star shining with this project, which features members of Wilco, the dB’s, and the Posies. (Alejandro Escovedo rocks September 11; Devendra Banhart visits September 12) 7pm. $59.65-$91.65.
Arkai
September 7 at the Colony in Woodstock
The Grammy-winning electro-acoustic duo Arkai has played the Met, Carnegie Hall, the Troubadour, and Barbican Centre, and other top venues around the world, appearing with pianist and band leader Jon Batiste and superstar violinist Lindsey Stirling and recording with piano sensation Tony Ann and the Steve Miller Band. Comprised of two Julliard graduates, violinist Jonathan Miron and cellist Philip Sheegog, the genre-straddling twosome advocates strongly for music education in schools and for social causes. (Bruce Molsky picks September 13; Jenna Nicholls ups her new album September 19.) 7pm. $17.46.
It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley
September 10 at the Rosendale Theatre
This intimate screening invites you into the hauntingly beautiful world of singer/songwriter Jeff Buckley (1966-1997) through It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley, a documentary by Amy Berg that’s been a decade in the making. Featuring rare archival footage, voice messages, and deeply personal interviews—with his mother, former partners Rebecca Moore and Joan Wasser, and musical collaborators—the film uncovers the man behind the myth: brilliant, conflicted, and endlessly moving. From the soaring heights of Grace to his unfinished second album, Buckley’s music remains a touchstone for passion and vulnerability. This cinematic tribute captures both his meteoric rise and the enduring spell his songs continue to cast on listeners worldwide. 7pm.
Elizabeth Gilbert: All the Way to the River
September 10 at the Bardavon in Poughkeepsie
Celebrate the arrival of Elizabeth Gilbert’s deeply personal new memoir, All the Way to the River: Love, Loss, and Liberation, with an evening of conversation and commemoration at the Bardavon in partnership with Oblong Books. Gilbert—author of Eat, Pray, Love and Big Magic—will explore how grief, addiction, and heartbreak became the crucible for healing and spiritual rebirth. Tickets include a copy of the memoir, her first nonfiction work in a decade, and an invitation to witness a storyteller unspooling the most tender, fiercely honest chapters yet. 7pm.
“Julius Caesar” on Bannerman Island
September 11-13
Shakespeare meets Hudson River romance this September, as Hudson Valley Shakespeare transports “Julius Caesar”—directed by Raz Golden and performed by seven actors from its Conservatory Company—to the crumbling grandeur of Bannerman Island. In a brisk, physically charged staging, this political thriller unspools amid ancient ruins and river vistas, interrogating loyalty, ambition, and betrayal with vivid immediacy. At just under 90 minutes, the production is as swift as the boat ride from Beacon. It’s theater not only watched but felt—set within history, on a stage of stone and sky. 6:30pm. Tickets.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor
September 13 at Assembly in Kingston
Back to deliver the perfect soundtrack for the revolution, the massive Montreal instrumental chamber rock ensemble returns on its Fall Liberation Tour. “The band has never had a website or social media accounts,” says the manifesto. “It has never made a video. Few rock bands in our 21st century have been as steadfast in trying to let the work speak for itself and maintaining simple rules about minimizing participation in cultures of personality, exposure, access, commodification or co-optation.” Epic it will be. (Castle Rat rips September 4; the Budos Band bumps September 20.) 8pm. $59.55, $65. Concert is now sold out.
Rhinebeck Porchfest
September 13 in Rhinebeck
On this free, family-friendly Saturday, the village’s porches, lawns, and sidewalks transform into stages in a joyous procession of live music—folk, jazz, rock, singer-songwriters, and more. Wander charming streets as local musicians perform on front steps and lawns. Food trucks, vendors, and neighbors converge in a celebration of sound and community spirit, all in support of the Rhinebeck Park Fund’s Thomas Thompson–Sally Mazzarella Park enhancements. Rain or shine, this day invites you to stroll, listen, and belong. 11am-7pm.
A Life in Song: Tribute to Bill Vanaver
September 14 at UPAC, Kingston
A heartfelt celebration of Bill Vanaver—visionary musician, folklorist, and beloved cofounder of the Vanaver Caravan—unfolds at UPAC. Joining the Caravan’s dancers and youth ensembles, an extraordinary lineup of friends and collaborators—including Natalie Merchant, Tom Chapin, Guy Davis, David Amram, Tony Trishka, Cole Quest and The City Pickers, Brenda Bufalino, Professor Louie, and others—offer stories, song, and dance in honor of a life spent weaving global traditions into the fabric of community and joy. Proceeds support the Bill Vanaver Memorial Fund, ensuring the music and mentorship he championed continue to resonate.
Cowboy Junkies
September 19 at the Bardavon in Poughkeepsie
When Toronto’s Cowboy Junkies formed in 1985, they developed their signature low-key sound after noise complaints from neighbors brought the police to their garage rehearsal space. “We realized we had to tone down,” says guitarist Michael Timmins. “We began to realize, if we can get down underneath Margo [Timmins, vocalist], the sound will be more effective. We learned to play with less volume.” Three years later, they struck it big with their second album, The Trinity Sessions, and its hit version of Lou Reed’s “Sweet Jane.” The band’s current tour celebrates their 40th anniversary. 8pm. $49.85-$72.40.
Mum
September 20 at Hudson Hall in Hudson
Mum makes music that mirrors the landscape of their Icelandic home: stark, aching, windswept chamber pop with a light wash of experimental electronica. Formed in 1997, the band just released their eighth album, History of Silence, and has collaborated with Kylie Minogue, Hauschka, and Brian Eno. The sextet’s (drums, acoustic and electric guitars, cello, keyboards, electronics, bass, trumpet) atmosphere-evoking sound has elicited numerous commissions from international orchestras and festivals, as well as theater and film scores. With Mice Parade. (The Abeo Quartet appears September 14; the Hudson Jazz Festival jams October 3-5.) 7pm. $25.
Greater Mysteries
September 26-27 at Widow Jane Mine in Rosendale
An immersive, sonic rite unspools as Emmy-nominated composer Kelli Scarr unveils Greater Mysteries, a live music project inspired by the mythic descent of Inanna and the ancient Eleusinian initiations. Equal parts concert and ceremony, this living myth transfigures audience and performer into ritual participants, guided through transformation by voice, live instrumentation, and evocative improvisation. Born in a Cretan residency and shaped by Iceland’s raw landscapes, the project bypasses conventional music-industry norms in favor of intuition, experimentation, and sacred exchange. Greater Mysteries invites you not merely to listen, but to journey. 6pm.
Saving Real Organic: Antitrust and Food
September 27 at Churchtown Dairy in Hudson
This one-day gathering unfolds in the storied Round Barn at Churchtown Dairy, drawing thinkers and farmers into a spirited dialogue on reclaiming our food system. TED-style talks by Marion Nestle, Jean-Martin Fortier, Zephyr Teachout, Austin Frerick, and Eliot Coleman explore antitrust, regulatory capture, and the small-farm renaissance. Real Organic farmers Hugh Kent, Emily Oakley, Dave Chapman, and Linley Dixon share their grounded stories. Mid-morning breakout sessions—from PFAS hazards to berry pesticides—unlock conversation. Organic lunch and a walking tour deepen the soil-to-table connection. This isn’t just a conference—it’s a call to farm with integrity. 9am-4pm.
Hudson Valley Garlic Festival
September 27-28 at Cantine Field in Saugerties
A weekend-long celebration of the humble yet heroic garlic—the “stinking rose”—this festival, presented by the Kiwanis Club of Saugerties, turns the village into a fragrant playground of taste and tradition. Expect gourmet garlic at the bustling marketplace, garlic-kissed dishes from sausages to ice cream, chef demos, and music that bounces from bluegrass to ragtime. Kids can revel in crafts and climbing walls; artists vie for your vote in the poster contest. Proceeds support Kiwanis scholarships, youth programs, and local charities, making this annual harvest party as generous in spirit as it is bold in flavor. 10am-5pm.
Newburgh Open Studios
September 27-28
This annual, two-day pilgrimage into the heart of Newburgh’s artistic ecosystem invites you behind the studio doors of painters, makers, and visionaries who infuse humble spaces with creativity and craft. Wander historic buildings and unconventional galleries, pause before pop-up exhibitions, and engage directly with artists—unfiltered, untitled, uncommonly alive. Now in its 15th year and dedicated to cofounder Gerardo Castro, the tour pulses with optimism, discovery, and the quiet power of place—one studio, one story, one encounter at a time. 12-6pm.
Bartees Strange
September 29 at Autocamp Catskills in Saugerties
The eclectic style of Bartees Strange reflects his nomadic background: Born in the UK to an opera-singer mother and a military father, he was raised in Oklahoma and moved first to Brooklyn, then to Washington, DC. After a spell with post-hardcore band Stay Inside, he cut a pair of self-released EPs before officially debuting with 2020’s locally recorded Live Forever. In 2022 Strange, whose approach mixes indie, electronica, hip-hop, folk, and pop, signed with the influential 4AD label for the acclaimed Farm to Table, which has been hailed for its diverse sound and lyrical depth. 6:30pm. $46.70.
Oldster Magazine Variety Hour
October 1 at Unicorn Bar, Kingston
Writer and editor Sari Botton celebrates the eve of her 60th birthday with the inaugural “Oldster Magazine Variety Hour,” a live spin-off of her wry, wide-ranging online magazine exploring how we move through time in our ever-changing bodies. The night’s theme, “What I Did for Love,” unfolds through readings, music, and storytelling from Amy Rigby, Chris Wells, Carolita Johnson, Joan Juliet Buck, and Francesca Hoffman. Expect wit, warmth, and a reminder that everyone, at every age, is the oldest they’ve ever been. Doors at 6:30, performance at 7pm.
New York Renaissance Faire
Through October 5 in Tuxedo Park
Step through the gates of the 16th century in Sterling Forest for the 48th annual New York Renaissance Faire. Across 65 forested acres, 20 stages spring to life with jousting knights, mischievous fairies, roving pirates, acrobats, and storytellers. Wander artisan stalls—brimming with handmade armor, glassware, flower crowns, and leathercraft—while lively entertainments swirl around you. Beloved traditions—pub crawls, themed weekends, and culinary indulgences—invite you deeper into the revelry. It’s not just a festival, but an immersive flicker of pre-modern wonder, where the past stirs, the present delights, and fantasy rules.
This article appears in September 2025.
