Eric Andersen and Jon Pousette-Dart
May 7 at the Colony in Woodstock
In classic Woodstock folk tradition, this bill brings together two legendary singer-songwriters of the genre. A leading figure on the 1960s Greenwich Village folk boom and an erstwhile local, Andersen authored such songs as “Thirsty Boots,” “Violets of Dawn,” and “Come to My Bedside.” Pousette-Dart emerged from Cambridge, Massachusetts, coffeehouses to lead popular ’70s soft rockers the Pousette-Dart Band. (Carolyn Wonderland wails May 3; the Mammals migrate May 17.) 7pm. $40.
Ghostface Killah
May 8 at the Bardavon in Poughkeepsie
As a cofounder of the iconic Wu-Tang Clan, rapper Ghostface Killah (born Dennis David Coles) took his name from a character in a 1979 kung fu film and established himself via his hard, fast, dazzling stream-of-consciousness storytelling flow. After guesting on his fellow Wu Tang member Raekwon’s 1995 debut album, he made his own solo debut with 1996’s acclaimed Ironman, the first of his 13 albums to date. (Joe Jackson jumps ’n’ jives May 11; Ryan Bingham rides in May 30.) 8pm. $73.40-$112.35.
Ben Folds
May 9 at the Paramount Hudson Valley Theater in Peekskill
It’ll be just the North Carolina piano man and his instrument for this intimate evening. The Emmy-nominated singer-songwriter and arts advocate is a man of conscience: In 2025 he resigned from his post as the National Symphony Orchestra’s artistic advisor at the Kennedy Center, citing the institution’s turn toward partisan control as the reason. Lindsay Kraft opens. (Start Making Sense and the Ocean Avenue Stompers Horns play Talking Heads May 8; the Righteous Brothers bring that lovin’ feeling May 29.) 8pm. $82.50-$110.
Memorials
May 21 at Tubby’s in Kingston
British duo Memorials is made up of Electralane’s Verity Susman and latter-day Wire man Matthew Simms. With a dreamy, analog-electric pop sound, the group swirls in the same retro-futurist zone as Stereolab (with whom they’ve toured), Broadcast, Portishead, and Silver Apples. After debuting with 2024’s Memorial Waterslides, the band returned to the racks with this year’s All Clouds Bring Not Rain, which left AllMusic “floored by the raw emotion that’s flowing through the songs like bubbling hot blood.” (Doug Gillard delivers May 22; Wolf Eyes peer May 27.) 7pm. $19.06.
Samantha Fish
May 21 at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in Troy
Blues rock’s new-generation goddess rips her way back with this incandescent night at the northeastern edge of the Hudson Valley. A Grammy nominee and the winner of awards from multiple blues organizations, the 37-year-old guitarist and vocalist began playing as a teenager in her native Kansas and blew area audiences away when she opened for Buddy Guy. Her 2023 album with Jesse Dayton was produced locally by Jon Spencer; her newest disc is 2025’s Paper Doll. (Melissa Etheridge emotes May 7; Little Feat leaps May 31.) 8pm. $45.50-$55.50.
Saha Gnawa
May 29 at the Local in Saugerties
Masters of hypnotic North African gnawa—sometimes called “sufi blues” here in the West—Saha Gnawa is co-led by singer and Maalem Hassan Ben Jaafer, the son of musical luminary Maalem Abdullah Benjaafar, and drummer Daniel Freedman, who has worked with David Byrne and Angelique Kidjo. This visit by the entrancing ensemble represents yet another remarkable booking by this vital and reliably outward-looking music venue. (A night of Portuguese fado takes place May 3; Paolo Angelic plays Sardinian guitar May 31.) 8pm. $29.87.
This article appears in May 2026.
