Neko Case

January 14 at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in Troy

Among the handful of dedications in the gatefold cover of Neko Caseโ€™s eighth and newest album, Neon Grey Midnight Green, itโ€™s touching to see the names of some much-missed Hudson Valley figures: The Bandโ€™s Garth Hudson and his wife Maud, and long-time Chronogram staffer and community personality Julie Novak. Clearly Case, whose memoir The Harder I Fight the More I Love You became a best-seller, is a connector with deep souls, and itโ€™s always a joy to welcome the Canadian chanteuse back to the region. The Des Demonas open. (Almost Queen will rock you January 17; Blue Octoberโ€™s Justin Furstenfeld journeys January 31.) 7:30pm. $46.50-$78.50. 

Myriam Gendron/Lucy Sante

January 16 at Tubbyโ€™s in Kingston

Befitting her literate music, Montreal singer-songwriter Myriam Gendron works by day as a copy editor and book dealer. Her 2014 debut album, Not So Deep as a Well, set poems of Dorothy Parker to song, drawing deep devotion among listeners for its sparse, haunting acoustic folk sounds. 2021โ€™s Ma Delire: Songs of Love, Lost and Found and 2024โ€™s Mayday fold in the Quebecois music of her native environs. Local literary luminary Lucy Sante opens. (Jackson and the Janks testify January 14; Anastasia Coope ascends January 31.) 7pm. $24.72.

G. Love and Special Sauce

January 23 at the Bearsville Theater in Bearsville

Bust out the hacky-sacks and wine coolers. Big faves on the feel-good side of the 1990s alt-rock boom, Philadelphiaโ€™s G. Love and Special Sauce are known for their light, laid-back blend of blues, hip-hop, rock, and soul. Last November, the group, fronted by singer and guitarist Garrett โ€œG. Loveโ€ Dutton, released their 10th studio album, Ode to R.L., a tribute to the late bluesman R.L. Boyce. This show is a stop on the tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the hit album Lemonade. (โ€œHousepitality: House Music on the Hudsonโ€ brings the beats January 17.) 7pm. $48.15-$167.65.

Lettuce

January 28 at Empire Live in Albany

When they formed as teenagers at Bostonโ€™s Berklee College of Music in 1992, funky jam outfit Lettuce took a leaf or two from soul-jazz such masters as Herbie Hancock, Tower of Power, and Earth, Wind and Fire. Featuring members who moonlight with acts like Lady Gaga, The Game, Britney Spears, Rustic Overtones, Soulive, Wyclef Jean, John Scofield, and Robert Randolph and the Family Band, the ensemble is known for its playerโ€™s dazzling chops. Lettuceโ€™s 2020 album Elevate was nominated for a Grammy for Instrumental Album of the Year. (Eggy and Real Estate converge January 8; Umphreyโ€™s Magee jams February 5.) 7pm. $45-$135.

Nathan and the Zydeco Cha-Chas

January 30 at Darylโ€™s House in Pawling

โ€œIโ€™m originally from St. Martinville, Louisiana, where the crawfish got soul and the alligators sing the blues,โ€ accordionist Nathan Williams, the leader of the ebullient Nathan and the Zydeco Cha-Chas, told Living Blues in 2019. The nephew of Clifton Chenierโ€™s guitarist Harry Hypolite, Williams founded the Zydeco Cha-Chas in 1985 and is steeped in authentic zydeco traditionโ€”a tradition heโ€™s passed down to his two sons, both musicians themselves. The multiple-award winner brings his โ€œstomp down zydecoโ€ our way this month. (Vonda Sheppard visits January 7; Sally Babyโ€™s Silver Dollars serve NOLA sounds January 11.) 6pm. $28.69 – $45.17

Winter Hoot

January 30-February 1 at the Ashokan Center in Olivebridge

Hootinโ€™ time is here again! This year, the weekend-long, family-friendly seasonal gathering dedicated to myriad forms of live folk music, food, square dancing, jam sessions, yoga, crafting, handmade arts demonstrations, kidsโ€™ activities, workshops, nature, and togetherness has appearances by hosts Jay Ungar and Molly Mason, the Mammals, Jim Lauderdale, the Restless Age, Paper Wings, James Felice, the Guthrie Family Singers, Bari Koral and Yogapalooza, and more. See website for complete schedule, along with ticket prices and purchase options.

Peter Aaron is the arts editor for Chronogram.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *