SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, located at 815 North Broadway, will host the following programs. 

Tang at Home Studio: Vivid Inspiration – Online, Saturday, October 23, 11 a.m. to noon. In this online family program, take a close look at works by Mississippi Chocktaw-Cherokee artist Jeffrey Gibson. What is he trying to express and communicate using these colorful, vibrant, multimedia works? Explore Gibson’s piece in the Tang collection alongside his other works and then create our own inspired mixed-media pieces. Registration required. 

Crochet Coral Workshop for Kids – In person, Saturday, October 23, 1 to 2:30 pm. A multigenerational workshop for children 5 and older and their adult companions. In this special workshop we will crochet corals for the community-made Saratoga Springs Satellite Reef, part of the worldwide Crochet Coral Reef project by Christine and Margaret Wertheim and the Institute for Figuring. No experience necessary and all materials will be provided! Registration required. To register, call the Tang Visitors Services Desk at 518-580-8080. For more information.

Crochet Coral Workshop for Teens – In person, Saturday, October 23, 3 to 4:30 pm. Teens age 13 to 18 are invited to a special workshop in which we will crochet corals for the community-made Saratoga Springs Satellite Reef, part of the worldwide Crochet Coral Reef project by Christine and Margaret Wertheim and the Institute for Figuring. No experience necessary and all materials will be provided! Registration required. To register, call the Tang Visitors Services Desk at 518-580-8080. 

Teen Open Studio – Online, Saturday, October 23, 3 to 4:30 pm. Teens aged 13 to 18 are invited to explore and create artworks in response to social justice ideas such as race, gender and identity! Registration required via this Google form. For more information, visit the event page.

For more information, call 518-580-8080, or go to: www.tang.skidmore.edu 

ALBANY — British singer/songwriter Robyn Hitchcock will perform at The Egg 7 p.m. on Sunday, October 24, as part of the venue’s Rhythm International concert series.

One of England’s most enduring contemporary singer/songwriters, Hitchcock is a surrealist poet and talented guitarist – a musician’s musician blending folk and psychedelia. Since founding the art-rock band The Soft Boys in 1976, he has recorded more than 20 albums, with songs described as “paintings you can listen to.”

Tickets are $29.50 and are available at The Egg Box Office at the Empire State Plaza, by telephone at 518-473-1845 or at www.theegg.org 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Local librarian and old-time banjo player Dan Hubbs – who has published a book inspired by his work as a building superintendent in Tribeca in the early 1980s – bring a live show to the Caffe Lena stage next month. 

The new poetry book, “Downtown Super Tells All,” provides the inspiration for the live performance on Nov. 13, when he will be joined by Frank Orsini (fiddle, mandolin) and JP Hubbs (keyboards).

These shows are produced by the Folklife Center of Crandall Public Library, with the support of the New York State Council on the Arts. The publication of the book – edited by local writer Mary Jablonki and with cover art by local artist Rumara Jewett- and the musical series are made possible by a grant from the Alfred Z. Solomon Charitable Trust.

The live event takes place 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13. Note, Caffe Lena has returned to full capacity, and In order to ensure everyone’s safety the café is requiring proof of vaccination for all attendees.

For more information, go to: www.caffelena.org 

ALBANY — From the melodious interpretation of Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man,” to re-inventing Pete Seeger’s collaboration with the Book of Ecclesiastes and seemingly a million other points beyond,  the twang of Roger McGuinn’s Rickenbacker is as much a part of the 20th Century American Songbook as any, and more so than most. 

The frontman of The Byrds will perform a solo show during his historic tour of songs and stories when he stages a concert at The Egg next June. Roger McGuinn: Saturday, June 11, tickets: $39.50. 

The Egg has also announced the addition of shows by Sarah Jarosz – on Dec. 3, and Marty Stuart on  Jan. 30, early in the new year. 

Tickets are on sale online at www.theegg.org, by telephone at 518-473-1845, or in person at The Egg Box Office 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College announces the fourth exhibition in a series that invites an artist to reimagine a community space in the Museum.

Lauren Kelley: Location Scouting, opens Oct. 16 and runs for two years. Lauren Kelley, an artist and curator, will reshape the Tang’s mezzanine by combining meditations on travel with snapshots of everyday life in her drawings, sculpture, and stop-motion animation videos. Using plasticine, toys, and souvenirs, Kelley’s videos conjure worlds that are malleable and unfixed, inhabited by robust protagonists whose quirks stem from efforts to correct the asymmetrical relationships they encounter. Accentuating the off-kilter, Location Scouting speaks to the shifts and rifts inherent in navigating today’s post-pandemic landscape. 

The installation is also the setting for a series of transformations over time, created in collaboration with sculptor Margarita Cabrera, animator Jennifer Levonian, and performance artist Autumn Knight. Each guest artist’s interest in place, narrative, and audience will inform the direction of a new stop-motion animation produced collaboratively by Kelley and Skidmore College students to be screened during the last months of the show in 2023. 

Lauren Kelley: Location Scouting is organized by Rachel Seligman, Assistant Director for Curatorial Affairs and Malloy Curator, in collaboration with the artist and is supported by the Friends of the Tang. 

The Tang Teaching Museum is located on the campus of Skidmore College. Museum hours: Thursday to Sunday, noon to 5 p.m., with extended hours until 9 p.m. Thursdays. For the latest visitor guidelines, visit www.tang.skidmore.edu 

SCHUYLERVILLE — The Laffer Gallery will open a new exhibit, “9th Annual Upstate Invitational” on Saturday, Oct. 16, at 96 Broad St. in Schuylerville. 

The exhibit will run through Nov. 21 and will feature artwork by regional artists Jon Gernon, Susan Stuart and Phyllis Kulmatiski.

“Our annual Upstate Artists exhibition is a great way to showcase, side by side, works by some of Upstate New York’s emerging and accomplished artists. Each year, we have a new juror, and the Annual Upstate Invitation is the showcase of the talented artists who are selected Best in Show during a given year,” said Erik Laffer, owner of The Laffer Gallery, in a statement. “We’re excited to present the work that captured the imagination and earned the appreciation of 2020 juror George Dirolf.”

An opening reception will be held at The Laffer Gallery from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Grammy-nominated comedian Bill Burr will stage a show at Saratoga Performing Arts Center Aug. 27, 2022 as part of his lengthy North American arena and amphitheater tour. 

Burr achieving success in TV and film as well as on stage, recently seen in a guest role on the hit FX on Hulu series, Reservation Dogs. He has released a live, vinyl, double album, “Bill Burr Live From Madison Square Garden,” and later this year will see his animated Netflix series, “F Is For Family,” premiere its fifth and final season – starring Bill, Laura Dern, Justin Long and Sam Rockwell in the cast. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Composer and multi-instrumentalist Gary Schall will perform at Saratoga Arts in November, marking the anniversary of the JFK Assassination with his composition, “Memory of an Own.” 

Written for piano, voice and marimba and composed in memory of his teacher James Preiss, a member of the President’s Own Marine Band, who distinguished himself as one of the 19 drummers to perform at the funeral of President John F. Kennedy.

Schall, who calls Saratoga his new hometown, was at the age of 19 invited to join the Grammy-winning ensemble of acclaimed minimalist composer Steve Reich. 

In the decades since, Schall remained on the cutting edge of the music world, recording Reich’s landmark works, as well as composing his own music for experimental instruments like the metallic 31-toned Zoomoozophone and the patented Tap Dance Instrument – a wood and brass multi-timbre floor that turns tap dancing into music. 

Shows will take place 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 20 and 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 21 at Saratoga Arts, 320 Broadway. Tickets are $10. Tickets & Information, email: @Schallmusic.com 

Based on CDC guidelines and the dynamics of Saratoga Arts as an educational facility, full indoor masking and proof of vaccination is required for this performance.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Congratulations are in order for local blues duo Mark Tolstrup & Jill Burnham, who secured the winning slot in the Capital Region Blues Network Solo/Duo Blues Challenge on Oct. 3 in Albany.

Winning the event qualifies Mark & Jill to compete in The International Blues Challenge in Memphis, Tennessee in January. 

Steeped in the roots of gospel, jazz, and blues, Mark & Jill is a duo with traditional and original songs featuring seasoned Saratoga blues artist and NY Blues Hall of Fame inductee Mark Tolstrup accompanied by sultry vocalist Jill Burnham. 

Mark & Jill will be performing a send-off to Memphis show at Caffe Lena on Friday Jan. 7.

SARATOGA — October is the month when fall leaves crinkle underfoot, jack-o’-lanterns flicker in the moon’s beaming light, and pumpkin spice lattes are cradled by passers-by. October is also a month of remembrance. National Domestic Violence Awareness month is when survivors bravely speak out to tell their stories with the hope that their words can reach ears that have become deafened from constant threats, beatings, and torment. 

One in 3 women and 1 in 4 men will be the victim of domestic abuse or violence during their lifetime.  The National Domestic Violence Hotline receives more than 20,000 calls each day. Twenty men and women are abused every minute by an intimate partner, and 1 of 2 females and 1 in 13 male murder victims are a result of domestic violence. 

Local Harley Quinn cosplayer, Harleen, is raffling off two autographed graphic novels, “Harley Loves Joker,” and “Harley Quinn: A Celebration of 25 years,” to benefit the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. 

“I am a statistic, a victim of domestic violence. I have struggled for years with the post-traumatic effects from being physically, emotionally, and mentally abused. I found my solace through cosplaying, or the portrayal of a character in comics, television shows, movies, video games, and pop culture,” says Harleen. 

Harley Quinn, a character created by DC Comics in 1992 to be the Joker, Batman’s nemesis’ sidekick,  first appeared in Batman the Animated Series in the episode “Jokers Favor” and through her journey in the show as well as in her comics, the abuse that Joker put her through swiftly emerged to the audience. 

“I get a lot of questions about why I cosplay Harley Quinn, and the truth is, she left her abuser, the Joker, and that gave me the strength and courage to leave mine.” 

Both graphic novels were donated and signed by Harley Quinn’s creator, Paul Dini. All of the proceeds from the raffle will be donated to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, whose mission is to “lead, mobilize and raise our voices to support efforts that demand a change of conditions that lead to domestic violence such as patriarchy, privilege, racism, sexism, and classism. We are dedicated to supporting survivors and holding offenders accountable and supporting advocates.” 

For a link to the raffle link, go to: go.rallyup.com/sweetheartharley. 

For more information about the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, go to www.ncadv.org