SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Arts will bring back Art in the Park on Sept. 25. The event will take place in Congress Park. 

Volunteers are needed to help facilitate the fun, art-filled event, and organizers say many positions and timeslots are available, to fit any schedule. Reach out to Katharine Hayes (khayes@saratoga-arts.org) for more details and to sign up. 

On Sept. 2, Saratoga Arts will host in-person grant information sessions at 320 Broadway. Schedule: 3 p.m. – Arts Education. 4 p.m. – Community Arts. 

5 p.m. – Individual Artists. 

For more information, go to www.Saratoga-arts.org. 

ALBANY — For the sixth year, the performing arts centers at The Egg and the University at Albany will present Dance in Albany, a joint dance series featuring nine performances for the 2021-22 season.  The lineup mixes several companies from the 2019-20 season who were postponed by the pandemic as well as many others new to the series schedule. 

Six of the performances will take place at The Egg at the Empire State Plaza with the remaining three at the UAlbany Performing Arts Center on the uptown University at Albany campus. The series features styles that range from flamenco to hip-hop to Indian dance along with plenty of modern and ballet with more than half of the performances featuring live music. Many on the schedule are companies who are commemorating or have just recently celebrated major anniversaries.

Dance enthusiasts have the opportunity to purchase a package with a ticket to each performance for $130, a savings of over 40% off the individual prices.  Subscriptions that include six and four performances are also available at a savings of 25% and 10%, respectively. Subscriptions and individual tickets may be purchased through The Egg Box Office in person at the Empire State Plaza location, by telephone at 518-473-1845 or online at www.theegg.org. 

Details of the performances are as follows: Flamenco Vivo at the UAlbany Performing Arts Center – Oct 2, $10-$20; Rennie Harris Puremovement at The Egg- Oct.22, $28; Pilobolus at The Egg – Nov. 12, $36; David Dorfman Dance at the UAlbany Performing Arts Center – Jan. 28, 2022, $10-$20; New York Theatre Ballet with Bridgman | Packer Dance at The Egg – Feb. 25, $25; Mark Morris Dance Group at The Egg – March 11, $36; Ashwini Ramaswamy’s Let the Crows Come at the UAlbany Performing Arts Center – March 27, $10-$20; Garth Fagan Dance at The Egg – April 22, $28; Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company at The Egg – May 14, $25.

LAKE GEORGE — The Adirondack Independent Music Festival returning for its 6th year from Friday, Sept.  3 thru Sunday, Sept. 5. The festival was off year off due to the pandemic

This year’s event will feature headliners moe., who will perform 2 sets each night on Saturday and Sunday, and Twiddle (2 sets on Friday), as well as a special tribute to Prince and David Bowie featuring members of Pink Talking Fish, Snarky Puppy, Kung Fu and more.  Also performing this year will be Roots of Creation, Kung Fu, Lucid, Bella’s Bartok, Eggy, Neighbor, Dogs in a Pile, Annie in the Water, Baked Shrimp and Hartley’s Encore.

The festival takes places at the Charles R. Wood Festival Commons in Lake George. 

In addition to the music, the festival will feature a variety of food and craft vendors, as well as a great view of the Lake George fireworks on Saturday evening.

Music at the festival commons is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. on Friday and 12:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday and will go until 11 p.m. each night. All ages are welcome to attend and children 12 and under are free.

General Admission weekend and single day festival tickets are on sale at www.adkmusicfest.com.  There is also a special VIP option available, which includes admission to all three days of the festival, a meal each night, free snacks, half-priced adult beverages, $2 water/soft drinks, a private viewing area (with private bar) and access to private bathrooms.  Gates at the Festival Commons will open at 1 p.m. on Friday and 11:30 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. 

For tickets and more information, visit the festival website at www.adkmusicfest.com.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Several years in the making about decades gone by in Saratoga, longtime Saratoga Springs bartender, artist and cartoonist Hud Armstrong has published a new book featuring hundreds of his cartoons that appeared from 1991 to 2006 in Poor Richard’s Journal.

Hud’s cartoons compilation follows Booker D. and the N.G.s (New Guys) as they navigate life in a rapidly changing upstate New York town known for its “health, history and horses.” Many of the characters are based on friends and coworkers he has known for decades, and offer their observations on everything from current events to sports, upstate weather, Saratoga’s rich history and its love-hate relationship with the crowds who flock here every racing season.

The book, “Booker D. and the N.G.s: A Chronicle of Saratoga,” was published by Northshire Bookstore’s Shire Press. Copies of the book are on sale at Northshire’s store at 424 Broadway or can be ordered via the store’s website: www.northshire.com/book/9781605715728 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Dinosaurs in Motion: Where Art and Science Meet at the Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs has changed their hours of operation. 

Universal Preservation Hall will now be open from 10 a.m. with the last admittance at 4 p.m. every day except for Wednesday. 

Starting Thursday, Sept. 9, UPH will keep the hours at 10 a.m., with the last admittance at 4 p.m. but will only be open Thursday-Sunday.

Dinosaurs in Motion engages and educates visitors of all ages by using 14 fully interactive, recycled life-size metal dinosaur sculptures inspired by actual fossils. Go to: www.universalpreservationhall.org. 

SCHENECTADY — Tickets for the world premiere of the entirely original new musical based on true stories, “The Right Girl,” are on sale. “The Right Girl” will run Oct. 13 through Nov. 10 at Proctors. 

Featuring music by 12-time Academy Award nominee and Grammy®, Emmy® and Golden Globe® Award-winning songwriter Diane Warren, lyrics by Warren, Louisette Geiss and Howard Kagan, and a book by Geiss and Kagan, “The Right Girl” is directed and choreographed by five-time Tony Award winner Susan Stroman.

Proctors is located in Schenectady. Tickets are $45-55. For more information, call 518-346-6204, or visit online at www.proctors.org. 

GREENWICH — Varosy Studios will host a sale, exhibition and silent auction at the gallery, located at 1522 North Road in Greenwich.  A portion of the proceeds from the sale will be directed to cultural programming at local non-profit organizations. 

The sale will take place 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 4, and noon – 4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept.  5. The silent auction will be held on Saturday only, closing at 3 p.m.

For more information or to view available work, visit www.varosystudios.us

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The following pop concerts are currently scheduled to take place at Saratoga Performing Arts Center. For ticket information, go to: www.spac.org. 

Aug. 23 – King Crimson.
Aug. 24 – James Taylor/ Jackson Browne. 
Aug. 27 – Dead & Company. 
Aug. 28 – Lynyrd Skynyrd. 
Sept. 5 – Alanis Morissette/ Garbage/ Liz Phair. 
Sept. 12 – Outlaw Music Fest w/ Willie Nelson, Sturgill Simpson, Gov’t Mule, Margo Price. 
Sept. 13 – Maroon 5. 
Sept. 14 – The Black Crowes. 
Sept. 17-18 – Dave Matthews Band. 
Sept. 19 – Flogging Molly, Violent Femmes, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Thick. 
Sept. 28 – Jonas Brothers.
Oct. 3 – Zac Brown Band. 

Scheduled for 2022 at Saratoga Performing Arts Center: Doobie Brothers (June 16); Steely Dan/ Steve Winwood (June 21); Tedeschi Trucks Band (July 3); Rod Stewart / Cheap Trick (July 22); Backstreet Boys (July 23); Matchbox Twenty (July 31); Goo Goo Dolls (Aug. 19). 

NEW YORK – The first time Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith performed their song “Because The Night” was on a frigid New York night in 1977 at CBGB’s 2nd Ave. Theater the night before New Year’s Eve. The evening concluded with the NYFD pulling the plug on the show and a row of police anticipating trouble lining Fourth Street. It was a different time. 

The next time the two perform the song together will be Saturday night on the Great Lawn in Central Park as part of the multi-artist gathering, “We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert.”

The concert, which will host up to 60,000 vaccinated attendees, takes place 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Aug. 21, and will be broadcast around the world, live on CNN. 

Full Lineup for Central Park Concert: Jon Batiste, Andrea Bocelli, Kane Brown, LL COOL J, Elvis Costello, Lucky Daye, Earth, Wind & Fire, Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds, Cynthia Erivo, Jimmy Fallon, Jennifer Hudson, Wyclef Jean, Journey, The Killers, Gayle King, Don Lemon, Barry Manilow, The New York Philharmonic, Polo G, Carlos Santana, Paul Simon, Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen, Rob Thomas.    

HUDSON FALLS — PAKT performs at The Strand Theatre on Sunday, Sept. 12. Show time is 7 p.m. and tickets are $25. 

PAKT is made up of fretless bass guitar icon Percy Jones, guitarists Alex Skolnick and Tim Motzer, and drummer Kenny Grohowski. Welsh bassist Jones (a New York resident) is known for his tenure in the jazz fusion group Brand X, as well as extensive studio work with Brian Eno, Kate Bush, Suzanne Vega, David Sylvian. Skolnick is best known as the lead guitarist in the thrash metal band Testament; he went on to freelance work, playing jazz with his Alex Skolnick Trio, and experimenting with World Music and Progressive Rock. 

Grohowski is one of the busiest drummers in business, and his recent associations include John Zorn, Brand X, Imperial Triumphant, Kilter, Felix Pastorius & Hipster Assassins, John Medeski, Lonny Plaxico, Tony Levin, Beledo, Markus Reuter, and many others. Motzer has a long background in free improvisation as well, including the bands Bandit65 (with fellow guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel) and Orion Tango, plus many other recorded collaborations for his 1k Recordings label. 

The Strand is located at 210 Main St., Hudson Falls.  For tickets, or more information, call 518-832-3484 or go to www.hudsonrivermusichall.org