The George West Mansion was purchased in 2001 by Jeffrey Wodicka and Neil Castro of Saratoga Springs and since 2002 has operated as The Mansion of Saratoga. 

Located about 7 miles in a straight line down Route 29 from downtown Saratoga Springs, the historic inn at 801 Route 29, Rock City Falls, features a full slate of high-quality concerts in an intimate outdoor setting with a light fare menu created by Executive Chef Rick Bieber, a classically trained French Chef who graduated from Le Cordon Bleu Collage of Culinary Arts. 

This season’s staged offerings include everything from singing favorites from the Great American Songbook and a musical journey through 80 years of movies and musicals, to celebrated Broadway performers and feel-good ‘90s Boy Band nostalgia 

Q: How did you find your way to the Mansion Inn? 

Jeffrey Wodicka: Neil and I bought the property after 9/11. We were driving through downtown Saratoga and one of the big Victorians was for sale and I did one of those, ‘I wonder what these things sell for,’ and looked it up. It didn’t come up, but what did was The Mansion on Route 29. We ended up owning it about three weeks later. 

What we didn’t know was that we bought the historic George West mansion. George West was a tycoon in the period from the Civil War to the turn of the century. His claim to fame was he invented the flat-bottom paper bag that we (still) use every day. Isn’t that crazy? He was so rich he had his own railroad train that would bring him to the Mansion in Rock City Falls. And if you know where to look in the weeds, between Route 29 and the Kaydeross, his station is still there.   

Q: In addition to The Stars Are Out Tonight Concert Series, which kicks off this weekend, what are some of the other happenings at the Mansion Inn? 

JW:  What we’re really focused on is being an Event Venue. That ranges from large weddings to business meetings, and private parties – from anniversary and birthday parties to special events. 

Q: How did the concert series come about? 

JW: This is our seventh or eighth year doing this. My partner and I were thinking: It’s one thing to go SPAC and see the ballet and the orchestra, or to go to Proctors and see a traveling road show, but what would be neat is to bring up some top names, some who people know, some who they probably don’t know but who are unbelievable in the degree of talent they have, and to put them in an intimate setting. There’s no more than 130 people in the house. Every seat is orchestra, so to speak. And afterwards, they actually get to meet these people, take pictures with them and mingle with them. 

So, we took the old George West carriage house and turned it into a theater. The wood is seasoned, it dates to the 1860’s, so the sound quality is phenomenal. The performers say it’s like playing inside of a violin, and we were doing that until COVID hit. 

Q: How are you safely setting things up for the 2021 season? 

JW: This year, we said: let’s change this around. Let’s operate out on the deck. It’s a huge deck and it’s tented. They key is there are no sides. It’s exterior seating, but it’s protected from the elements. If it rains, we’re covered. So we moved the stage and the sound system to the deck, and we’re doing table seating – with your own party. That’s key. You can’t go in and sit with anybody. The tables are socially distanced, and each concert will follow the latest COVID rules and regulations that are in place at the time of the event. The capacity right now is at 80 to 100, and we can probably go to 130. The Tickets range from $45 to $60, and we have a full bar and will have a light fare menu by our Executive Chef Rick Bieber. 

The shows: 

May 21: Seth Sikes – Runnin’ Wild – Great American Songbook with a Modern Twist. 

June 4: Josh Young & Emily Padgett – Broadway at the Movies. 

July 9: Boy Band Project – Under the Stars. July 11: Boy Band Project Brunch. 

July 16: Brian Charles Rooney – The Trouble Concert. 

July 23: Adam Pascal – A 20 Year Retrospective. The Original Roger on Broadway in “RENT.”

July 30: Jarrod Spector & Kelli Barrett – The Broadway Powerhouse Couple. 

Aug. 6: Jenn Colella – Comedian & Tony Nominee in Concert. 

Aug. 15: Kelli Rabke – TINY GIANTS – Petite Females with Big Voices. 

Aug. 27 & 28: Nicole Henry – The Music of Whitney Houston. 

Tickets are available via online at: themansionsaratoga.com. 

ALBANY — The Egg has announced that Joan Osborne and Madeleine Peyroux will perform on Thursday, Sept. 9 as part of the American Roots & Branches concert series. Show time is 7 p.m.

Joan Osborne’s career reaches back to Relish, which racked up seven Grammy Award Nominations and featured her signature songs “One of Us” and “St. Theresa.” Madeleine Peyroux plays her 2004 multiplatinum release, Careless Love, with her jazz inflected interpretations of music by Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Hank Williams and Elliot Smith.

Tickets range from $39.50 to $69.50 and are on sale at The Egg Box Office at the Empire State Plaza, by telephone at 518-473-1845 and online at www.theegg.org. 

In addition, the following concerts have been rescheduled: Garth Fagan Dance: From March 27 to May 29; SFJAZZ Collective: From April 2 to July 7; The Fab Faux: From April 18 to August 8; DeVotchKa: From April 10 to September 25; Mutts Gone Nuts: From April 5 to October 4; Shawn Colvin: From May 12 to April 1. 

The scuffle of footsteps mate with emergency sirens and the honks of car horns. Snippets of conversation jarred by the warning bleats of trucks moving backwards and mix with sonic wind-blown harmonies that cling to the air. 

Glens Falls native Karl Bertrand performs and produces for Air Bertr&.  Instruments include, guitars, pianos, organs, synthesizers, and sometimes drums. Field recordings are often utilized as well. Mix in Connor Dunn of Ballston Spa, whose saxophonist is featured on a new piece, “City Walk,” to be released May 28.   

How did this project form?

“I began to get into ambient music in 2018, initially as a listener. The music eased my mind as I wrestled with insomnia and anxiety. I’d already been writing and recording songs for years by then, so it was pretty natural for me to start making ambient music myself,” Bertrand writes. 

Not surprisingly, the band’s influences include ambient artists such as Brian Eno, and Harold Budd. 

Local music aficionados will recognize Bertrand and Dunn as founding members of Saratoga Springs based indie rock jam band Let’s Be Leonard.

“City Walk” was recorded on a handheld cassette recorder during a walk from Manhattan’s upper east side to midtown. An improvised electric piano was later added to the field recording with the sounds of the saxophone layered across the top. The piece clocks in at 27 minutes. “A nice meditative amount of time,” Bertrand says. 

For more information, go to: Where: Spotify – distrokid.com/hyperfollow/airbertrand/city-walk-feat-connor-dunn, and Bandcamp – airbertrand.bandcamp.com.

TROY — Grant Wilfley Casting is seeking locals interested in working as extras in the upcoming HBO series THE GILDED AGE, from the creator of Downton Abbey. 

Set in the 1880s, the series will be filming May/June in Troy. 

Must be OK working around smoke and have natural-colored hair. Email your name, union status (SAG-AFTRA or NonUnion), phone number, height, weight, clothing sizes, and current photos to gildedage@gwcnyc.com. This casting is for paid background/extra work. Visit www.gwciol.com or call 212-685-3168 for more information.

LAKE GEORGE — The LGD/50 Summer Concert series kicks off Memorial Day weekend at the Charles R. Wood Festival Commons in Lake George and will feature a number of touring acts over the course of the summer. 

The “Memorial Meltdown,” as the first weekend is being dubbed, starts off Thursday, May 27 with a performance by up-and-coming jamband, Dogs in a Pile. 

On Friday, May 28, Pink Talking Fish will perform their unique fusion of Pink Floyd, Talking Heads and Phish, with Dogs in a Pile scheduled to return to kick off the evening.  Then on Saturday, May 28, Badfish: A Tribute to Sublime rolls into town as part of their 20-year anniversary tour with special guest lespecial.

Each of these concerts will feature a “pod” format, where each ticket purchased will include admission for up to 5 people who will occupy their own socially distanced area, or “pod.”

Gates for the Memorial Day Weekend shows open at 7 p.m. on Thursday, with an 8 p.m. start time and 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, with a 6:30 p.m. start time.  Additional info, including ticket information can be found at: www.adkmusicfest.com/lgd50

Thursday Tickets: 5-person Pod: $90-$110 ($18-$22 per person). Ticket Link:  adkmusicfest.com/project/lgd50-may-27.

Friday Tickets: 5-person Pod: $175 – $225 ($35-$45 per person). Ticket Link: adkmusicfest.com/project/lgd50-may-28. 

Saturday Tickets: 5-person Pod: $175-$225 ($35-$45 per person). Ticket Link: adkmusicfest.com/project/lgd50-may-29. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — After a hiatus last year, the Beekman Street Art Fair returns on Sunday, June 13.  The event will be held 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. when 40 juried artisans will set up along Beekman Street. The street will be closed from Grand Ave to West Circular for the family-friendly fair. 

Organizers say due to COVID restrictions, the fair will be scaled down but will still feature a diverse collection of artwork by accomplished New York State artists and makers, most from the Capital District. 

Besides painting, drawing and photography, the fair will feature fiber art, pottery, glass, woodwork, fashion, jewelry, and mixed media artwork. Merchants and restaurants in the Arts District will be open with specials for the event. There will be several culinary options, including food trucks. 

For more information, go to: saratogaartdistrict.com.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga author Nicolas DiDomizio’s debut, “Burn it All Down,” will be celebrated with a book release party via Zoom at Northshire Bookstore on Monday, May 24. 

Published by Little, Brown & Company and billed as a mwother/son, crime/revenge thriller, the synopsis: Eighteen-year-old Joey Rossi and his mom, Gia, are close. Some might say too close. But ever since Gia had Joey as a teen, that’s the way it’s always been. The two of them against the world. As it should be, since they share a similar affliction: terrible taste in men. When Joey discovers his boyfriend has been cheating and Gia discovers her boyfriend has been lying about getting divorced, they leave their Bayonne, New Jersey, apartment and set out on a revenge mission.

Tickets are required and the event gets underway at 7 p.m. Go to: northshire.com. 

DiDomizio holds a bachelor’s degree from Western Connecticut State University and a master’s degree from NYU. He has worked in corporate roles at Condé Nast, MTV, and elsewhere. He lives in upstate New York with his partner, Graig, and their bulldog, Tank. 

Saratoga Springs — Congregation Shaara Tfille and The Jewish Community Center of Saratoga Springs will host a presentation from former Mossad Agent Yola Reitman. Reitman will share her leading role impersonating a diving instructor of ‘Operation Brothers’ to rescue Ethiopian Jews. This virtual event will be direct from Israel on Sunday, May 23 at 3 p.m. 

Reitman was recruited by Israeli intelligence agency, the Mossad, to lead the rescue of thousands of Ethiopian Jews who had fled famine and war into neighboring Sudan. 

Reitman played a key role in the mission which was fictionalized in a Netflix feature film titled “The Red Sea Diving Resort.” 

Reitman’s discussion will be accompanied by a slideshow of true pictures alongside the real stories. The program is complimentary, but donations are encouraged to benefit Congregation Shaara Tfille and The Jewish Community Center for future programs. For reservations, please contact likebertrand518@gmail.com.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Dance Alliance of the Capital Region announces a unique virtual series that captures the allure of Hollywood’s Golden Age with a virtual tour by collector Mike Kaplan followed by a movement class in the style of one theme per week. 

Part 1 will include a virtual tour led by collector Mike Kaplan showing and speaking about Hollywood dance film posters with a common theme. 

Part 2 will be a short interactive sharing of participants and the dance instructor about the films and theme of the day. 

Part 3 will be a movement class as follows: May 26- Soft shoe tap with Johnny Martinez – film focus on Nicholas Brothers and Bill Bojangles Robinson; June 2 – Gene Kelly with David Prottas – film focus will be on An American in Paris; June 9- Films with a Latin flair with Diane Lachtrupp – Caliente, Bolero, West Side Story, Rumba; June 16 – From Broadway to Film with Robin Gifford – focus on the choreographic style of Bob Fosse; June 23 – Hollywood Western with Ginger Morris – a country western dance class; June 30 – Fred and Ginger with Holly Livingston – the incomparable ballroom duo in films.

The Wednesday afternoon program runs from 1 – 2:15 p.m., May 26-June 30 on Zoom. The cost for 6 classes is $50. A single class is $10. Dancing Through Time Virtual: The Golden Age of Hollywood registration at www.dancealliance.org 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Gimme Shelter. Love In Vain. Monkey Man, Midnight Rambler, and You Can’t Always Get What You Want. 

“Let It Bleed” – one of the Rolling Stones’ finest albums (although arguably some of the songs were better presented in the live album format that would follow), was released on Friday, Dec. 5, 1969, precisely 24 hours prior to the Stones staging their free concert at Altamont that drove a final nail in the coffin of the 1960s. 

Greatest Stones’ album or not, it came at one of their more tumultuous periods, and during the 1968 and 1969 era in which it was recorded, certainly at their most creative. And Rochman will tell you all about it, as he spins the tunes from the nine-track album starting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 18 at Caffe Lena. 

There will be limited seating inside the venue, and a Zoom Live Stream which may be viewed anywhere in the world. 

For more information and tickets to the Rochmon Record Club Listening Party Rolling Stones/ “Let It Bleed,” go to:  caffelena.org.