SARATOGA SPRINGS — On Sunday, May 24, Caffè Lena will celebrate the 85th birthday of Bob Dylan with a special evening of live music that honors one of the world’s most influential songwriters.

In 1961, a young Bob Dylan performed for three nights at Caffe Lena, becoming its most famous alum. Photographs of Dylan still hang inside the venue.

Hosted by Michael Eck, the Dylan concert will bring together a diverse lineup of Capital Region artists, each offering their own take on Dylan’s work. Eck, a Caffè Lena board member, is staging the show as a benefit for the venue.

The evening will feature:

• Julia Alsarraf, a rising voice in the indie and alternative scene, known for her emotionally direct songwriting and distinctive vocal style.

• The BlueBillies, a Capital Region bluegrass group rooted in traditional sounds, bringing tight harmonies and driving acoustic energy.

• Buggy Jive, a genre-blending musician with strong songwriting and lyrics heavily influenced by literature.

• Girl Blue (Arielle O’Keefe), an award-winning singer-songwriter whose deeply personal songs and powerful voice have earned national attention.

• Chuck Lamb, acclaimed jazz pianist and longtime host of Caffè Lena’s Jazz Series, known for his expressive playing and wide-ranging musical collaborations.

• Kate McDonnell, a seasoned songwriter and performer whose work blends folk, jazz, and pop influences with sharp lyrical insight.

Together, these artists will explore Dylan’s expansive catalog, from early folk songs to later-era compositions, offering new interpretations shaped by their own musical perspectives.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — A one-day Christian music festival, Worship in the Pines, will be held at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) on Friday, Sept. 11. 

The inaugural event, announced via social media on Tuesday, will unveil its lineup on Thursday, April 16 at 10 a.m.

“One night. Thousands of voices. Proclaiming one name, together,” read a brief description of the festival.

As of press time, few details about the event were available.

Those interested in receiving updates can sign up for notifications on the festival’s website, www.worshipinthepines.com.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Skidmore’s Arthur Zankel Music Center was alive this Friday with the enchanting music of pianist HaeSun Paik. The musician could be seen fully immersed in her music, with her entire body swaying as the notes floated throughout the music hall. 

The crowd was a blend of all ages, and they could be seen watching her performance intently. Paik made her tempo changes sound effortless as the tunes shifted from a calm and relaxing melody to a faster paced, more aggressive sound. Each tempo evoked a new emotion, and it was easy to get lost in the music.

It was clear that Paik was in her element, and her passion for the art form shone with the creativity and effort she put into her program. She started with Beethoven and transitioned into a well-known Korean tune, with the sounds changing to symbolize the changing seasons. This was followed by a folk-like Hungarian melody, and the concert was concluded with a work that tied back into Beethoven, creating a full circle loop.

Paik used her program as a showcase for her range as a pianist and her understanding and creativity in the field. The crowd was supportive and received her work with a standing ovation to finish off the night.

Paik can be found on multiple streaming platforms, including Amazon Music, Spotify, and Apple Music.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Springs author David K. Wilson will release “Leave Dead Enough Alone” on April 7. It’s the eighth installment of his Sam Lawson mystery series, and his tenth novel overall.

The new mystery picks up where the award-winning “Murder in Spa City”—set in Saratoga Springs—left off, following private investigator Sam Lawson and his wife Carla as they return home to Texas.

But home isn’t exactly peaceful. What begins as a straightforward missing persons case in rural East Texas quickly unravels into a web of small-town secrets, corruption, and murder. Sam soon realizes he’s stumbled onto secrets someone will kill to protect. Alongside Carla—a razor-sharp medical examiner holding her own in a good ol’ boy’s world—Sam must untangle a mystery before it makes him the next victim.

“Readers who discovered Sam through ‘Murder in Spa City’ will finally get to see his home turf,” Wilson said. “East Texas is a big place with a lot of stories to tell—and Sam’s small-town roots are a far cry from the Saratoga Springs horse racing scene.”

Wilson—who grew up in the small town of Lindale, Texas—has called Saratoga Springs home for years. An advertising creative director, ghostwriter, and produced screenwriter, he has built a regional following via the award-winning Sam Lawson series.

“Leave Dead Enough Alone” will be available at local bookstores, Amazon.com, and other online retailers.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Outlaw Music Festival will return to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) on Aug. 30, bringing Willie Nelson & Family, The Avett Brothers, Sheryl Crow, Stephen Wilson, Jr., Robert Randolph, and Don Was & the Pan-Detroit Ensemble to the Spa City.

Tickets are currently on sale via OutlawMusicFestival.com or Ticketmaster.com.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Tom Rush will bring his distinctive guitar style, wry humor, and expressive voice to Caffe Lena on April 26.

Rush has been credited by Rolling Stone with ushering in the era of the singer-songwriter. In addition to performing his own compositions, he sang songs by Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, and James Taylor, among others, helping them to gain recognition early in their careers.

James Taylor once told Rolling Stone: “Tom was not only one of my early heroes, but also one of my main influences.” Country music star Garth Brooks has credited Rush with being one of his top musical influences, as well.

Rush’s 1968 composition “No Regrets” has become a standard, with numerous cover versions performed by artists such as The Walker Brothers, Emmylou Harris, and Midge Ure.

For more information or tickets, via www.caffelena.org/event/tom-rush-2026-2/.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College recently announced Poets in the Museum, a poetry reading scheduled for Sunday, April 19 at 3 p.m. in the galleries of the Malloy Wing. 

Organized and hosted by Saratoga Springs Poet Laureate Jay Rogoff, the program brings together regional poets responding to artwork in the Tang exhibition “All These Growing Things.”

Presenting poets are Nicola Marae Allain, Peg Boyers, Joe Bruchac, Catherine Clarke, David Graham, Mary Kathryn Jablonski, Susan Jefts, Marilyn McCabe, Lucyna Prostko, Krista Rivera, Jay Rogoff, Mary Sanders Shartle, and Melora Wolff.

Together, these writers bring a range of voices and perspectives to the museum, including poets, essayists, editors, teachers, and artists whose work is rooted in the Capital Region and beyond. Their readings will offer audiences new ways of experiencing the ideas, images, and questions raised by “All These Growing Things,” an exhibition that explores questions of becoming and belonging through work from the Tang collection.

Rogoff, whose two-year term as Saratoga Springs Poet Laureate began Jan. 1, has organized the program as an invitation to look closely and respond through language. The event continues the Tang’s spring exploration of poetry. It follows the museum’s Feb. 1 reading with April Bernard, Peg Boyers, and Chase Twichell, as well as the April 2 reading by Jacob Shores-Argüello in “Sheila Pepe: When & Where We Rest.”

The event is free and open to the public. 

For information on planning your visit and accessibility, visit tang.skidmore.edu or call the Tang Visitor Services Desk at 518-580-8080.