HUDSON FALLS — Super 400, The Switch, and NewellProg will perform at The Strand Theatre 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 19.
Super 400 recorded their most recent full-length, ‘Sweet Fist,’ at legendary Ardent Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, and followed the release with their biggest US tour. The band first formed in Troy in the 1990s.
Tickets are $15 general admission and are available at the Strand Box Office; cash or check only. Online tickets at Brown Paper Tickets. For more information, go to www.mystrandtheatre.org. The Strand Theatre is located at 210 Main St, Hudson Falls.
Free Pop-Up Health Clinic for the creative community Oct. 20.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Medical professionals from Saratoga Hospital and community organizations will provide testing, evaluation, health & wellness education, as well as assistance obtaining access to ongoing care during a one-day pop-up health clinic Sunday, Oct. 20 at Caffe Lena.
The clinic takes place 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. and services are available free of charge to anyone in the creative community – including artists, musicians, designers, photographers, filmmakers, writers, and all others who work in a creative capacity and live in the Saratoga region.
The clinic was initiated three years ago through the vision of Saratoga Hospital Community Health Center nurse and musician Jill Burnham RN, BCEN of “Mark and Jill Sing the Blues.” The goal is to enable individuals in the creative community who are uninsured or underinsured to access healthcare in a trusted environment so they can enjoy the best possible quality of life.
Available services will include:
Vision Screenings and Free Eyewear/Sight and Sound Vision Care
Insurance Navigation Services
Connection to Primary Care Services/Saratoga Hospital Community Health Center
Narcan Training & Distribution
Blood Pressure Screenings
Nutrition Services
Cancer Screening Program
Hearing Screenings
For more information, including registration, go to: https://www.caffelena.org/health-clinic/.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Proctors Collaborative presents a “dragtacular brunch experience” at Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs on Sunday, Oct. 20.
Local favorite Mo’Glamazon will host two performances of the Drag Me to Brunch – at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. – and will feature popular drag queens Mrs. Kasha Davis, Darienne Lake, Naysha Lopez and Brita Filter – all seen on RuPaul’s Drag Race. Patrons will be able to choose from a large array of small brunch plates provided by Putnam Market.
In February, UPH will be celebrating gay icon Chappell Roan as well as similar artists like Charli XCX, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo and more featuring DJ RVMBA. This Feminomenon will be in the Great Hall at UPH 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. Costumes are encouraged for the Chappell Roan costume contest and patrons can also participate in the Picture You photo booth, glitter bar and raffle where proceeds will go to a local charity.
Tickets are on sale through the Box Office at Proctors in-person, via phone at 518-346-6204 Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m. or online by visiting proctorscollaborative.org. The UPH season is sponsored by Bonacio.
SARATOGA SPRINGS —David K. Wilson, author of the popular Sam Lawson Mystery series, has released a new psychological thriller — just in time for Halloween.
“The idea for this book has literally haunted me for years,” Wilson said in a statement. “It was first conceived as a movie and was close to production when the pandemic shut everything down. It was then that I decided to turn it into a novel. And, since Halloween is my favorite time of year, it’s only fitting that I release it now.”
“The Girl in the Whispers,” is the ninth novel by the Saratoga Springs resident, and his first foray into psychological thrillers.
Wilson is known for his popular Sam Lawson Mystery series, and earlier this year, released “Murder in Spa City,” in which the detective Sam Lawson brings his Texas charm to Saratoga Springs.
“The Girl in the Whispers” tells the story of the emotionally fragile Catherine Devereux, who hears troubling whispers that escalate into ghostly visions, revealing a terrifying secret that could tear her family apart.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Spring Street Gallery has announced an open call for an upcoming group exhibition focused on the diverse world of abstract art. Artists are invited to submit their works that push the limits of imagination, challenge traditional forms, and explore the intangible.
The theme of this call is Abstract Art – any interpretation or style is welcome, including but not limited to non-representational, geometric, minimalistic, or expressionist works. The Call is open to all mediums, including but not limited to painting, sculpture (must be able to hang on a wall), photography, digital art, and mixed media.
Artists of all backgrounds and experience levels are encouraged to apply. Artists must be 18 or older to apply and live within a 100-mile radius of Saratoga Springs. Space is limited. Please note that the exhibit is family friendly.
Submissions are due November 11, 2024. For guidelines and to submit your work go to www.springstreetgallerysaratoga.org. Spring Street Gallery is located at 110 Spring St., Saratoga Springs.
Christian McBride & Ursa Major kick off the inaugural McCormack Jazz Series this month. Photo by Mallory Turner.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Performing Arts Center presents the inaugural McCormack Jazz Series – named in honor of “Saratoga’s Champion of Jazz” Don McCormack and his family this month.
The series is presented as part of SPAC’s 2024-2025 fall and spring seasons in Spa Little Theater.
Kicking off the series on Thursday, Oct. 24 is eight-time GRAMMY winner Christian McBride and Ursa Major. McBride – a bassist, composer and bandleader who fuses everything from jazz to R&B, pop/rock to hip-hop/neo-soul to classical – is the Artistic Director of the historic Newport Jazz Festival, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), the TD James Moody Jazz Festival, and the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. Joining him on stage are saxophonist Nicole Glover, guitarist Ely Perlman, pianist Mike King and drummer Savannah Harris. Show time is 7 p.m.
The announcement is part of SPAC’s mission to present year-round programming that extends beyond the traditional summer months.
Of the new series, Don McCormack says: “Jazz has enriched my life and nourished my soul. From the time I started listening to Bird & Diz in grammar school to the many, many years at SPAC’s summer Jazz Festivals, I’ve been hooked. Knowing that this uniquely American art form will now be heard year-round in the Spa Little Theater—one of my very favorite Saratoga venues– is so exciting.”
The series continues with an appearance by Dorado Schmitt and Sons: Django Festival All Stars with Special Guest Hot Club Saratoga on Nov. 22, Alfredo Rodriguez Trio (April 5, 2025), and Veronica Swift (May 1).
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Mohawk Valley singer/songwriter/fiddler Sara Milonovich, along with guitarist Greg Anderson and multi-instrumentalist Boo Reiners, will preview new songs at their return to Caffè Lena in Saratoga Springs at 7 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 20.
A native of Amsterdam, NY, Milonovich’s music delivers a heady harvest of original roots, folk, and alt-Americana gems. Raised on her family’s working farm in Montgomery County, Milonovich started on violin at age four and rapidly established a regional reputation as a top-flight fiddler. At 16, Sara dropped out of school and joined Celtic bluegrass outfit the McKrells.
She is also a seasoned side musician to such artists as Richard Shindell, Pete Seeger, Eliza Gilkyson, and Jim Gaudet and the Railroad Boys, and a featured player in the recent smash Broadway musical ‘Come From Away.’
At Caffè Lena she’ll be previewing new songs from her upcoming album in the works. She’ll be accompanied by a trio lineup of her band, Sara Milonovich & Daisycutter, featuring longtime producer and collaborator Greg Anderson on guitar, and multi-instrumentalist Boo Reiners on guitars and banjo.
Caffè Lena is located at 47 Phila Street, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866. For more information, call 518.583.0022 or go to https://www.caffelena.org
“Whispering Sky “ – a new album by Tenzin Choegyal, who will perform in Saratoga Springs Nov. 3.
by Thomas Dimopoulos
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Tibetan artist and composer Tenzin Choegyal will journey to Saratoga Springs to stage an intimate performance on Nov. 3 in support of his just-released album “Whispering Sky.”
The album, released on the community-focused label 4000 Records, clocks in at 50 minutes and features eight tunes laced with instrumental tones known to western ears – pianos and winds, guitars and a string quartet among them, as well as beautifully foreign sonics of the bansuri and tabla, tuned glasses and gongs that mesh In the altogether as a soundscape of the collective subconscious.
“Tashi Delek and many greetings to you,” he writes from his home base 10,000 miles from New York and on the opposite side of the world. “Hope this finds you in a great space of being.” The space is “Whispering Sky.”
“I created this album in my home studio and it turned into a global project – featuring some of my closest friends and collaborators,” says Choegyal, who produced the album that features his voice, dranyen – a Tibetan lute, and lingbu – a bamboo flute, throughout. The album first took shape in his home studio in Brisbane and welcomed an international cast of talented collaborators who accompanied him in recording studios in Toronto and London, and Tokyo to New York.
“It was a time of challenge and opportunity,” Choegyal says, “and creative collaborations with artists worldwide.”
The Tracks
A simple pluck sets the baseline beat of the album’s opening track “Rawang Freedom.” Eighteen times the beat repeats, inspired by the Heart Sutra and welcoming as companions the strum of an acoustic guitar and the harmonious chanting of hidden angels traversing across a silhouetted terrain, trusting a guiding light to illuminate the path to freedom and in the process gifting listeners with the graceful yearning to phonetically chant along.
At the crossroads of silence, more passengers are invited join along on the ride, each offering a different perspective:
“Kyema The Roof is leaking” provokes thoughts of a vast room where workers are at play with their noisy tools of reconstruction. Once inside, they present a curious contemplation: While a leaky roof may appear a hinderance at the visible surface, beyond it awaits the blessing of open-sky dreaming, urging the listener to experience previously undiscovered things.
The mediative and transcendent “Dolma Whispering Sky” reveals tight vibrant chants to set the rhythm foundation, rising in open-throat voicings and resulting in the elevation of spirit to fill the vanishing point of the most ancient of halls.
Jhala A Big Hug. Happy melodies, a changing of time, playful, bright and augmented and accessorized with pleasurable time-changes. “Jampa A Big Hug” – Tenzin sends big, warm hugs to everyone.
Nightingales. The sound of a flute streams through the darkness its trailing embers lined with the awakening of a new day. To western ears, the landscape is tinged with a familiarity of Peter Gabriel’s travels to the African continent, and sparse East Asian piano of Kitaro-isms.
Gyallu Tibetan Anthem, composed around 1950 and sung in Tibetan communities-in-exile around the world. Here. It is performed with no lyrics, serving as a reminder that singing this anthem is prohibited throughout Tibet.
I Fly To You. A glee-filled four-minutes which in a perfect and just world would settle atop the charts of pop hits, in an expression of the longing to be with loved ones once again.
Kailash Roof Of The World. Ascending the Himalayas with syncopated foot-stepping and soaring up, high as the mighty mountain itself when suddenly sidewind in the emotional cross-stitch of simultaneous turmoil, glory, blessings and curses.
Tenzin Choegyal will stage a solo performance at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 3 at the Arthur Zankel Music Center on the campus of Skidmore College. The intimate show seats the audience onstage with the artist and will utilize the setting sun as backdrop in the showcase.
Tickets are limited and are $20 general public; $5 Skidmore community (students, faculty, staff, alumni, and retirees). For ticket info, go HERE or call the box office at 518-580-8381. For more information about the artist, go to: https://www.tenzinchoegyal.com/.
