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RISE Housing & Support Services to Host Rocky Horror Picture Show Fundraiser at UPH; Sponsors Sought

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in Entertainment.


An interactive viewing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show at Universal Preservation Hall will serve as the premier fundraising event for RISE this Halloween season.  

SARATOGA SPRINGS —RISE Housing and Support Services premiere fundraising event will turn Universal Preservation Hall into Dr. Frank N. Furter’s mansion on Friday, Oct. 27.

The event starts at 6 p.m. with a special VIP cocktail hour, and a brief speaking program beforehand followed by the featured event – the interactive viewing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

RISE invites sponsors to join the fun: Those who wish to be an event sponsor may visit, https://www.riseservices.org/about-us/rhps-sponsor/. 

RISE provides supportive and affordable housing, advocacy, and outreach for those who need it, as well as recovery services, and a low-barrier shelter for the unhoused. 

General admission tickets to the event will be announced in the fall. 

Home Made Theater – Open Registration for Youth Conservatory Program

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SARATOGA SPRINGS — Home Made Theater will host open registration for students ages 8-18 years old for the Home Made Theater Youth Conservatory production of The SpongeBob Musical: Youth Edition. 

This program gives students an exciting, creative, and supportive environment in which to experience the thrill and exhilaration of performing live theater. All students who register for the program will be cast in the production.

The SpongeBob Musical is based on the Nickelodeon animated series created by Stephen Hillenburg. The musical production was conceived by Tina Landau. The SpongeBob Musical: Youth Edition is a one-hour version of the hit musical, specially tailored for young actors. 

The Youth Conservatory team is led by director Laurie Larson. Her previous directing credits at Home Made Theater include over 25 Youth Conservatory productions, most recently being last Spring’s Mean Girls, Jr. Ms. Larson is a retired theater and choral teacher at Ballston Spa High School. The choreographer for the program is Olivia Larson, and the production stage manager is Susan Turner, both of whom have been involved with the Home Made Theater Youth Conservatory for a number
of years.

Rehearsals for The SpongeBob Musical: Youth Edition will begin Sept. 22 and performances will be Dec. 8 – 10 at the Saratoga Music Hall, on the third floor of the Saratoga Springs City Hall.

For complete details and/or to register, visit Home Made Theater’s website, www.homemadetheater.org.

Godsmack Adds Glens Falls Date

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GLENS FALLS — Multi-platinum selling hard rock band Godsmack has announced additional North American tour dates in continued support of their eighth studio album, “Lighting Up The Sky.”

The band will kick off their headlining fall tour, produced by Live Nation and FPC Live, on Sept. 3 in Baton Rouge, and stages in Glens Falls, at Cool Insuring Arena on Oct. 24. 

For ticket information, go to: godsmack.com.

PHISH At SPAC: More Than $3.5M Raised For Flood Recovery Efforts

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SARATOGA SPRINGS — More than $3.5 million was raised as a result of two benefit concerts at SPAC by Phish to aid flood recovery efforts in Vermont and Upstate New York.  

Staged Aug. 25 – 26, both shows featured special pre-show acoustic sets with Phish’s Page McConnell and Trey Anastasio, while the Saturday, Aug. 26 performance saw Phish joined on stage by a surprise appearance from guitarist Derek Trucks.

The two concerts were additionally webcast for free at LivePhish.com and Phish’s YouTube channel, allowing fans around the world the opportunity to donate directly to The WaterWheel Foundation’s 2023 Flood Recovery Fund. 

Monies raised from both events include 100% of net proceeds from all ticket revenues and merchandise sales, as well as individual donations. Individuals can still donate to WaterWheel through PayPal at:  http://waterwheelfoundation.org.

Caffè Lena: Upcoming in September 

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in Entertainment.

SARATOGA SPRINGS —Caffe Lena celebrates 20 years of Poetry Open Mic with a 4-hour open reading, hosted by the legendary Capital Region poet Mary Panza.

All poets and spoken word artists are welcome to share their work, and each reader will have five minutes at the mic. Pre-registration required.

 Cassandra Kubinski in Concert: The Saratoga Sessions EP Release, on Wednesday Sept. 27, at 7 p.m.

Singer-songwriter Martin Sexton performs two shows – at 4 p.m. and at 7 p.m., on Sunday, Sept. 24. 

Singer/Songwriter/Climate Activist Vienna Teng performs at 8 p.m. on Friday Sept. 29 & Saturday Sept. 30, and at 7 p.m. on Sunday Oct. 1

Carlos Santana – Global Premiere of Documentary to Screen in September

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ALBANY — Legendary guitarist and 10-time Grammy-winning global icon Carlos Santana will be feature in a new documentary screening this month.  

The film launches in theaters with a three-day premiere event – CARLOS: The Santana Journey Global Premiere Sept. 23, 24 & 27. The Global Premiere screenings include the CARLOS documentary plus exclusive introductory content featuring Santana and and two-time Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Rudy Valdez (The Sentence, We Are: The Brooklyn Saints), plus music industry luminaries.

Santana has been a frequent performer at Saratoga Performing Arts Center – sharing stage billing with Eric Clapton (1975), Phish (1992), Bob Dylan (1993), the Allman Brothers band (2012), as well as numerous featured appearances as the sole headliner dating back several decades.  

As per current theatre listings, Spa City fans interested in attending the screening of the film will have to travel to Albany, however.  Local theaters showing the new documentary are Regal Colonie Center, Regal Crossgates, and Landmark Spectrum 8, according to listings.  

 For more information, the most up-to-date information about participating theaters worldwide, and to purchase tickets, go to: www.carlosfilm.com.

New Exhibition at Saratoga Clay Arts Center Opens Aug. 26

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Texas artist Adam Knoche will be featured in a new exhibition at Saratoga Clay Arts. Photo provided.

SCHUYLERVILLE — Saratoga Clay Arts Center’s Schacht Gallery presents DENATURED, a solo exhibition featuring the sculptural vessels of Texas artist Adam Knoche. 

This body of artwork is representational of nature, but it is not natural; the work is a simulacrum of natural objects through abstraction. DENATURED: Adam Knoche will run Aug. 26 – Sept. 30, with an opening reception 5-7 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 26. Light refreshments will be served. Admission is free. 

“I have developed my aesthetic from travels abroad in Europe, Asia, and Australia and my time living in New York City,” Knoche said in a statement. “I derive my conceptual ideas from environmental and political landscapes and respond to my surroundings in whichever setting I find myself in, both physically and mentally.”

Saratoga Clay Arts Center is located at 167 Hayes Road, Schuylerville. Visit www.saratogaclayarts.org  call 518-581-2529 or email info@saratogaclayarts.org for more information. 

Sawyer Fredericks Returns to Caffe Lena Labor Day Weekend

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Sawyer Fredericks, who will return to Saratoga Springs Sept. 2 & 3, pictured on stage at Saratoga Performing Arts Center June 2015. Photo by Thomas Dimopoulos. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Sawyer Fredericks will be performing two solo shows at Caffe Lena – at 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 2 and 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 3. 

The shows mark the 10th Anniversary of Fredericks playing the hallowed club, with his first performance as a 13-year-old playing on Open Mic night. 

His most recent release, The Golden Tree EP, was issued earlier this year. The self-released, self-produced album is Fredericks’ first new album of music since 2020’s Flowers For You.

For more information and tickets for the Labor Day weekend shows in Saratoga Springs, go to: caffelena.org.  

Phish: Free Streaming Flood Recovery Benefit Shows Aug. 25-26 at Saratoga

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in Entertainment.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Phish has announced free webcasts of their two special shows at Saratoga Performing Arts Center Aug. 25 and 26.

The webcast will be available for free at LivePhish.com and Phish’s YouTube channel. 

Fans watching will be given opportunities to donate directly, and 100% of all donations will be directed to the WaterWheel Foundation’s Flood Recovery Fund. The Flood Recovery concerts will benefit Vermont and Upstate New York flood recovery efforts. Communities throughout the region were inundated earlier this month with historic levels of rain and major flooding. 

Pousette-Dart at Caffe Lena Aug. 31

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Jon Pousette-Dart performs at Caffe Lena Aug. 31. 
(Photo provided: live in Rockport 2011).

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Acclaimed singer-songwriter Jon Pousette-Dart will be performing in his acoustic duo format in Saratoga Springs on Aug. 31 at Caffe Lena.

Active as a performer/recording artist for over 40 years and counting, Jon founded The Pousette-Dart Band and carved a place in the landscape of American music in the 1970s.   The band went on to record a series of albums for Capitol Records, two of which (Amnesia and Pousette-Dart Band 3) made the Billboard album chart. 

While the original group disbanded in the early 80s, Jon kept performing with original drummer Eric Parker and continued writing and producing into the 90s, when he returned to Nashville to begin recording again on his own. He’s turned out five solo albums and currently tours in many incarnations.

For tickets and more information, go to: caffelena.org.