On the five year anniversary of the death of his pregnant wife, a thirty something financial writer decides to mark the day by swimming the length of the Hudson River, all 150-miles of it, accompanied by two friends in a boat (Justin Kirk, of Weeds fame, and Elizabeth Reaser). The film premiered at Sundance and has been making the rounds of the festival circuit.
Against The Current is playing TONIGHT (October 22) at 6:15pm at FilmColmbia Festival at the Crandall Theatre in Chatham, followed by a Q&A with director Peter Callahan.
(Celebrating its tenth anniversary, the The FilmColumbia Festival offers topnotch foreign and independent films. Here’s the complete festival schedule.)
If you miss the screening tonight, you can catch it on Saturday, October 24 at the Hunter Center of MASS MoCA at 8pm as part of the Williamstown Film Festival’s 11th season. The Galleries will be open until 7:30 PM. Party with food from Lickety Split and cash bar follows in MASS MoCA lobby.
If you want to hear the best bluegrass music, see the best bands and have the best bluegrass festival experience then the place to go isn’t down in North Carolina. Or the hills of Tennessee. Or some backwoods holler in Kentucky.
No, the best bluegrass event of the year took place right here in Nippertown – the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival at the Walsh Farm in Oak Hill (Greene County).
We love movies. We love music. And we really love movies about music.
When you host a film festival in a town named Woodstock, the collision of movies and music is – well, let’s just say – pretty much unavoidable. Here are a few of the music-related movies that are slated to be screened at the Woodstock Film Festival this weekend:
Starting Friday, October 2 through the following week, you can catch several locally-made horror movies at the Madison Theater in Albany. Dr. GriGri will be your host, introducing the following short films:
Jay Ruzicka:KAZZULA
Jared Balog: NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH
Frank Palangi: two parts of a multi part anthology, THE LOST
Michael Kazlo II: CRYPTID (premiere)
Show times on Friday and Saturday nights will be 7pm and 12midnight. Contact the Madison Theater for the show times during the week.
This event coincides with the premiere of the new Woody Harrelson movie, “Zombieland.” With the purchase of a ticket to the Blood, Fangs & Claws Film Fest, you have the opportunity of buying a ticket to “Zombieland” at the reduced price of $6.
Here an interesting and educational family outing: the Saratoga Native American Festival is being presented at Saratoga Spa state park this Saturday and Sunday featuring an array of musicians, drummers, artisans, dancers and especially storytellers. Here’s the activities schedule.
Tickets are $10 Adults, $7 Seniors and $5 Children under 12 (children under 5 are free and are available online.
You might think that bluegrass is strictly a southern, rural brand of music, but, of course, you’d be wrong. And in fact, we make some mighty fine bluesgrass right here in Nippertown.
The Gibson Brothers
Held in July at the Walsh Farm down in Oak Hill, the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival has become a major player on the bluegrass festival circuit – so much so that Grey Fox is one of only three festivals from around the entire globe to earn a nomination as “Bluegrass Event of Year.”
And our own super picking ‘n’ singing sibblings the Gibson Brothers earned a nod in the oh-so-prestigious “Song of the Year” category for the title track of their sparkling 2008 album, “Iron and Diamonds.”
The Lake George Arts Project launched its 26th Jazz At the Lake Festival, better known as the Lake George Jazz Weekend, on Saturday, September 19. Old friends greeted each other and found places to sit down in the Shepard Park amphitheater looking down the hill to the bandstand and the lake.
In the picturesque warmth of the day, veteran jazz pianist Bill Mays and his Inventions Trio presented a sparkling set of chamber jazz. Accompanied by famed trumpeter Marvin Stamm and newcomer cellist Alisha Horn, Mays’ mix of classical and jazz themes drew appreciative applause.
This year’s Albany’s All-America City Jazz Festival kicked off in high gear with Nippertown’s own queen of the keys Lee Shaw taking the bandstand. Her long-time bandmates – bassist Rich Syracuse and drummer Jeff Seigel – turned up the heat behind Shaw’s impassioned piano stylings as she masterfully led the trio through a handfull of jazz standards and memorable originals. Wearing a bright red coat and a scarf to fend off the chill in the air, Lee Shaw warmly smiled out to the audience as her fingers melodically caressed the keys.
Yes, it’s an unfortunate name that makes us think of a big bunch of guys smoking pot and drinking 40-ouncers in the park on a Saturday afternoon while they pound away on mismatched conga drums.
Ah, that’s not what this is. Not by a longshot.
Celebrating the various global traditions of drumming, the free Drum Boogie Festival takes place in Cornell Park in Kingston’s Rondout Historic District on Saturday, September 19. The fest begins with an opening ceremony at 12noon featuring 100 drummers.
Here’s the rest of the mind-boggling line-up of powerhouse percussionists:
12noon: Opening ceremony
12:30pm: The Jack DeJohnette Trio featuring former E Street Band keyboardist David Sancious and Roberto Quintero
1:30pm: Pook, children’s percussion orchestra
2:10pm: Liam Teague, solo pan drummer
2:30pm: Nexus, contemporary percussion ensemble featuring Bob Becker, Russell Hartenberger, Bill Cahn & Garry Kvistad with guests Liam Teague and Tasa & Rob
3:30pm: Silver Cloud Native American Singers and Drummers
4:10pm: Liam Teague, solo pan drummer
4:30pm: The Not-So-Traditional American Rudimental Drummers featuring Dominic Cuccia, Therese Cuccia and Nick Attanasio with guests Nexus
5:10pm: Giri Mekar Balinese Gamelan Orchestra with dancers
5:50pm: The Jerry Marotta Band featuring Tony Levin, Pete Levin, Jesse Gress
6:50pm: The closing Drum Boogie featuring the Jerry Marotta Band, NEXUS, Liam Teague, Tasa & Rob, more
It’s been known as the Albany Jazz Festival.
It’s also been named the Albany Riverfront Jazz Festival.
But apparently now it’s got yet another new name – the Albany All America City Jazz Festival.
Whatever you call it, it’s a great day for Nippertown jazz fans – a full day of jazz performances at Albany’s Riverfront Park in the Corning Preserve beginning at 12:30pm on Saturday, September 12.
For free.
Here’s the line-up:
12:30pm: The Lee Shaw Trio featuring Rich Syracuse (bass) and Jeff Siegel (drums)
1:45pm: The Dan Loomis Quartet
3:15pm: The Dirty Dozen Brass Band
4:45pm: Lizz Wright
6:15pm: The Joe Lovano Us Five featuring James Weidman (piano), Cameron Brown (bass), Matt Wilson (drums) and Francisco Mela (drums)
In case of rain, the festival will move indoors to the Palace Theatre.
And immediately following the festival, the Lee Shaw Trio will host a jam session at 74 State in Albany from 8:30-11:30pm. Don’t be surprised if several of the festival performers show up to sit in…
Starting Friday, October 2 through the following week, you can catch several locally-made horror movies at the 
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