Early 1990s UK shoegaze legends slowdive bring their vintage dream-pop to the Hunter Center at MASS MoCA tonight at 8pm. In the vein of such likeminded bands as Cocteau Twins and My Bloody Valentine, slowdive’s signature sound includes ethereal vocals, ambient soundscapes, and walls of guitar sounds mixed way in the background. (Fri, Jan 31)
Rock singer-songwriter Chuck Prophet brings his new band, Cumbia Shoes (featuring members of ¿Qiensave? & the Mission Express) to Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, N.Y., tonight at 8pm. Prophet’s collaboration with ¿Qiensave? recontextualizes Chuck Prophet’s heartland-rock sound, revealing an unlikely affinity with rhythms and sonorities typically heard in Mexican and Latin-American music. (Fri, Jan 31)
Nashville-based singer-songwriter Sophia Allison, better known by her stage name Soccer Mommy, brings her buzzy guitar-rock, her pop hooks, and her confessional lyrics to The Egg in Albany, N.Y., tonight at 8pm. Allison cites musicians Natalie Imbruglia, Mitski, Slowdive, the Chicks, Taylor Swift and Avril Lavigne, as well as the cities of Nashville and New York, as influences. (Fri, Jan 31)
Violinist Adé Williams will perform a program of works by Schubert, Brahms, William Grant Still, and Amy Beach at Union College’s Memorial Chapel in Schenectady, N.Y., tonight at 7:30pm, in a presentation of Capital Region Classical. At age six, Adé made her solo debut with the Chicago Sinfonietta, which launched her thrilling career of performances with the world’s finest orchestras. By age 17, Williams had won 17 competitions, and by age 18 she had made debuts at the White House, Kennedy Center, and Carnegie Hall, where she has since returned five times. Pianist Chelsea Wang will accompany Williams. (Fri, Jan 31)
Chicago blues singer-guitarist Toronzo Cannon and his band the Chicago Way will celebrate the release of his long-awaited new album, Shut Up & Play!, with a headlining performance at the Sunday Blues Festival at the Parting Glass in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., on Sunday at 7:30pm. Cannon’s sound is inspired by his heroes, including Hound Dog Taylor, Muddy Waters, Elmore James, Albert King, Son Seals, and Jimi Hendrix. (Sun, Feb 2)
Also of note:
Indie-folk duo Ballroom Thieves from Boston bring their haunting hybrid mixing rock and classical influences to Tourists in North Adams, Mass., on Saturday and Sunday at 8pm.
The Mammals, Kyshona, Billy Keane & the Waking Dream, Rachael Davis & R.O. Shapiro, Louie Lou Louis, and Jay Ungar & Molly Mason will all take part in the Winter Hoot at the Ashokan Center in Olivebridge, N.Y., tonight through Sunday.
Broadway singer-actor Sam Gravitte brings his cabaret act, “A Song for You” -- a program of love songs by everyone from Stevie Wonder to Stephen Sondheim -- to the Stissing Center in Pine Plains, N.Y., on Saturday at 7pm.
Brooklyn-based guitarist, singer, and songwriter Emanuel Casablanca brings his mix of blues and hard-rock to Park Theater in Hudson, N.Y., on Saturday at 8pm, in a concert to benefit Sweet Freedom Farm, a Black-grown, abolitionist farm dedicated to food sovereignty, Black liberation, and empowering the next generation of Black farmers.
Seth Rogovoy is editor of the Rogovoy Report, available at rogovoyreport.substack.com.
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