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Calendar of Events
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3 events,
1 event,
2 events,
Storytelling Open Mic Featuring Jesse Bowman Bruchac
Storytelling Open Mic Featuring Jesse Bowman Bruchac
Storytelling Open Mic Featuring Jesse Bowman Bruchac
2 events,
2 events,
1 event,
Caffè Lena @ SPAC
Caffè Lena @ SPAC
“Caffè Lena @ SPAC” festival will return for a free day-long concert on Saturday, October 5 from noon to 5:30 p.m.
3 events,
2 events,
2 events,
Jazz at Caffe Lena: Chuck Lamb Trio Featuring Russell Haight
Jazz at Caffe Lena: Chuck Lamb Trio Featuring Russell Haight
Jazz Series curator and musical anchor Chuck Lamb, a member of the Brubeck Brothers Quartet since 2002, is a dynamic and emotive pianist, as well as a prolific composer of jazz, fusion, classical, and world music.Chuck Lamb's special guest for this month's JAZZ at Caffe Lena is Russell Haight (DMA, University of Texas, 2009). Russell is a saxophonist specializing in jazz theory and improvisation and serves as jazz coordinator at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. In the jazz idiom he has performed with luminaries such as Bobby Shew, Bill Watrous, Jim McNeely, and George Duke; in the commercial idiom, he has performed with Christopher Cross and earned a Grammy nomination with blues artist Ruthie Foster in 2021.
In 2017, Haight released Destination, his first album as a leader, which won a Silver Medal in the Global Music Awards; in 2019, he released his book, Odd-Meter Etudes for Saxophone with Mel Bay Publishers. He has presented or performed at the International Saxophone Symposium, North American Saxophone Alliance, Jazz Education Network, and Texas Music Educators Association conferences.
4 events,
The Momentum Series: Vanessa Collier Album Release
The Momentum Series: Vanessa Collier Album Release
12x Blues Music Award nominee and 4x winner Vanessa Collier comes to us with a brand new album featuring her fiery saxophone and soulful voice. Described by Rolling Stone as an "up-and-comer" and by American Songwriter as a "queen," Collier channels funk, soul, rock, and blues into her powerful performances.
The Momentum Series: Vanessa Collier Album Release
The Momentum Series: Vanessa Collier Album Release
12x Blues Music Award nominee and 4x winner Vanessa Collier comes to us with a brand new album featuring her fiery saxophone and soulful voice. Described by Rolling Stone as an "up-and-comer" and by American Songwriter as a "queen," Collier channels funk, soul, rock, and blues into her powerful performances.
2 events,
Melissa Ferrick with opener Sweet Petunia
Melissa Ferrick with opener Sweet Petunia
Marking 30 years since their major label debut, Boston songwriter Melissa Ferrick dropped "Black Dress," their first original music in eight years, and signed with iconic label Kill Rock Stars. To celebrate, they're hitting the road with a retrospective show titled Throughlines.
Ferrick is a legend in the industry, known for their prolific output and tireless work ethic. Their intricate guitar playing, poetic lyrics, and a style floating somewhere between alternative rock, punk, and folk is packed with insight and excitement. They've released 18 albums on Atlantic, W.A.R. MPress and on their own labels. They've won numerous awards for songwriting, production, and performance. They've shared stages with Morrissey, Joan Armatrading, Weezer, Tegan and Sara, Mark Cohen, Paul Westerberg, Bob Dylan, John Hiatt, Ani DiFranco, k.d. lang, Suzanne Vega, Shawn Colvin, and many more.
Beyond their music career, Ferrick is shaping future stars as a Professor of the Practice at Northeastern University in the Music Department. They teach courses in the music business, songwriting, creative entrepreneurship, demo recording and production, live performance, and the psychology of creativity. From 2013 to 2019, Melissa was an Associate Professor of Songwriting at Berklee College of Music. They hold an Ed.M from Harvard University, solidifying their role as a multi-talented powerhouse in the music world.
Opener Sweet Petunia is a Boston-based alt-folk duo that studied with Ferrick. Powerful songwriters and harmonizers as well as lightning quick players, they are unapologetically queer and unafraid to get loud and angry in songs that merge punk & DIY with a rich folk tradition.
2 events,
2 events,
1 event,
2 events,
Rochmon Record Club Listening Party – The Beatles – “Let It Be”
Rochmon Record Club Listening Party – The Beatles – “Let It Be”
October is Beatles month at the Rochmon Record Club. “Let It Be”, was released on May 8, 1970, a month after the announcement of the band’s breakup. Originally titled “Get Back” the album was conceived as a return to the band’s songwriting and arranging from their earlier days. Renamed “Let It Be” the album includes the title song, “Across The Universe”, “The Long And Winding Road”, “Get Back”, George Harrison’s, “I Me Mine” and 7 more.
2 events,
2 events,
2 events,
1 event,
0 events,
4 events,
Howl Story Slam
Howl Story Slam
Once again, we team up with Adirondack Center for Writing and North Country Public Radio to present the Howl Story Slam. This spirited storytelling competition is open to all participants. Storytellers take the stage to tell a true story in under 5 minutes. Judges (2-3 audience members) score the stories, and at the end of the night, a winner is announced. All winners are invited to ACW's annual Grand Slam at the end of the year.
Want to take a turn on stage? Here are some tips:
Practice, practice, practice.
Your story must be true and told without notes. This includes scribbles on the back of your hand.
Your audience is brilliant and easily distracted. Jump right into the action of your story.
Practice your story as much as possible, in the bathroom, during your morning commute, in line for coffee. By the time you arrive at The Howl Story Slam, you’ll be cool as a cucumber.
Leave the rants and stand-up routines at home. Humor is welcome, but keep in mind that having a story with a beginning, middle, and end is more important than having a few good punchlines.
Show up and put your name on the storyteller list. When your name is called, you’ve got five minutes to tell your tale.
Storytellers will be judged on relevance to the theme "Close Call," a story with a conflict and resolution, and staying in the time limit.
Again, stories must be:
True
Under 5 minutes
Adhere to the night’s theme
Told with no notes
Admission is a $10 suggested donation, which will be split between ACW, NCPR and Caffe Lena.
Howl Story SLAM
Howl Story SLAM
Once again, we team up with Adirondack Center for Writing and North Country Public Radio to present the Howl Story Slam. This spirited storytelling competition is open to all participants. Storytellers take the stage to tell a true story in under 5 minutes. Judges (2-3 audience members) score the stories, and at the end of the night, a winner is announced. All winners are invited to ACW's annual Grand Slam at the end of the year.
Want to take a turn on stage? Here are some tips:
Practice, practice, practice.
Your story must be true and told without notes. This includes scribbles on the back of your hand.
Your audience is brilliant and easily distracted. Jump right into the action of your story.
Practice your story as much as possible, in the bathroom, during your morning commute, in line for coffee. By the time you arrive at The Howl Story Slam, you’ll be cool as a cucumber.
Leave the rants and stand-up routines at home. Humor is welcome, but keep in mind that having a story with a beginning, middle, and end is more important than having a few good punchlines.
Show up and put your name on the storyteller list. When your name is called, you’ve got five minutes to tell your tale.
Storytellers will be judged on relevance to the theme "Close Call," a story with a conflict and resolution, and staying in the time limit.
Again, stories must be:
True
Under 5 minutes
Adhere to the night’s theme
Told with no notes
Admission is a $10 suggested donation, which will be split between ACW, NCPR and Caffe Lena.
3 events,
2 events,
2 events,
2 events,
1 event,
1 event,
Anatomy of Exile
Anatomy of Exile
Saratoga Immigration Coalition presents Joshua Craze's performance-lecture overview of the refugee experience today.
All stories of exile begin with an ending.
A flight under the cover of darkness or a march to the border under a hot sun.
Some exiles shore up fragments of home against their ruin. Others flee themselves as a means of survival.
'The Anatomy of Exile' is a performance-lecture that traces the many lives of refugees in the 21st century. The performer, Joshua Craze, is a writer who has spent over a decade in the refugee camps of Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya, and elsewhere. In 2020, he conducted research in the archive of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva, while a writing fellow at the Embassy of Foreign Artists.
This performance draws together archival materials, refugees voices, and poetic fragments, to create a panoramic overview of the refugee experience today.
Free / Donations Welcome
2 events,
Lena Go Round – Songwriter Showcase with Erin Harkes
Lena Go Round – Songwriter Showcase with Erin Harkes
Musician/comedian Erin Harkes continues her songwriters' series at Caffè Lena in October. This monthly showcase, curated and hosted by Harkes, spotlights rising talent, who take turns playing their songs and telling stories “in the round,” for an audience and for each other. Lena Go Round is inspired by the original music that has been the cornerstone of Caffè Lena’s 63 years in operation, and is quickly becoming a must-see event in the Capital District.
2 events,
3 events,
Little Folks Series: Jenna Nicholls
Little Folks Series: Jenna Nicholls
Whether she’s belting out a New Orleans-style number on her ukulele, singing an original cowboy tune or lush ballad at the piano, this multi-instrumentalist gives vintage sounds a new life. Your kids will love Jenna's fun show!
- There are no events on this day.