Esteemed music venue Caffe Lena in Saratoga Springs announced a stellar lineup of musicians for the month of April, with Raul Midon, Michael Eck, Vanessa Collier, and The Special Consensus among the featured acts.
CaffeLena has presented New York State with extraordinary music in an intimate setting since the 1960s. It is widely recognized as the longest continuously operating folk music venue in the United States. Bob Dylan performed for two consecutive nights at the cafè in 1961, a year prior to the release of his debut album.
The venue’s mission is to keep a diverse set of programs and artists, regardless of fame, to present to the community. Caffe Lena is where musical discovery begins on all fronts. All shows held in-person in Lena’s historic listening room are also streamed live to living rooms around the world.
Caffe Lena’s April shows are not ones to miss. The itinerary is complete with various well-known artists with utmost talent. Various genres like bluegrass, jazz, folk, blues, poetry, funk rock and more are set to light up the intimate venue with energy, love, and art. Artists like Michael Eck see the stage for heartfelt performances signifying great milestones.
Vanessa Collier
Michael Eck celebrates his 60th birthday with release of sixth album, fermata, and a performance at Caffe Lena, 8 p.m. Friday, April 19. Eck will be joined by an all-star ensemble, including bassist/vocalist Bob Buckley, guitarist Sten Isachsen, and elusive vocalist Rosanne Raneri.
Michael Eck
Caffe Lena’s Top Shows For April
April 2, 7 PM Live Stream: Storytelling Night Featuring Julia Biaculli
April 3, 7 PM Poetry Open Mic Night featuring Susan Jefts
April 4, 8 PM Ruthie Foster
April 5, 8 PM The Special Consensus
April 6, 8 PM Peter Mulvey with Opener Zachary Lucky
April 7, 7 PM House of Hamill
April 9, 7 PM Songwriting with Eliza Gilkyson
April 19, 8 PM Live Stream: Michael Eck
April 26, 8 PM Vanessa Collier
April 27, 8 PM Bright Series: The Clements Brothers
April 28, 7 PM Intersectional Voices: Raul Midon
For more information on Caffe Lena’s April shows and to purchase tickets, click here.
Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs has announced the return of their popular Family Saturdays workshops. The workshops take place at The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery, located on the campus of Skidmore College.
The Tang Teaching Museum at Skidmore College is a pioneer of exploration and learning. A cultural anchor of the Capital Region, the Tang has become a model for university art museums across the country. The museum hosts exhibition programs that bring together visual and performing arts with interdisciplinary ideas from history, economics, biology, dance, and physics, to name just a few. The Tang has one of the most rigorous faculty-engagement initiatives in the nation. Along with this, a robust publication and touring exhibition program that extends the museum’s reach far beyond its walls.
The Tang Teaching Museum’s award-winning building, designed by architect Antoine Predock, serves as a visual metaphor for the convergence of art and ideas. The Museum is open to the public on Thursday from noon to 9 pm and Friday through Sunday from noon to 5 pm, with expanded hours beginning July 5 to include Tuesday–Wednesday, noon–5 pm.
Family Saturday programs include touring of the gallery for selected sculpture and painting. Participants will then discuss the artwork with guides and create their own sculpture. Family Saturdays are free for all, with no registration required. The program runs from 2-3:30 PM and will officially kick off on February 3. For more information, visit the Tang website at Tang.Skidmore.edu.
The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College invites the public to its February programs, featuring tours, screenings, workshops, and special guests, including the acclaimed multimedia artist Mickalene Thomas, composer-drummer Makaya McCraven, and the artists Antonius-Tín Bui and Theresa-Xuan Bui.
All events are free and open to the public. Regular gallery hours are Tuesday–Sunday, noon–5 pm, with extended hours until 9 pm on Thursdays. Some events will take place outside regular gallery hours.
A multigenerational art-viewing and art-making workshop, for children 5 and older with an adult companion, inspired by the art on view by Steven Roden. Also February 17.
The seventh annual lecture features acclaimed multidisciplinary artist Mickalene Thomas, lauded for her bedazzled portraits of Black women. Her work is on view in the exhibition Studio/Archive. Her appearance is by invitation of Abigail Svetlik ’24, the 2023-24 Eleanor Linder Winter ’43 Intern.
Emily Abi-Kheirs, part of the team that organized the 2023 Flaherty NYC program “MAKA: Many Eyed Vessel,” will present a selection of experimental documentary films. A discussion follows. Whole Grain is the Tang’s ongoing series of screenings of experimental film and videos.
Drummer-composer Makaya McCraven will be in discussion with Angus McCullough, musician and MDOCS Instructor, in advance of McCraven’s Zankel performance on February 17. The New York Times called McCraven “one of the best arguments for jazz’s vitality.” His latest album, In These Times, emerges as a polytemporal collection of compositions, drawing inspiration from broader cultural struggles and the artist’s personal experiences within a multinational, working-class musician community.
See an early work by artist Isaac Julien, his delightfully rebellious debut feature about sex, politics, music, and friendship in 1977 London. During the week of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee, a young black London DJ, who together with his gay partner operates a pirate radio station, becomes implicated in the murder of a mutual friend. Julien’s Lessons of the Hour is on view in the Malloy Wing.
Rabbi Linda Motzkin, the former Jewish Chaplain at Skidmore College, returns to campus for a series of events on Jewish culture and sacred arts. Motzkin delivers the Perlow Lecture, “Women and the Making of Torah,” Monday, February 26, 5:30 pm; gives an artist’s talk, “Art and the Sacred,” on Wednesday, February 28, 5:30 pm; and leads a workshop, Community Torah Project: Making Parchment from a Local Deerskin, Friday, March 1, 1 pm.
Isaac Julien: Lessons of the Hour A tour-de-force, ten-screen video installation explores the life of Frederick Douglass. Opens February 3. Studio/Archive An ambitious selection of photographic works from the Tang collection by artists who span the globe. Opens February 3.
Elevator Music 47: Xenometok for Mutualism An experimental, multimedia artwork explores the Tibetan diaspora through music, video, and dance, featuring artist Valentina Demicheli, activist Paelden Tamnyen, and musician YESH. Closes February 4.
Abject Anatomy Photographs, prints, drawings, and paintings from the Tang collection in which the human body is transformed ask us to reflect on fears about our own bodily nonconformance and that of those around us. Opens February 10.
Elevator Music 48: Alone, only in flesh This site-specific, collaborative meditation on three diasporic artists’ experiences melds the work of Antonius-Tín Bui, Theresa-Xuan Bui, and MIZU to engage all five senses with spoken word poetry, experimental cello, traditional Vietnamese áo dài (garments), Southeast Asian home goods, and Asian snacks. Opens February 10.
Hyde Cabinet #23: Contre Le Sexisme A photograph of Kim Gordon by Chris Cuffaro with the album insert from a CD edition of A Thousand Leaves by Sonic Youth to explore seemingly contradictory concepts of girlhood and femininity. Closes February 25.
Yvette Molina: A Promise to the Leaves The Mexican-American artist Yvette Molina transforms the Tang mezzanine into a community space. The two-year project, currently in its first iteration, also features work by the artists Bel Falleiros and Cinthya Santos-Briones.
Caffè Lena has announced it is partnering with activist/singer-songwriter Crys Matthews and local community groups to produce the Cry Matthews Black History Month Tour. The concert is happening on Friday, Feb. 9 at 8 p.m.
Cry Matthews is an activist, singer-songwriter and powerful lyricist who tackles heavy topics such as immigration, the opioid crisis, Black Lives Matter, and gun control with a warm heart, strong voice, and inspiring songs. Caffè Lena presents extraordinary music in an intimate setting, widely recognized as the longest-continuously operating folk music venue in the United States. The Library of Congress calls Caffè Lena “An American treasure,” and it has been recognized by The GRAMMY Foundation for its important contributions to the development of American music.
The Black History Month concert is also partnering with local community groups. MLK Saratoga, Saratoga Youth Safe Space, CREATE Community Studios, Camp Stomping Ground and Saratoga Pride are tabling before the event to socialize and discuss their organization’s role in the community.
MLK Saratoga shares Dr. Martin Luther King’s vision of peace and justice for all, building civil and human rights awareness by promoting equity, inclusivity, diversity, anti-racism, and social justice through community events and offerings, engaging via performance, dialogue, conversation, and the arts. Saratoga Youth Safe Space is a group intended to bring BIPOC youth as well as LGBTQ+ youth, and allies, together to have a place of reflection, dialogue, and support.
C.R.E.A.T.E. Community Studios is dedicated to providing a space where the benefits of art-making impact both the individual and the community. They offer low-cost art workshops and groups, community wellness activities, and open studios to promote art-making and the creative process as a vehicle for personal growth, communication, and social change. Unlike other art studios, their expectations are not rooted in a product or an image. They focus on the evolution of a piece and encourage conversation about its meaning.
Stomping Ground is an overnight camp in the gateway to the Adirondacks in Saratoga Springs. They aim to partner with young people to inspire the next generation of radically empathetic decision-makers. Saratoga Pride is a welcoming community of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people and allies in the greater Saratoga Springs area.
GRAMMY award-winning rock band Dave Matthews Band has announced their 2024 US Summer headline tour. The band will stop in Saratoga Springs for a show at SPAC’s Broadview Stage. Along with this, the band plans to stop in Long Island at the Northwell Health sponsored Jones Beach Theater.
The tour is set to kick off on May 22 in Tampa, Florida, and make its way to NY around July 5. Dave Matthews Bandwill be introducing new sustainability measures as part of its “On The Road To Zero Waste” initiative. This will be introduced as a part of this summer’s tour.
Dave Matthews live at Madison Square Garden
An online ticket presale for members of the DMB Warehouse Fan Association is underway now at Dave Matthews Warehouse.
General on sale for tickets begins on February 16, at 10 am local time. For the complete itinerary, visit davematthewsband.com.
Dave Matthews 2024 US Summer Tour Dates
5/22 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
5/24 – West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
5/25 – West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
5/28 – Jacksonville, FL – Daily’s Place Amphitheater
5/29 – Jacksonville, FL – Daily’s Place Amphitheater
5/31 – The Woodlands, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
6/1 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion
6/12 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
6/14 – Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park
6/15 – Virginia Beach, VA – Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater
6/21 – East Troy, WI – Alpine Valley Music Theatre
6/22 – East Troy, WI – Alpine Valley Music Theatre
6/25 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center
6/26 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre
6/28 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center
6/29 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center
7/5 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Broadview Stage at SPAC
7/6 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Broadview Stage at SPAC
7/9 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
7/10 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
7/12 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
7/13 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live
7/16 – Gilford, NH – BankNH Pavilion
7/17 – Gilford, NH – BankNH Pavilion
7/19 – Camden, NJ – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
7/20 – Camden, NJ – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
8/23 – Greenwood Village, CO – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
8/24 – Greenwood Village, CO – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
