Live Music: ’Tis The Season For Great Performances

Every night of live music is a holiday in my book. There’s nothing that fills my soul quite like sharing sonic vibrations in a room full of beautiful people. Looking ahead, here are best nights to warm your winter season with the gift of pure aural bliss. 

Down in Woodstock, ’60s doo-wop legend Darlene Love performs “Love For The Holidays” at The Bearsville Theater on December 9. Catskill Mountains neo-folk darlings The Felice Brothers ring in the New Year at Colony December 30-31, followed by Southern songwriter Dylan LeBlanc on January 27 and atmospheric powerhouse Squirrel Flower on February 16.  

Levon Helm Studios hosts Lower East Side R&B artist Emily King on December 17, Miami alt-pop party boys Magic City Hippies on January 17, Big Head Todd and the Monsters on February 12, and singer-songwriters Glen Phillips and Shawn Mullins on February 25.

The Falcon in Marlboro invites acid “funkstars” Eldorado Slim on December 16, Jeremy Baum Trio’s tribute to “A Charlie Brown Christmas” on December 22, rock originalists Toombs Dixon on December 29, pop-folkie Dylan Doyle on December 30 and Nels Cline’s Consentrik Quartet on February 7. 

In Pawling, a packed lineup at Daryl’s House features Marky Ramone’s “Holiday Blitzkrieg” on December 10, Blue Öyster Cult drummer Albert Bouchard’s “Imaginos” on December 28, bluesman Popa Chubby on December 29, mighty Fort Greene vocalist Ms. Lisa Fischer on December 30, Young Dubliners on January 14, classic rockers Steve Forbert and The New Renditions on February 2 and True North Jazz Project on February 18.

Towne Crier in Beacon hosts “A Musical Holiday Evening” with Sloan Wainwright and Friends on December 9, The Costellos Annual Christmas Concert on December 17, Adam Ezra Group with Albany duo SIRSY on December 29, Berkshire barnburners The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow on January 12, harmonica virtuoso Chris O’Leary on January 13 and rock poet Willie Nile on February 10.

Bardavon brings “A Celtic Christmas” by A Taste Of Ireland to Poughkeepsie on December 16-17 and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue to Ulster Performing Arts Center in Kingston on February 23. At Hudson Hall, Gballoi West African Drum & Dance Company joins the Kwanzaa Celebration on December 16. 

Up in the Berkshires, The Egremont Barn features UMass-born bluegrassers Mamma’s Marmalade on December 8, Connecticut soul crooner Glori Wilder on December 9, folksingers Jenna Nicholls and Katie Herbst on December 14, Zoot Allures and the Zydeco Playboys on December 15, Billy Keane & The Waking Dream on December 16, and the “Holiday Spectravaganza” featuring Wanda Houston and The BTUs on December 17.

Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington welcomes jazz guitarist John Pizzarelli on December 16, Nova Scotian fiddlers Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy present “A Celtic Family Christmas” on December 17, and The Berkshire Bach Society plays “Bach at New Year’s” on December 31. 

In the Capital Region, Empire Live showcases New York City all-girl punk trio Hello Mary with Bruiser & Bicycle on December 9, EDM producer Mersiv with Sippy and HEYZ on December 10, Arab-American rapper anees on January 29, and Brighton post-punks The Kooks with The Vaccines and Daisy the Great on March 6. 

The Egg in Albany hatches “In the Christmas Mood” with Glenn Miller Orchestra on December 11, The McKrells’ Celticgrass “Christmas Show” on December 16, jazz singer Veronica Swift on February 29 and wild Irish sisters Screaming Orphans on March 1. 

Have a blast at experimental arts hub No Fun in Troy with Hudson rocker Dmitry Wild supported by Upstate metalheads Blasé DeBris and The Dionysus Effect on December 21, and rappers Big Lettuce plus Yung Alfredo on December 29.

Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) shares the spirit with string trio Time For Three’s “Home For The Holidays” on December 9 and jazz vocalist Kat Edmondson’s “Holiday Swingin’!” on December 17. 

Nearby, cozy Caffè Lena in Saratoga Springs delivers a homegrown lineup featuring Chicago’s Henhouse Prowlers on December 14, country songwriter Caitlin Canty on December 16, the “30th Anniversary Folk Holiday Show” on December 17, local indie band New American Cuisine on December 21, Lost Radio Rounders’ “Holiday Sampler” on December 22, progressive Jewish string band Nefesh Mountain on December 23, Northampton songwriter Stephen Kellogg on December 28 and Americana icon Peter Yarrow December 29-30.