4/30/11: Today’s Tips: Saturday

ART/FAMILY FUN: Family Day @ the Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield. Free admission all day for Berkshire County residents. The full museum is available to visitors, plus family entertainer David Grover will perform sets at 1 & 3pm. Birthday cake at approximately 2pm. Face painting between 1-3pm.

MUSIC: Hope House Benefit Fest @ the River Street Beat Shop, Troy. Fundraiser for Hope House’s food pantry and after-school programs with performances by Holly & Evan, Tern Rounders, Big Creek and Jonesville. 12noon-4pm. FREE; donations welcome.

MUSIC: The Nighthawks @ Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, Troy. Straight outta Washington, DC, vocalist-harmonicat Mark Wenner leads the veteran blues bar band as they wail at the Dino. 10pm. FREE.

MUSIC: The Frank Wakefield Band @ the Parting Glass, Saratoga Springs. The veteran mandolin master does it all – from bluegrass to Beethoven. 8pm. $15.

MEMORIAL: Celebration of Life for Nadia Trinkala @ Cohoes Music Hall, Cohoes. A celebration in honor of the late Nadia Trinkala, artist and tireless arts supporter. 2pm. FREE.

COMEDY: Brian Posehn & Friends @ the Palace Theatre, Albany. The comedian-actor-writer (seen on “The Sarah Silverman Program” and “Mr. Show”) is joined by Craig Baldo, Seth Herzog and Todd Barry. 2pm. $17.

MUSIC: Wishbone Ash @ the Van Dyck, Schenectady. Led by founding guitarist Andy Powell, the British twin-lead guitar pioneers roar into the intimate Electric City brew pub/restaurant. 8 & 10pm. $25.

MUSIC: The Catbirds @ Valentine’s Music Hall, Albany. Yes, Chandler Travis is back in yet another incarnation. Making their Nippertown debut, the Catbirds are a rock/rockabilly quartet featuring Travis on bass and vocals and drummer Rikki Bates (both of the Chandler Travis Philharmonic), guitarist Steve Wood (of Freeze and the Greenheads) and guitarist-vocalist Dinty Child (of Session Americana). Joining in the festivities will be Howe Glassman’s Grainbelt and the garage-rockin’ Mysteios. 9pm. $7.

MUSIC: Christine Lavin @ 1848 Shaker Meeting House, Colonie. The award-winning singer-songwriter-humorist-baton twirler presents “My 25th Anniversary Concert: What Was I (Ever) Thinking?,” reprising some of her early hits while introducing her latest. The vintage folkzinger concert combines signature songs with hilarious stories as she recounts the people, events, near disasters and minor miracles that have defined her life in music. 6:30pm. $25 (cash/check), $30 (credit card). (Lavin will also host a knitting circle at 4:30pm.) (NOTE: The previously announced 9pm concert has been cancelled.)

FESTIVAL: Saratoga Mardi Gras Festival @ various locations, Saratoga Springs. Parades, crafts, Cajun cooking competition and music by Rick Rourke, the Ernie Williams Band, Big Medicine, Love My Goat and more. 11am-4:30pm. FREE.

ROLLER DERBY: The Albany All Stars @ the Washington Avenue Armory, Albany. The Albany All Stars Roller Derby gals take on the New Jersey Hellrazors. Also featuring live music by the Big Kahuna Surf Band. 7pm. $12; kids under 12 $4.

MUSIC: The Jazz/Latino All Stars @ Union College’s Emerson Auditorium, Schenectady. A tribute to the music of Mongo Santamaria featuring trumpeter Ray Vega, trombonist Chris Washburne, saxophonist Hilary Noble, drummer Willie Martinez, conga player Chembo Corniel, pianist Nicki Denner, bassist Jennifer Vincent. 8pm. $20; students & seniors $10.

CABARET: “Songs I’ve Grown Into @ Fort Salem Theater, Salem. It’s Broadway veteran Teri Ralston’s new cabaret show, featuring songs from “Show Boat,” “Jacques Brel,” “Your Own Thing” and more. 8pm. $20 includes music, coffee and dessert.

MUSIC: Frog Holler @ the Ale House, Troy. The Pennsylvania-based Americana/alt-country sextet returns to the Chicken Wing Capital of Nippertown. With Sumac opening the show. 9pm. $8.

MUSIC/FUNDRAISER: Laurie Anderson @ the Bearsville Theater, Woodstock. With Peter Dougan’s Woodstock Day School Rock Ensemble. A benefit performance for the scholarship fund at the Woodstock Day School. 7pm. $35, $50, $100, $150.

READING: “Selected Shorts” @ The Egg, Albany. A celebration of the short stories of Edgar Allan Poe as read by “Selected Shorts” radio show host host Isaiah Scheffer and actors Keir Dullea and Mia Dillon. 6pm. $50.

MUSIC: Rockapella @ The Egg, Albany. One of the premier contemporary a cappella groups in the country lands at The Egg in support of their latest CD, “Bang.” 8pm. $29.50.

DANCE/MUSIC: Los Muñequitos de Matanzas @ MASS MoCA, North Adams. The Grammy-nominated 16-piece ensemble of drummers, vocalists and dancers offers an evening of authentic Cuban rhumbas. 8pm. $25, $29; students & kids $10. (Also 2pm on Sunday.)

MUSIC: Joy Kills Sorrow @ Club Helsinki Hudson, Hudson. Bluegrass-meets-jazz from a bunch of virtuoso art-folkies. With Milton. (NOTE: Brown Bird is no longer on this bill.) 9pm. $15.

OPERA ON FILM: “Il Trovatore” @ Time + Space Limited, Hudson. Verdi’s intensely dramatic opera stars Sondra Radvanovsky, Dolora Zajick, Marcelo Álvarez and Dmitri Hvorostovsky. 1pm. $25; children under 12 $15. SOLD OUT. Also at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, Great Barrington ($25; seniors $23; students under 13 $18); and the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown ($25; students $18).

MUSIC: Danielle Gaudin @ the Bayou Cafe, Glenville. Celebrating the release of her third album, “Lucky Number Three.” With Chunks of Funk. 8:30pm. $5.

MUSIC: Terry Warren @ the Oakwood Bible Church, Troy. The former football star-turned Broadway star-turned inspirational singer. With Lost Radio Rounders. 7pm. FREE.

MUSIC: The Brian Patneaude Quartet @ Justin’s, Albany. Jazzin’ up Justin’s. 9:30pm. $5.

COMEDY: Brew Ha-Ha Comedy Showcase @ The Linda, Albany. Greg Aidala hosts another evening of laughs featuring Nate Bargatze and Dave Cox. With local faves Josh Sperber and Benita Zahn. 8pm. $15.