THE DOZEN: October’s Must-See Concerts

By Greg Haymes

You could call it Best Bets, Prime Picks, Top Tips or whatever. We call it The Dozen, whereby we offer a monthly round-up of 12 (or so) of the shows around Greater Nippertown that have got us jazzed the most. Only one entry per venue. Of course, your results may vary, so please feel free to comment below and let us know what you think we missed or overlooked.

Here’s The Dozen for the month of October:

FRIDAY (OCTOBER 7): Kaia Kater @ The Linda, Albany. Canadian clawhammer banjo gal. With Michael Eck. 8pm. $20.

FRIDAY (OCTOBER 7): Moon Hooch @ the Hollow Bar + Kitchen, Albany. Saxes wail in support of their new album, With Honeycomb. 9:30pm. $15.

SATURDAY (OCTOBER 8): The Gibson Brothers @ the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Troy. Homegrown bluegrass greats and two-time International Bluegrass Music Assocation Entertainers of the Year. 7:30pm. $25 & $30.

SATURDAY (OCTOBER 8): Holly Near @ the Eighth Step at the First Presbyterian Church of Albany, Albany. A one-night-only return to the place where the Eighth Step first started. 7:30pm. $30 & $50.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13: Fantastic Negrito @ Cohoes Music Hall, Cohoes. The winner of NPR’s inaugural Tiny Desk Concert Contest churns through blues with a punk attitude. With Bryan Thomas. 8pm. $26 & $32.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13: Peter Case @ the Low Beat, Albany. The Buffalo-born singer-songwriter celebrates the 30th anniversary of his acclaimed solo album. 7pm. $15.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14: Jim Gaudet & the Railroad Boys @ Caffe Lena at the Grove, Saratoga Springs. In addition to Gaudet’s wry bluegrass, the evening will feature the premiere of a short (12 minute) one-act play, “Lucky Day,” written by Anthony R. Pezzula based on Gaudet’s original song of the same name. 7pm. $20 in advance; $22 at the door.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15: Benjamin Clementine @ MASS MoCA, North Adams. The London-based singer-poet, pianist and composer won England’s most-coveted Mercury Prize for his 2015 debut album At Least for Now. 8:30pm. $26 in advance; $33 at the door; $16 student.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15: Savion Glover’s New Soundz @ The Egg, Albany. The world’s most famous hoofer returns for an evening of contemporary tap with his company of dancers and the premiere of his collaboration with the acclaimed jazz saxophonist James Carter and his quartet. 8pm. $34 & $38.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18: Tommy Castro & the Painkillers @ the Upper Room, Albany. Alligator Records recording artist and blues guitarslinger extraordinaire. 7pm. $25 & $35.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21: Joe Barna & Sketches of Influence @ the Unitarian Universalist Society of Schenectady’s Whisperdome, Schenectady. A Place for Jazz presents the premiere of Barna’s new album in tribute to the late Lee Shaw, Suite Lee. 7:30pm. $20; $10 students.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22: Rufus Wainwright @ Basilica Hudson, Hudson. Concert by the acclaimed singer-songwriter. With a conversation between longtime friends Wainwright and Basilica Hudson Director and Co-Founder, musician Melissa Auf der Maur. 8pm. $50.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26: Elvis Costello & the Imposters @ the Palace Theatre, Albany. Celebrating Imperial Bedroom, one of Elvis’ best albums. 8pm. $49.50-$99.50.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28: Ryley Walker @ the Half Moon, Hudson. The singer-songwriter-guitarist returns in support of his new album, Golden Sings That Have Been Sung. Circuit des Yeux and Last Good Tooth. 8pm. $10.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29: Vijay Iyer @ EMPAC at RPI, Troy. The Albany native returns for a dual-piano performance with Craig Taborn. 8pm. $18; $13 students & seniors.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 30: The Security Project @ the Bearsville Theater, Woodstock. The acclaimed Peter Gabriel tribute band returns with Jerry Marotta, Trey Gunn and a new vocalist, former Nippertonian Happy Rhodes. 8pm. $20, $25 & $35 in advance; $5 more at the door.