THE DOZEN: April’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 April:

SATURDAY, APRIL 8: Meklit @ the Sanctuary for Independent Media, Troy. The singer-composer’s music is imbued with poetry and multiplicity, from hybridized sounds of Tizita (haunting and nostalgic music) drawing from her Ethiopian heritage, to jazz, folk songs, hip-hop and art rock. She aptly describes her music as emanating from “in-between-spaces.” 7pm. $15.

SATURDAY, APRIL 8: Miracle Legion @ MASS MoCA’s Club B-10, North Adams. Reunited! Mark Mulcahy is back in the saddle with Miracle Legion, a band whose sublime jangly guitar rock made them college radio stalwarts from the mid-’80s to the late-’90s. With Lou Barlow and Sebadoh. 8pm. $18 in advance; $24 at the door; $30 preferred; $12 students.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 12: My Darling Clementine @ the Cock ‘n Bull, Galway. The British Americana duo of Michael Weston King and Lou Dalgleish pays homage to the classic country duets of the ’60s and ’70s. 7pm. $15.

THURSDAY, APRIL 13: The Felice Brothers @ Cohoes Music Hall, Cohoes. The rollickin’ Catskill Mountains boys make their Cohoes debut. With Driftwood. 8pm. $25 & $30.

FRIDAY, APRIL 14: Bread & Puppet Theater @ Time + Space Limited, Hudson. Presenting Faust 3, a proletarian rumination on displacement, heaven, and satisfaction in the tradition of Medieval Faust puppet shows and Goethe’s epic verse drama. See ’em before they play the Solid Sound festival this summer. 7:30pm. $15; $10 students & kids; $35 including pre-show dinner at 6:30pm.

FRIDAY, APRIL 14: Richard Shindell @ The Linda, Albany. The superb singer-songwriter celebrates his 25th year of recording – from 1992’s Sparrow’s Point to his new album, Careless. 8pm. $20.

SATURDAY, APRIL 15: Michael Hurley @ the Half Moon, Hudson. A true musical maverick returns to Hudson. With Willy Mason and Tom Carter. 7pm. $15.

THURSDAY, APRIL 20: Danny Barnes @ Caffe Lena, Saratoga Springs. The singer, banjo player and founding member of the steamrollin’ bluegrass-thrash band Bad Livers brings his new trio featuring mandolinist Joe K. Walsh and guitarist Grant Gordy. 8pm. $20 in advance; $22 at the door.

SATURDAY, APRIL 22: Bridget Kearney @ Club Helsinki, Hudson. The bassist of Lake Street Dive celebrates the release of her debut solo album Won’t Let You Down. Her band includes former Saratogians Sarah Pedinotti and Benjamin Lazar Davis, who also open the show as Fit Club. 9pm. $15.

SATURDAY, APRIL 22: Richie & Rosie @ Sand Lake Center for the Arts, Averill Park. Richie Stearns and Rosie Newton take the banjo-fiddle combination to new levels as they continue to expand the boundaries of this tradition. 8pm. $18; $10 under age 18.

TUESDAY, APRIL 25: Aimee Mann @ The Egg’s Hart Theatre, Albany. From her work in the ’80s with MTV faves Til Tuesday to her Grammy Award-winning soundtrack to “Magnolia” to her acclaimed solo albums (including her brand new Mental Illness), she’s been one of the most intelligent and insightful singer-songwriters of her generation. With Jonathan Coulton. 7:30pm. $34.50.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26: Brian Wilson @ the Palace Theatre, Albany. The original Beach Boys architect and his note-perfect band celebrate the 50th anniversary of Pet Sounds. 8pm. $39.75, $49.75, $59.75, $69.75 & $89.75.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26: Tommy Castro & Mike Zito: Six Strings Down Tour @ the Upper Room, Albany. Two award-winning blues guitar greats backed by Castro’s band, the Painkillers. 8pm. $25 & $35.

THURSDAY, APRIL 27: Branford Marsalis Quartet with Kurt Elling @ the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, Troy. The New Orleans saxmaster and his band team up with the heppest of the hep cat vocalists for the Music Hall’s jazz-soaked Gala. 7:30pm. $29, $49, $69 & $79.

FRIDAY, APRIL 28: Tom Rush @ the Eighth Step at Proctors’ GE Theatre, Schenectady. Masterful song interpreter and veteran of the ’60s folk explosion. With Matt Nakoa. 7:30pm. $30 & $50.