'Musical Progressions' offers concerts for every taste

NARROWSBURG, N.Y. — “Musical Progressions," a spring concert series coming to the Tusten Theatre, presents a wide range of styles, from jazz to electronica, acoustic blues to chamber music.

Annie and the Hedonists open the series with acoustic blues, vintage jazz, and roots Americana on Saturday, April 16. The band interprets the songs of the great female blues artists of the ‘20s, '30s and '40s: Bessie Smith, Sippie Wallace, Memphis Minnie, Billie Holiday, Rosetta Tharpe, Blue Lu Barker, Ella Fitzgerald and others. Other styles include Western swing, bluesy country, and roots Americana.
Annie and the Hedonists are Annie Rosen on lead vocals; Jonny Rosen on guitar and vocals; Peter Davis on clarinet, tenor guitar, piano, and vocals; and Don Young on upright bass and vocals.
Sullivan County’s own musical duo LuxRd presents the premiere of its theatrical song cycle “Welcome to My Haus" on Saturday, April 30.
In keeping with the name of the project — taken from two different Lux Roads, one in Cochecton, the other in Callicoon — the band is collaborating with local artists to create a multi-media journey. Their music combines acoustic elements and electronica, and ranges from American standards (Rodgers and Hart) to 20th-century pop (Brian Wilson, William ‘Smokey’ Robinson) to contemporary writers (Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart of Eurythmics), to the band’s own compositions.
Its members are David Driver and Peter Kiesewalter. Driver was a member of the original cast of the Broadway musical "Rent" and has since worked with luminaries like Debbie Harry, Elvis Costello, Laurie Anderson, and They Might Be Giants. Kiesewalter has toured the world with Canadian chanteuse Jane Siberry, whose most recent album he is producing. He founded The East Village Opera Company, whose genre-bending albums, released by Universal Records, reimagine classical operatic arias in new ways.
Folk music legend Happy Traum shares songs, stories, and images from the 1960s Greenwich Village music scene on Saturday, May 14. And New York City-based jazz bassist and composer Ben Allison will perform with his trio, the Easy Way.
Rounding out the season on Saturday, June 11, is the Counterclockwise Ensemble, which offers a contemporary take on American chamber music.
The Tusten Theatre, managed by the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance, is located at 210 Bridge St. in Narrowsburg, N.Y.
Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door. New this season: five packs of tickets are available to DVAA members for a discounted price of $75.
Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and showtimes are 8 p.m. for all performances. A wine bar is available before the performances.
For more information visit delawarevalleyartsalliance.org or call 845-252-7576.