TROY, N.Y. — When two of the most prominent Native American recording artists today take the stage at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, audiences can expect an evening of transcendent harmonies and breathtaking melodies. Fortunately, that’s just what the audience will get when celebrated musicians Robert Mirabal and Joanne Shenandoah perform Friday, October 8th at 8 p.m.
As one of the leaders of the Native Flute renaissance, Robert Mirabal has developed a sound that is profoundly spiritual and utterly different from anything else you’ll hear all year. As a teenager growing up in the remote Taos Pueblo in New Mexico, he began composing songs on his hand-carved wooden flutes, drawing influence both from the traditional music of his tribe, and the Aerosmith and Pink Floyd songs he heard on the radio. Twenty years later, Mirabal has evolved into one of the most innovative artists today, releasing five albums that infuse Native rhythms and songs with rock, hip-hop, dance, and Africana melodies. He has remained faithful to his roots through his myriad transformations, and that sense of heritage is palpable as he bridges the gap between tradition and the contemporary sounds that have influenced him so deeply. During his international tours, Mirabal has absorbed the music of other lands, creating a concert style that is unpredictable, iconoclastic, and above all, simply brilliant.
Mirabal has also been featured in the PBS special “Songs from a Painted Cave,†which paired him with the Rare Tribal Mob dancers, and has won Artist of the Year, Record of the Year, and Songwriter of the Year at the 2001 Native American Music Awards. Mirabal has also been hailed by Billboard as “an incredibly gifted writer, vocalist, musician, dancer and storyteller… a world music triumph… an artist for all seasons and cultures.†For his Troy Savings Bank Music Hall show, he will present an intimate performance, accompanied only by a cellist, giving concertgoers a rare opportunity to experience Mirabal’s singular music at its most basic and beautiful.
Recognized as “the most critically acclaimed Native American singer of her time†by the Associated Press, Joanne Shenandoah of the Oneida Nation has been celebrated far and wide for her haunting, eloquent compositions. With a voice that Amazon.com called “deeper and more powerful†than Irish songstress Enya, Shenandoah blends the ancient songs of the Iroquois with her socially conscious philosophies to create songs that are both achingly beautiful and deeply affecting.
Shenandoah was nominated for a Grammy in 2001 for the album “Peacemaker’s Journey,†and has performed for the past three presidential inaugurations, as well as performances at the Kennedy Center, Woodstock ’94, Earth Day on the Mall, and numerous appearances on PBS, HBO, TNN, TNT, CNN, and Fox. Her latest release, Covenant, released in October 2003, finds Shenandoah employing contemporary dance and electronica to enhance Native American instrumentation and vocals, creating a sound called “a celebration of Native American character, wisdom, and integrity… we’re talking goose bumps and teary eyes,†by Global Rhythm Magazine.
Reserved seats for Robert Mirabal and Joanne Shenandoah are $28 and $25, and may be purchased by calling the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall Box Office at (518) 273-0038 or online at www.troymusichall.org. The Music Hall Box Office opens one hour prior to the performance. Otherwise, Box Office operations are handled at its business office at 7 State Street, Monday through Friday 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., on show days only. The Troy Savings Bank Music Hall’s full season schedule can be viewed at www.troymusichall.org.
The Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, named a National Historic Landmark in 1989, is in use over one hundred and fifty days a year. Since it opened its doors in 1875, the Hall has hosted performances by numerous world-renowned artists including Marion Anderson, Dizzy Gillespie, Peter Seeger, Ella Fitzgerald, Isaac Stern, Yo-Yo Ma, Henri Vieuxtemps, Ignace Jan Paderewski, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Jose Iturbi, Vladimir Horowitz, Yehudi Menuhin, and Artur Rubenstein, among many others.
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Lanesborough Town Meeting to Vote Budget, Bylaws & Vehicle Purchases
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Tuesday's annual town meeting includes a $14 million operating budget, new short-term rentals, accessory dwelling units and sign bylaws, and free cash article appropriations.
Voters will gather at Lanesborough Elementary School on June 9 at 6 p.m. to decide on 20 warrant articles.
The fiscal 2027 budget is up a little over 10 percent. Some of the main increases are the Mount Greylock Regional School District and McCann Technical School: the McCann assessment is up more than 30 percent based on factors including enrollment and the school renovation project, and Mount Greylock's is up 11 percent.
Article 11 is for the town to vote to approve from free cash the sum of $16,298.48 for the McCann Technical School roof and window replacement project so as not to impact the budget. Article 3 is appropriate $7,586,284 for Mount Greylock Regional School assessment.
Another notable increase was in life and health insurance, showing an increase of about 26 percent.
Ambulance Director Jen Weber is planning 24-hour coverage, which means more staff and a hike in her budget. One of the articles asks the town to appropriate $234,100 to operate the Ambulance Enterprise Fund for salaries and expenses.
Many town departments are looking for new vehicles. The Fire Department is looking to replace its outdated 1996 fire engine. There are two articles related to the truck at a total of $813,366. Article 12 would transfer $225,000 from free cash into the Fire Truck Stabilization Fund; Article 13 would transfer $605,000 from the fund and authorize the borrowing of $208,366.08.
The total includes a $100,000 contingency cost to cover any additional costs if a 2026 model-year chassis cannot be secured before new emissions standards go into effect in 2027.
The board at its last meeting moved the $225,000 transfer to come before the borrowing article, changing the stabilization number. If the $225,000 is not voted on, then they will amend the next article's number on the floor, subtracting the $225,000. This shows the borrowing number significantly lower.
Article 17 asks for the transfer of $80,000 from free cash to replace a police cruiser.
Police Chief Rob Derksen's aim is to replace one vehicle every other year, meaning the oldest vehicle gets replaced about every 10 years.
He stressed that if delayed this year, the town may have to double up in a future year to get back on schedule, and that paying later usually costs more. The article will ask for $80,000 from free cash, the vehicles used to be funded by the BHRD.
Lastly, the Highway Department is looking to replace a 2014 International dump truck that will be a total of $330,000 and will take two to three years to receive.
Money will be used from last year's approval of $250,000 from free cash for the replacement of a 2012 highway front-end loader that was underspent $49,261. Town meeting is being asked to approve a transfer of $53,274.85 from free cash and the use of $227,464 from funds from the Sale of Town Real Estate to fund the balance.
Other free cash proposals include $1,200 to purchase software to support tracking and ongoing maintenance schedules of town-owned vehicles; $42,000 for the replacement of the Highway Department's storage shed roof, $200,000 to reduce the tax levy.
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