Linda Tillery & Eric Bibb at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall

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Linda Tillery
TROY, N.Y. — If you’re a fan of Sweet Honey in the Rock, then don’t miss Linda Tillery & the Cultural Heritage Choir, who will take the stage along with blues singer and guitarist Eric Bibb on Saturday, February 12th, 8 p.m. at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. Come and experience the full spectrum of African-American music in all its bluesy, jazzy, soulful glory. It’s the perfect way to celebrate Black History Month at the Hall. With a voice that calls to mind greats like Mahalia Jackson and Aretha Franklin, Linda Tillery has spent years researching and reviving gems of African-American “roots music,” from the sounds of the virtually-extinct Gullah culture to spirituals and field-hollers. Joined by the incredible vocalists of the Cultural Heritage Choir—Rhonda Benin, Elouise Burrell, Melanie DeMore, and Lamont Van Hook—Tillery has created an a cappella concert experience that deeply delves into the complex dichotomy of African-American music. As Tillery explains “this music, particularly the spirituals, has kept Black people alive through slavery, night rider’s raids, and segregation. This is the music that has been used as a support for just about every political movement in this country. People take spirituals, reword them and march together in the name of freedom and justice.” A vocalist, percussionist, producer and cultural historian whose career spans four decades, Tillery has achieved a huge following for her vocal versatility and fervent commitment to the preservation of African-American music. She has lent her powerful alto to projects such as Zasu Pitts’ Memorial Orchestra and Bobby McFerrin’s Voicestra, and has produced or collaborated with a “Who’s Who” of musical talent, including Wilson Pickett, Odetta, Santana, Huey Lewis and the News, Richie Havens, Kenny Loggins and Boz Skaggs. For the past two decades, Tillery has traveled extensively throughout the southern United States, furthering her research and performing with countless choral groups and folk singers. Linda Tillery & the Cultural Heritage Choir will be joined onstage by veteran blues singer and guitarist Eric Bibb, whose style has been called “some of the most untroubled-sounding blues… Bibb is just about stunning” by the Los Angeles Times. A native New Yorker, Bibb has deep roots in American Blues and Folk tradition. Already a sensation in Europe and the United Kingdom, Bibb is poised to stake his claim on the contemporary American blues scene. As the son of ‘60s folk singer Leon Bibb, nephew of world-renowned jazz pianist John Lewis, and godson of singer and activist Paul Robeson, Bibb’s musical pedigree is flawless. Bent on making a name for himself, Bibb has toured constantly since the late ‘60s, spending time in Paris, Sweden, and New York. He has released ten critically acclaimed albums, and has appeared with artists such as Etta James and Jools Holland. As Time Out said, “…smooth, subtle, soulful and sophisticated, his is a beautiful and moving take on classic, coolly laid-back acoustic blues.” Reserved seats for Linda Tillery and Eric Bibb are $27 and $24, 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 Fifth-Graders Win Snowplow Name Contest

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — One of the snowplows for Highway District 1 has a new name: "The Blizzard Boss."
 
The name comes from teacher Gina Wagner's fifth-grade class at Lanesborough Elementary School. 
 
The state Department of Transportation announced the winners of the fourth annual "Name A Snowplow" contest on Monday. 
 
The department received entries from public elementary and middle school classrooms across the commonwealth to name the 12 MassDOT snowplows that will be in service during the 2025/2026 winter season. 
 
The purpose of the contest is to celebrate the snow and ice season and to recognize the hard work and dedication shown by public works employees and contractors during winter operations. 
 
"Thank you to all of the students who participated. Your creativity allows us to highlight to all, the importance of the work performed by our workforce," said  interim MassDOT Secretary Phil Eng.  
 
"Our workforce takes pride as they clear snow and ice, keeping our roads safe during adverse weather events for all that need to travel. ?To our contest winners and participants, know that you have added some fun to the serious take of operating plows. ?I'm proud of the skill and dedication from our crews and thank the public of the shared responsibility to slow down, give plows space and put safety first every time there is a winter weather event."
 
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