Spiegeltent
Jake Blount Band
Bluegrass on Hudson
Photo by Tadin Brown
August 15
“Blount is a virtuosic multi-instrumentalist…with a hauntingly gorgeous voice and a bottomless, scholarly knowledge of American musical history.”—The Los Angeles Times
A powerfully gifted musician and a scholar of Black American music, Jake Blount speaks ardently about the African roots of the banjo and the subtle yet profound ways African Americans have shaped and defined the amorphous categories of roots music and Americana.
Blount’s latest album, The New Faith, is a towering achievement of dystopian Afrofuturism—and his first album for Smithsonian Folkways. The New Faith is spiritual music, filled with hope for salvation and righteous anger in equal measure. The album manifests our worst fears on the shores of an island in Maine, where Blount enacts an imagined religious ceremony performed by Black refugees after the collapse of global civilization due to catastrophic climate change.
Blount’s music is rooted in care and confrontation. On stage, each song he and his band play is chosen for a reason—because it highlights important elements of the stories we tell ourselves of our shared history and our endlessly complicated present moment. The more we learn about where we’ve been, the better equipped we are to face the future.
Artists
Jake Blount fiddle, vox, banjo
Nelson Williams bass
Augustus Tritsch electric guitar, banjo uke
Video
Music
About the Series
A series celebrating the contemporary bluegrass and roots music of America, featuring the next generation of talent carrying the tradition forward for a new time. Bluegrass on Hudson is curated by Ruth Oxenberg and Rob Schumer.
Presented in association with Fourth Stream House Concerts.
View All EventsPlan Your Visit
Eat & Stay
Grab a bite and a drink while you’re at the Fisher Center! We offer theater concessions at Sosnoff theater, LUMA theater, and Olin Hall. Across the way, is the al fresco Spiegeltent Garden—or grab a nosh while seeing a Spiegeltent Performance. There is ample space for outdoor picnics across Bard’s campus. Nearby villages and towns in the Hudson Valley boast a large selection of restaurants, as well as a variety of hotels, motels, inns, and bed & breakfasts.
Eat & StayDirections
Bard College’s main campus is located in Annandale-on-Hudson (a hamlet of Red Hook), New York, on the east bank of the Hudson River, about 90 miles north of New York City and 220 miles southwest of Boston. The Taconic State Parkway and the New York State Thruway provide the most direct routes to our campus. Click the Google map below, or get directions by entering the following address into your GPS: 60 Manor Avenue, Red Hook, NY 12571.
From the East
If you are traveling from east of the Hudson River in New York State, take the Taconic State Parkway to the Red Hook / Route 199 exit, drive west on Route 199 through the village of Red Hook to Route 9G, turn right onto Route 9G, drive north 1.9 miles, turn left onto Annandale Road, then turn right onto Manor Ave.
From the West
If you are traveling from west of the Hudson River, take the New York State Thruway (I-87) to exit 19 (Kingston), take Route 209 (changes to Route 199 at the Hudson River) over the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge to Route 9G, turn left onto Route 9G, drive north 3.5 miles, turn left onto Annandale Road, then turn right onto Manor Ave.
About the Venue
Spiegeltent
Accessible Seating
Wheelchair-accessible seating is available in the ring seat and floor table areas for patrons who use wheelchairs and their companions.
Wheelchair-Accessible Restrooms
A single-use, wheelchair-accessible restroom is available at the Spiegeltent.
All-Gender Restrooms
Bard College and the Fisher Center support guests of any gender identity/expression in using the restroom of their choice. Additionally, all-gender restrooms are available at all venues.
More Info
Find answers to some of the most common questions patrons have regarding our venues and performances. If you have a question not answered in our FAQs, please call 845-758-7900 or email boxoffice@bard.edu during regular Box Office hours.
Read the FAQs
