If Thursday is for Thanksgiving and Friday the post-gorging coma of regret, then Saturday should make you want to live and breathe again. And in Woodstock, that means a visit to the Bearsville Theater and a performance by the Marc Black Band with opening act Amy Fradon.
According to Black, the show will be a natural progression from Thanksgiving, especially if you’re in a Woodstock frame of mind. “The thing that’s great about the Bearsville Theater is that it’s big enough that we can get a lot of the community together,” Black said. “It just feels to me like Thanksgiving is a holiday that’s basically about family; and if Thursday is about family, Saturday is about our wonderful, wacky community in Woodstock.”
In keeping with the Woodstock spirit, Black and his band will be joined by Warren Bernhardt and Happy Traum during their set. “Happy is…what can you say about him?” Black said. “For it to be a real Woodstock celebration, his presence just boosts that altogether. And Warren, of course, has played with everybody in the world. He’s so brilliant.”
Black, who has recently made waves with songs like “No Fracking Way,” “I Love You Rachel Maddow” and “Sometime a Spark,” has set the folk scene on its ear in a very Woodstock way, and has his own history with such local luminaries as Garth Hudson, Rick Danko and John Sebastian. And Black’s connection with Fradon – formerly one-half of Amy and Leslie – goes back to her being a part of his band when she first arrived in Woodstock. “I always love to play with Amy, and it’s a real honor for me,” Black said, before encapsulating how he sees the show coming together. “The whole way I think about it is that this is all Woodstock friends, and that’s a feeling that I hope will permeate the room and the music.”
The Marc Black Band and Amy Fradon play the Bearsville Theater at 9 p.m. on Saturday, November 26. Tickets are $20 for the general admission show. For more information, visit www.bearsvilletheater.com.