Valley venues catch stars and starters

By Nik Bonopartis
Poughkeepsie Journal

Home to the legendary Woodstock music festival of 1969 and its successors, the valley boasts a musical tradition that is equal parts the product of home-grown artists and the region’s status as showcase for the best national and regional acts.

The Hudson Valley’s stages are as diverse as the music that filters from them. Jam-band style, improvised music has had a place in the region since the 1960s; jazz and funk musicians command people out of their seats and onto the dance floors; traditional cultural music, from Latin-inspired outfits to African percussionists, regularly perform locally; and a burgeoning scene that emulates the amplified punk rock of The Ramones counts among its fan base local teenagers and 20-somethings.

One of the region’s most widely known rock venues is Poughkeepsie’s The Chance, which falls in a category that allows it to attract to Dutchess County nationally known acts in a more intimate setting than fans would be able to experience in New York City concert halls.

Significant shows

Some of the region’s best remembered shows have been performed there — from Ozzy Osbourne to an appearance by the Police and an MTV taping of a set by rock outfit Collective Soul.

The venue blends MTV and radio bands with local openers, giving concert-goers a taste of the Hudson Valley’s home-grown music.

‘‘It’s become, and it has been for a while, a regular stop on most major upcoming band’s tours,’’ owner Frank Pallett said.

The converted church that is the West Strand Grill in Kingston , Ulster County, serves as a concert hall, with a lounge, stage and dance floor downstairs and the main room upstairs. With funk, blues and rock, the 5-year-old venue has become a significant stage in the valley.

For jazz and folk flavors, the Colony Cafe in Woodstock, Ulster County, offers a laid back atmosphere with an artist roster described as eclectic by the cafe’s owner, Marianne Harrigfeld.

Converted from a Spanish-style structure originally built as a hotel in the days before the depression, the cafe built its reputation around local artists with national recognition, and now the terraced interior serves as one of the main music venues in a town that since the 1960s will forever be associated with music.