All Over Albany

Jon Batiste at Skidmore

Jazz musician and bandleader Jon Batiste will be at Skidmore's Zankel Center for a show July 6. Tickets are on sale now -- they're $30.

Batiste will be joined by his band, Stay Human. Blurbage: "As bandleader on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Jon Batiste is known for soulful performances which often include his signature melodica (a hybrid harmonica and keyboard instrument) as well as engaging 'social music' experiences, involving audience participation and occasional impromptu street parades."

The show is part of the Stewart's Signature Series at Skidmore, which the college says will include "five world-class performances" this summer. Also part of the series: Manhattan Transfer on May 13 -- tickets are $45 and up.

Duncan Sheik at the Zankel Center

Singer/songwriter/composer Duncan Sheik is set to play a show at Skidmore's Zankel Center June 13. The event is part of the 2014 Saratoga Arts Fest (June 11-15). Tickets for the show are now on sale -- they're $50, or $25 if you have a Saratoga Arts Fest ArtsPass. The festival passes are themselves currently available, and on sale for $35 through the end of January.

For some people, the mention of Sheik's name will trigger the memory of a 1990s hit song. But for a growing number of others (though it's not necessarily mutually exclusive), Sheik is known as the composer of the music for the hit Broadway musical Spring Awakening, which won a bunch of Tonys (including two for Sheik).

More recently, Sheik wrote the music and lyrics for an on-stage musical adaptation of American Psycho -- it's currently running in London.

The Zankel show on June 14 is being billed as "An Evening with Duncan Sheik."

photo via Duncan Sheik website