Alan Chartock, WAMC President And CEO, Brings His Berkshire Ramblers To Caffè Lena

'saratoga living' was in the crowd as the Northeast Public Radio newsman brought his folkie side-project to the Saratoga venue.

Regardless of your political persuasion, it’s entirely possible that, if you’re trying to catch up on the news during the morning commute, you’ve heard Alan Chartock’s voice come over the airwaves. Whether he’s leading The Roundtable or interviewing Governor Andrew Cuomo, Chartock, who is the president and CEO of the local NPR affiliate, WAMC Northeast Public Radio, has had local cachet for decades in the Capital Region. (He’s also a professor emeritus at the University at Albany.)

Like many of us career creatives, Chartock also moonlights as a musician, playing banjo and singing in the The Berkshire Ramblers, a folk group, consisting of himself, his wife, Roselle (vocals, guitar and percussion) and Joe Browdy (lead vocals, guitar), among other players. The band does everything from Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger to The Weavers and Leadbelly covers. And as luck would have it, they were at Caffè Lena this past Friday, November 22.

saratoga living‘s Francesco D’Amico was on hand for the journalist-banjoist’s big gig. Click on the photo at the top of the page for more photos from the event.