Rolling Stone calls young singer-songwriter David Berkeley "a Sixties-esque troubadour with songs to swoon by and a voice sweeter than incense and peppermints." Berkeley seeks to fit into the niche already occupied by the likes of Nick Drake

and John Mayer. Berkeley's first album, titled "Confluence," has received rave reviews from those critics who noticed it. A Harvard graduate and consummate outdoorsman, Berkeley is sure to break a few hearts this weekend in Northampton. (Sat., 7 p.m., The Iron Horse Music Hall, Northampton. For more information, call 584-0610.)

"After-X," Cathy Mellen '03's senior theater project, explores the life of post Generation-X Americans in the late 20th century. Hunter, the protagonist, suffers a "mid-twenties breakdown" as he contemplates the transition to adulthood, existentialist despair and other timeless themes. The play draws material and inspiration from seminal works of modern American culture. (Thurs. through Sat., 8 p.m., Holden Theater, Webster Hall. Admission is free. For reservations, call 542-2277.)

Atlanta, Georgia: home of Salt 'n Pepa, Outkast, Ludacris ... and the Spelman College Glee Club. Spelman College, historically a black women's college, boasts one of the most famous and accomplished glee clubs in the America. They have recently returned from a mid-February tour of Italy and will make a stop at Mount Holyoke during their spring break national tour. Their repertoire includes classical music, spirituals, gospel and jazz. (Tues., 8 p.m., Abbey Chapel, Mount Holyoke College. For more information, call 538-2018).

Showcasing their unique blend of freestyle hip-hop and improvisational theater, Playback Theater NYC will make an appearance at UMass' New WORLD Theater. Built around audience participation, the company mixes DJ-ing, spoken word, dance and hip-hop with a social conscience to create vibrant performances and a vision of an ideal world (Tues. and Wed., 8 p.m., East Street Studios, Hadley. For tickets, call 545-2511).

If she spent the rest of her career starring in projects as drippy and useless as "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days," Kate Hudson would still be immortalized for her exquisite, indelible, ingenuously erotic turn as "Almost Famous'" Penny Lane, a character so poignantly and perfectly rendered that director Cameron Crowe wound up amending his film so that she became the story's linking thread. The film itself is one of the most lovingly, delicately crafted works in recent memory, a gently teasing, sweetly grateful ode to what Crowe seems to believe was the last golden era of rock music.