March has barely begun, yet the Berkshires’ live music scene is already ablaze with an abundance of performances that may make you wish to be in multiple places at once. We have a diverse lineup of 44 performances on our music calendar, ranging from classical and jazz to rock, pop, folk, and blues; there’s something for everyone—including a special children’s concert and the eagerly anticipated kickoff of our first music festival of the year, headlined by an internationally renowned double bassist. Below are a few highlights of the week ahead, followed by our full show rundown.
Classical
We have four classical music performances this week. Monday night, you can listen to the Spring Chamber Music Concert Series at Williams College, featuring student ensembles in the Williams Chamber Music Department. Back at Williams on Friday night, the Berkshire Symphony – Student Soloist Gala takes place.
Sunday afternoon offers two performances: A Musical Mass Featuring Haydn’s Missa Brevis in F Major performed by the Cantilena Choir at Trinity Episcopal Church in Lenox, and a Classical Music Lecture And Performance: Belle Époque Paris at The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown. Pianist and musical scholar Roy Howat explores the rich vein of classical music produced by composers like Debussy, Ravel, Chabrier, and Fauré with visual illustrations from the piano.
Jazz
We have five jazz performances this week, starting Tuesday night with the Nocturnals Duo at Methuselah Bar & Lounge in Pittsfield. Saturday night, you won’t want to miss the GRAMMY® nominated and Juno award-winning Afro-Cuban jazz singer Daymé Arocena at MASS MoCA in North Adams (pictured above). Saturday night, catch the David Bartley Quartet at Dorothy’s Estaminet in Pittsfield. Sunday morning, you’ll find a jazz brunch with Natalia Bernal & Jason Ennis at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield. Sunday night, Michael Junkins and Friends are at The Lion’s Den. Joining Michael this week are “The Regulars” with Will Hudgins on Vibes.
Popular (Rock, Pop, Folk, Blues, etc.)
We have over 30 performances in the popular music category – we can’t highlight them all but will mention a few (see our calendar or show rundown below for all the performances).
You won’t want to miss Thursday night’s Warm Up the Winter Benefit at Egremont Barn. The event benefits Construct’s Warm up the Winter fund to support Berkshire residents needing emergency assistance for fuel, utility, rental payments, and emergency accommodation. Performers include the Berkshire Children’s Chorus, The Wanda Houston Band, Billy Keane, Matt Cusson, Natalia Bernal and Jason Innes, and Jackson Whalan. This event sold out last year and we could not attend – this year we bought our tickets early, so we hope to see you there.
If you can’t make it to Egremont for the benefit concert, then you have two other great choices Thursday night: local favorite Melissa Brinton at The Stationery Factory in Dalton or Indie-folk singer Caity Gallagher at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge.
Friday night’s choices are dizzying! The Almost Spring Weekender, our first music festival of the year, kicks off at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield with the African psychedelic rock band Orchestra Gold, along with Busquelo. Other great shows on Friday include Boston-based folk-rocker Peter Mulvey with opener Katie Herbst at Egremont Barn. At Studio 9 in North Adams, catch folk-Americana artist Louise Mosrie Coombe as part of their Railway Concerts series. Music in the Berkshires Featured Musician Milton performs at The Lion’s Den, while Rees Shad and The Conversations are at The Foundry in West Stockbridge. Rees and the band are celebrating the release of their latest album, Galahad Blues.
Saturday’s choices are equally dizzying. Up at Studio 9 in North Adams, you have two opportunities to catch Misty Blues: A Live Tribute to Odetta. Music in the Berkshires Featured Musician Gina Coleman and her band will perform in the afternoon and then again in the evening (it’s an especially busy weekend for the band since they also perform the prior evening at Dorothy’s Estaminet).
Billy Keane and The Waking Dream are performing at Egremont Barn, with two Music in the Berkshires Featured Musicians: Billy Keane and Waking Dream drummer Brian Kantor. Over at The Lion’s Den, The Best Times and Lisa Michelle Anderson perform, while Melissa Brinton performs at a venue we just started tracking, Shaw Pond Club in Becket. Tom Petty fans may want to head up to Dalton to catch The BrokenHearted: A Tribute to Tom Petty at The Stationery Factory.
After such a crazy Saturday night, you might want to chill out Sunday morning to some folk rock with traveling musical storyteller Eli Elkus at Dottie’s Coffee Lounge in Pittsfield. And on our Sunday afternoon “winery and brewery circuit,” you’ve got three great choices: rock and pop artist Evan Lauoue is at Balderdash Cellars in Richmond, Nate Martel is at Antimony Brewing in Lenox, and the J.P. Murphy Band brings their traditional Irish music to the taproom at Bright Ideas Brewing in North Adams.
Something Else
We have four performances on the calendar this week in our Something Else category. Friday night catch The Edinburgh Rollick: Music From The Niel Gow Collections at The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown. The Ruckus Ensemble will perform works of Niel Gow (1727–1807), who was eighteenth-century Scotland’s most celebrated fiddler. Or you can attend the Breaking Trad Concert at Dewey Hall in Sheffield for some traditional Irish music.
Saturday at noon, you can see the Kids Concerts with Terry A La Berry and Friends at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield. Then, composer and double bassist Garth Stevenson, internationally known for his musical meditation hikes, leads a hike (weather permitting) and performance at Race Brook Lodge to wrap up their Almost Spring Weekender festival.
You can read about all of these performances and more in our weekly show rundown below or jump right to our music calendar. Use the subscribe button below to receive this free weekly rundown of upcoming performances in your inbox each Monday. And if I missed a performance, please contact me, and I’ll add it to the calendar.
Monday
5:00 pm – 6:30 pm Spring Chamber Music Concert Series @ Williams College, Williamstown. Featuring student ensembles in the Williams Chamber Music Department.
Tuesday
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Nocturnals Duo @ Methuselah Bar & Lounge. Pittsfield. Jazz.
Wednesday
No Performances.
Thursday
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Indie Night: Melissa Brinton @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton. Folk, Pop, Rock. Learn more and listen here.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Warm Up the Winter Benefit @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont. To benefit Construct’s Warm up the Winter fund to support Berkshire residents needing emergency assistance for fuel, utility, rental payments, and emergency accommodation. Performers include the Berkshire Children’s Chorus, The Wanda Houston Band, Billy Keane, Matt Cusson, Natalia Bernal and Jason Innes, and Jackson Whalan.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Caity Gallagher @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge. Indie-Folk. Learn more and listen here.
Friday
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Misty Blues @ Dorothy’s Estaminet, Pittsfield. Blues. Learn more and listen here. Read our Featured Musician interview with Misty Blues’ Gina Coleman.
7:00 pm Kari & El Cie Live @ Shaw Pond Club, Becket.
7:00 pm – 8:00 pm The Edinburgh Rollick: Music From The Niel Gow Collections @ The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown. The Ruckus Ensemble will perform works of Niel Gow (1727–1807), who was eighteenth-century Scotland’s most celebrated fiddler. Learn more and listen to Ruckus here.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm The BTUs @ Firefly Gastropub, Lenox. Rock.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Jon Berman @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox. Rock. Listen more and listen here.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Milton @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge. Rock, Folk, Jazz, Country. See our Featured Musician interview with Milton. Listen to Milton here.
7:30 pm Berkshire Symphony – Student Soloist Gala @ Williams College, Williamstown.
7:30 pm Rees Shad and The Conversations: Galahad Blues @ The Foundry, West Stockbridge., Folk, Americana, Jazz. Learn more and listen here.
7:30 pm Railway Concerts At Studio 9 Presents: Louise Mosrie Coombe @ Studio 9, North Adams. Folk, Americana. Learn more and listen here.
7:30 pm – 10:30 pm Peter Mulvey with opener Katie Herbst @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont. Folk. Learn more and listen here.
8:00 pm – 9:30 pm Breaking Trad Concert @ Dewey Hall, Sheffield. Irish Folk. Listen here.
8:00 pm Daymé Arocena @ MASS MoCA, North Adams. Afro-Cuban Jazz. Learn more and listen here.
8:00 pm – 11:00 pm Orchestra Gold & Busquelo @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield. African Psychedelic Rock. Learn more and listen here.
8:00 pm – 11:00 pm The Abombs @ Zinky’s Pub, Dalton.
Saturday
12:00 pm Kids Concerts with Terry A La Berry and Friends @ Colonial Theatre, Pittsfield.
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm Garth Stevenson @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield. Double bassist and composer known for his musical meditation hikes. Learn more and listen here.
2:00 pm Misty Blues: A Live Tribute to Odetta @ Studio 9, North Adams. Blues. Learn more and listen here. Read our Featured Musician interview with Misty Blues’ Gina Coleman.
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Kollin K. @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm David Bartley Quartet @ Dorothy’s Estaminet, Pittsfield. Jazz. Learn more and listen to David here.
7:00 pm Misty Blues: A Live Tribute to Odetta @ Studio 9, North Adams. Blues. Learn more and listen here. Read our Featured Musician interview with Misty Blues’ Gina Coleman.
7:00 pm Jason & Trev @ Route 8 Pub, Becket.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Michael Aaron @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox. Rock, Folk, Pop. Learn more and listen here.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm The Best Times and Lisa Michelle Anderson @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge. Learn more and listen to The Best Times here. Learn more and listen to Lisa Michelle here.
7:30 pm Melissa Brinton Live @ Shaw Pond Club, Becket. Folk, Pop, Rock. Learn more and listen here.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Peak Music – Livio Gravini @ Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort, Hancock.Rock, Blues. Learn more and listen here.
7:30 pm – 10:30 pm The BrokenHearted: A Tribute to Tom Petty @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton.
7:30 pm – 10:30 pm Billy Keane and The Waking Dream @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont. Indie Rock, Americana. See our interview with Billy here. Learn more and listen here.
8:00 pm – 11:00 pm The 413’s @ Knox Trail Inn, East Otis. Rock. Listen here.
8:00 pm – 11:00 pm Canna Provisions Presents Live Music at The Locker Room Featuring Jack Waldheim @ Locker Room Sports Pub, Lee.
8:00 pm – 1:00 am Nickodemus/Bigyuki/Deejay Theory @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield. Japanese keyboardist and songwriter Masayuki Hirano (BigYuki) mixes elements of jazz, classical, hip-hop, soul, rock, dance, and electronica. Listen here.
Sunday
10:00 am – 12:00 pm Domingo Brunch featuring Traveling Musical Storyteller, Eli Elkus @ Dottie’s Coffee Lounge, Pittsfield. Folk. Learn more and listen here.
12:00 pm – 3:00 pm Jazz Brunch With Natalia Bernal & Jason Ennis @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield. Jazz. Learn more about Natalia here. Learn more about Jason here.
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Evan Lauoue @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond. Rock, Pop. Learn more and listen here.
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Nate Martel @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox. Learn more and listen here.
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Pete Boyd @ Zinky’s Pub, Dalton.
3:00 pm A Musical Mass Featuring Haydn’s Missa Brevis in F Major @ Trinity Episcopal Church, Lenox. Performed by the Cantilena Choir.
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm Classical Music Lecture And Performance: Belle Époque Paris @ The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown. Pianist and musical scholar Roy Howat explores from the piano, with visual illustrations, the rich vein of classical music produced by composers like Debussy, Ravel, Chabrier, and Fauré.
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm Taproom Music: J.P. Murphy Band @ Bright Ideas Brewing, North Adams. Traditional Irish music.
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Michael Junkins and Friends @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge. Jazz. Featuring “The Regulars” with Will Hudgins on Vibes. Learn more and listen here.
Please get out and support your local musicians and venues!
— Mark @ Music in the Berkshires