Musically, it’s a little quieter this week than last week as we close out April and roll into May. Temperatures are warming, and it looks like we have a nice stretch of weather ahead—just in time for Pittsfield’s new “First Fridays at Five” outdoor celebration. The inaugural event gives us a taste of what’s coming up this summer in outdoor concerts. That’s something we write about in the latest (May/June) issue of our sister publication, Berkshire Magazine, so make sure to check out the article “Great Music in the Great Outdoors.” We have 41 performances this week, spanning classical, opera, jazz, rock, pop, folk, blues, Latin, Middle Eastern, and Chinese music. Below are a few highlights of the week ahead, followed by our comprehensive show rundown.
Classical and Opera
We have three classical and one opera music performances this week. Friday night, you’ll find the Concert Choir & Chamber Choir at Williams College. The evening centers around a performance of Jonathan Dove’s piece for double choir and piano, The Passing of the Year. Saturday evening, catch the Fundraiser Concert with the Berkshire Chamber Players at the First Congregational Church of Stockbridge. The performance will feature the New England premiere of Leonard Bernstein’s “Music for String Quartet,” plus works by Mozart, Beethoven, and Schumann. Sunday afternoon, there is a sold-out performance of Piano Duo, Four Hands, Annual Luncheon Musicale Benefit in Great Barrington, which features pianists Anthony Zerpa-Falcon and Jong-Gyung Park performing Mozart, Brahms, and Liszt. Our opera music performance is Crescendo: Gilbert and Sullivan at St. James Place in Great Barrington on Sunday, featuring favorites from the prolific opera composers.
Jazz
It’s another strong week of jazz, with seven performances in the county. Thursday night, in the taproom at Bright Ideas Brewing in North Adams, you can listen to ABtrio, featuring Adam Bronstein from Buffalo. On Friday night, you’ll find Lonny Jarrett and Friends performing jazz, funk, and standards at Dorothy’s Estaminet in Pittsfield.
Saturday has several great performances. You can catch the Haneef Nelson Quartet at the West Stockbridge Historical Society or head up to the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown to hear jazz legend Eddie Henderson (pictured above) perform. Eddie will be joined by drummer Mike Clark, bass player Gerald Cannon, and pianist Joe Mulholland. Also on Saturday, the David Bartley Quartet will be at Dorothy’s Estaminet. David plays again Sunday morning at the Domingo Brunch featuring duo David Bartley and Pete Toigo at Dottie’s Coffee Lounge. Then, in the evening, Michael Junkins and Friends perform at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge. Michael will be joined by Benny Kohn on piano.
Popular (Rock, Pop, Folk, Blues, etc.)
We have over 20 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).
The music starts on Monday night with local favorite Wanda Houston performing at the Drifters restaurant at Bousquet in Pittsfield. Thursday, you’ll find the Hilltown Ham Hocks at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge. They are a “modern folk trio with old time roots.” Also on Thursday, Rees Shad & The Conversations perform at Egremont Barn.
Friday early evening you can catch the funk and neo-soul band Soul Magnets on the First Fridays at Five City Stage in Downtown Pittsfield. Also, as part of First Fridays, you can see Kilashandra at Methuselah Bar and Lounge and Lexi Weege and JJ Slater at Hot Plate Brewing. Bluesman Chris Beard comes to The Stationery Factory as part of his East Coast and Canada tour. The rock, funk, and R&B band National Reserve is back again at Egremont Barn. Night one of the sold-out performances of The Magnetic Fields — 69 Love Songs 25th Anniversary Tour is at MASS MoCA in North Adams – the second night is Saturday. Also on Friday, catch local favorite Evan Lanoue at The Lion’s Den.
Saturday night, Music in the Berkshires Featured Musician Milton will perform at The Lion’s Den. If you are a Bob Marley fan, you’ll want to get over to Egremont Barn to hear Roots Rock Reggae/Bob Marley Tribute.
On Sunday afternoon, you’ll find Livio Gravini at Antimony Brewing in Lenox and The Liquid Courage at Parkside Restaurant in Pittsfield. In the early evening, catch Music At The Manton: Constant Smiles and Ava Mirzadegan at the Clark Art Institute. You can wrap up your week by heading up to Tourists in North Adams to listen to Chicago-based indie-rock band Minor Moon, making a stop on their national tour in support of their new album, The Light Up Waltz, released April 12.
Something Else
This week, we have four performances in our Something Else category – three of them at Williams College on successive evenings. On Tuesday, catch the Brass Ensemble for some chamber brass music. On Wednesday, The Chinese Music Ensemble performs the sizhu genre of chamber music played on instruments such as the erhu, pipa, ruan, zheng, and yangqin. And on Thursday, you’ll find the Middle Eastern Music Ensemble. Elsewhere on Thursday, Latin performer Clara Guatta will be in the Down County Social Club at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield.
You can read about all of these performances and more in our day-by-day show rundown below or jump right to our music calendar. Please note that our deadline for inclusion in the weekly narrative above and day-by-day listing below is Wednesday at noon. Check our music calendar for shows we’ve added after our weekly publication deadline. 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
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Wanda Houston @ Bousquet, Pittsfield. R&B, Jazz, Soul, American Songbook. Learn more and listen here.
Tuesday
7:30 pm Brass Ensemble @ Williams College, Williamstown. Chamber Brass music.
Wednesday
7:30 pm Chinese Music Ensemble @ Williams College, Williamstown. Performing the sizhu genre of chamber music played on such instruments as the erhu, pipa, ruan, zheng, and yangqin.
Thursday
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Hilltown Ham Hocks @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge. Folk, Old-Time. Learn more and listen here.
7:30 pm Middle Eastern Music Ensemble @ Williams College, Williamstown.
7:30 pm – 10:00 pm Rees Shad & The Conversations @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont. Jazz, Folk, Americana. Learn more and listen here.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Taproom Music: ABtrio @ Bright Ideas Brewing, North Adams. Jazz. Learn more and listen here.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm DCSC: Clara Guatta @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield. Latin.
Friday
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm Wanda Houston and Benny Kohn @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond. R&B, Jazz, Soul, American Songbook. Learn more and listen here.
5:30 pm – 7:30 pm Soul Magnets on the First Fridays at Five City Stage @ Downtown Pittsfield, Pittsfield. Funk, Neo-Soul. Learn more and listen here.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Lonny Jarrett and Friends @ Dorothy’s Estaminet, Pittsfield. Jazz, Funk, Standards.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Tim Gallagher @ Bousquet, Pittsfield.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Thomas Corrigan @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Kilashandra, a Celtic influenced contemporary JAM band! @ Methuselah Bar & Lounge, Pittsfield.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Mr. Doubtfire @ Firefly Gastropub, Lenox – CANCELLED.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Evan Lanoue @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge. Rock, Pop. Learn more and listen here.
7:00 pm Lexi Weege & JJ Slater Band @ Hot Plate Brewing Co, Pittsfield. Rock, Jazz. Learn more and listen to Lexi here.
7:30 pm Concert Choir & Chamber Choir @ Williams College, Williamstown. Music centers around a performance of Jonathan Dove’s piece for double choir and piano, The Passing of the Year.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Chris Beard @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton. Blues. Learn more and listen here.
7:30 pm – 10:30 pm National Reserve @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont. Rock, R&B, Funk. Learn more and listen here.
8:00 pm The Magnetic Fields — 69 Love Songs 25Th Anniversary Tour (SOLD OUT) @ MASS MoCA, North Adams. Alternative – Indie. Learn more and listen here.
Saturday
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm Music at the Manton: Eddie Henderson @ The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown. Jazz. Learn more and listen here.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm David Bartley Quartet @ Dorothy’s Estaminet, Pittsfield. Jazz. Learn more and listen to David 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.
7:00 pm Blush Hollow Band @ Shaw Pond Club, Becket.
7:00 pm – 8:30 pm Fundraiser Concert with the Berkshire Chamber Players @ First Congregational Church of Stockbridge, Stockbridge. Classical, Chamber. Featuring the New England premiere of Leonard Bernstein’s “Music for String Quartet” plus works by Mozart, Beethoven, and Schumann.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Pete Boyd @ Locker Room Sports Pub, Lee.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Cam Collins @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Haneef Nelson Quartet @ West Stockbridge Historical Society, West Stockbridge. Jazz.
7:30 pm – 10:00 pm Roots Rock Reggae/Bob Marley Tribute @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont.
8:00 pm The Magnetic Fields — 69 Love Songs 25Th Anniversary Tour (SOLD OUT) @ MASS MoCA, North Adams. Alternative – Indie. Learn more and listen here.
8:00 pm Full Burn @ Knox Trail Inn, East Otis.
Sunday
10:00 am – 12:00 pm Domingo Brunch featuring duo David Bartley and Pete Toigo @ Dottie’s Coffee Lounge, Pittsfield. Jazz. Learn more and listen to David here.
12:00 pm – 3:00 pm Livio Gravini @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox. Rock, Blues. Learn more and listen here.
12:00 pm – 2:00 pm Piano Duo, Four Hands, Annual Luncheon Musicale Benefit @ Private Venue, Great Barrington. Close Encounters with Music (CEWM) benefit featuring pianists Anthony Zerpa-Falcon and Jong-Gyung Park performing Mozart, Brahms, and Liszt.
2:00 pm The Liquid Courage @ Parkside Restaurant, Pittsfield. Classic Rock.
4:00 pm – 5:30 pm Crescendo: Gilbert and Sullivan @ St. James Place, Great Barrington. Performing favorites from Gilbert and Sullivan.
5:00 pm – 6:00 pm Music At The Manton: Constant Smiles And Ava Mirzadegan @ The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown. Indie-folk. Learn more and listen here.
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Michael Junkins and Friends @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge. Jazz. Learn more and listen here.
8:00 pm Minor Moon @ Tourists, North Adams. Indie-rock. Learn more and listen to Minor Moon here.
Please get out and support your local musicians and venues!
— Mark @ Music in the Berkshires