We are approaching peak music season in Berkshire County this week, boasting 93 live performances that promise to captivate audiences. Highlights include international headliners the Pretenders, the jazz stylings of The Hot Sardines, a rich array of classical concerts at Tanglewood, and three outdoor music festivals, including Mountain Day with The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow at Bousquet. Music lovers can revel in a diverse lineup spanning classical, jazz, pop, rock, folk, blues, bluegrass, Americana, metal, and even a tribute to Frank Sinatra. Below are some highlights for the week ahead, followed by our comprehensive show rundown.
Classical and Opera
We have 20 classical performances this week, with all but three at Tanglewood. We can’t cover them all, but will cover the highlights. The music starts Monday at noon with Pianist Kyle P. Walker at Saint John’s Episcopal Church, Williamstown. Walker will perform music by Florence Price, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Irene Britton Smith, Michael Abels, and Trevor Weston. Monday evening, find Dima Slobodeniouk and the TMC Conducting Fellows conduct Perry, Bernstein, and Stravinsky at Tanglewood.
Wednesday early evening at Chesterwood in Stockbridge, you can listen to Tanglewood Music Center Fellows: Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight, a chamber cantata based on a 1914 poem by American poet Vachel Lindsay. A little later, you can hop on over to Tanglewood Recital Series: Yuja Wang, piano at Tanglewood’s Ozawa Hall.
Thursday night, you’ll find Tanglewood Recital Series: Les Arts Florissants at Tanglewood’s Ozawa Hall. You can watch and listen to Purcell’s The Fairy Queen comic concert opera. Friday’s main Tanglewood event is Dima Slobodeniouk conducts Bernstein and Brahms featuring Conrad Tao, piano, preceded by a Prelude Concert.
Saturday afternoon, see the stars of the future at BU Tanglewood Institute Young Artists Orchestra at Tanglewood. In the early evening, you’ll find Aston Magna: Side-By-Side-by-Side: Schubert, Chopin & Three Grand Pianos at St. James Place in Great Barrington. The title says it all. A little later at Tanglewood, you can listen to Andris Nelsons conducts Act III of Wagner’s Götterdämmerung. This is preceded by a Prelude Concert: TMC Fellows in Tanglewood’s Linde Center.
Sunday offers four Tanglewood performances. In the morning, you’ll find TMC Chamber Music and a Tanglewood Family Concert. In the afternoon, listen to more stars of the future at BU Tanglewood Institute Young Artists Wind Ensemble, followed by Andris Nelsons conducts Ives, Beethoven, and Strauss featuring Emanuel Ax, piano.
Jazz
We have ten jazz performances in the county this week. It all starts with Music Mondays: The Lucky 5 at the Berkshire Botanical Garden. The same evening, Andy Wrba, Conor Meehan, and Benny Kohn host Monday Night Jazz at Pizzeria Boema in Lenox. On Tuesday, catch the Jazz Night with Paul Ostermayer and Friends at Tito’s Mexican Bar and Grill in Pittsfield.
Wednesday night, The Hot Sardines make a stop on their nationwide tour at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington. Also on Wednesday, the Don Mikkelsen Trio performs at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge. Thursday, you’ll find a Summer Concert at the Church on the Hill in Lenox, featuring Mary Angela Talbot, Jazz vocalist; Joe Finn, Guitar; Bob Shepherd, Piano; Fran Tokarz, Bass. The concert is a fundraiser for Radio Station WTBR FM 89.7. Friday night down at Race Brook Lodge, chill out to New Orleans Night: Natty & The Woes.
Saturday afternoon, you can enjoy Jazz in Persip Park with The Dave Bartley Quartet in Pittsfield. Sunday midday, chill out at the Jazz Brunch with Billy Newman at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield. Later in the evening, you have two great choices: Tanglewood Recital Series: Gerald Clayton Trio at Tanglewood or Michael Junkins and Friends performing at The Lion’s Den. This week Michael features “The Regulars” with Will Hudgins on Vibes.
Popular (Rock, Pop, Folk, Blues, etc.)
This week, the popular music category dominates our calendar, with over 50 performances. We can’t highlight them all, but we will mention a few (see our calendar or show rundown below for all the performances).
The music starts Tuesday with Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders making a stop on their worldwide tour at Tanglewood. Most of their past and upcoming shows are sold out, so you have a great chance to catch them this week here in the 413. Listening to them over the last week, I remembered how many of their songs I know and love. For something more intimate, catch Mike Duffy at Methuselah Bar & Lounge in Pittsfield.
Wednesday night at the Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn in Lenox, Hannah Bracken and Katie Herbst perform. Thursday night, you’ll find Mary Witt and Ben Kohn of The O-Tones in Persip Park in Pittsfield and Indie Night: Evan Lanoue at The Stationery Factory in Dalton. Katherine Winston & Micheal Aaron are at The Lion’s Den (they will perform again Saturday at The Locker Room in Lee), and down at The Egremont Barn, you can celebrate The Wild Weeeds Album Release. Up at Dream Away Lodge, you’ll find folk-pop artist Emily Keating, with a sound “reminiscent of Florence and the Machine and Regina Specktor.”
On Friday early evening, you’ll find Lexi Weege and JJ Slater (Signature Dish) in Persip Park. If you miss them there, you can catch them at Dottie’s Coffee Lounge on Sunday Morning or at Bright Ideas Brewing on Sunday afternoon. You’ll also find Berkshire Busk in downtown Great Barrington.
Friday night’s headliner is Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues performing at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington. You can read our story “Blues Traveler – Five Questions for Moody Blues Frontman Justin Hayward” in the current issue of our sibling publication, Berkshire Magazine. Also on Friday, you’ll find Music in the Berkshires featured musician Milton at The Lion’s Den – he’ll be performing again Saturday at the Dream Away Lodge – and another MITB Featured Musician, Jordan Weller, at Roberto’s Pizza in Sheffield. Down at The Egremont Barn, you’ll find Chris Pureka with opener Nicole Reynolds. Pureka, from Portland, Oregon, has been compared to Chan Marshall, Bruce Springsteen, and Patty Griffin. Up at Dream Away Lodge in Becket, Rees Shad & The Conversations perform.
Saturday is an incredible day of music with 26 performances county-wide, and also a big day for outdoor music festivals, particularly at ski resorts. We’ve got Mountain Day with Whiskey Treaty Roadshow (pictured above) at Bousquet in Pittsfield. You can read our article “A Band of Brothers – The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow Celebrates 10 Years,” which initially appeared in Berkshire Magazine. Openers include Bella’s Bartok, Love Crumbs, Vaguely Pagan, and Jackson Whalan, with a special performance by Kids 4 Harmony.
We’ve also got the Thirsty Cat Festival at Catamount in South Egremont, with Frank Viele & The Fallout, Blanket Statement, and The Englishtown Project. And at the same time, we have the Garden Grove Music Festival Featuring Badfish at Butternut in Great Barrington. Berkshire Busk also continues in downtown Great Barrington in the afternoon and evening with another five musical performances – see our Music Calendar for a list of performers.
For some indoor options, consider the Jamie McLean Band at The Egremont Barn, Wanda Houston at The Lion’s Den, and Sarah Grella at the Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn. If you did not get enough of the Taylor family on the 4th of July, then you’ll want to attend An Evening With Kate Taylor, James’ sister, at the Guthrie Center in Great Barrington. If you are looking for something more hardcore, then consider Silverlake 413 Presents: No Such Thing As Ghosts, The Hauntings, The Snorts at Hot Plate Brewing in Pittsfield. And if you love Black Sabbath, then you’ll want to head to The Stationery Factory in Dalton to see Iron Sabbath.
On Sunday, The Thirsty Cat Festival continues with an excellent line-up at Catamount, with the Dave Keller Band in the morning and Reed Foehl and Friends in the afternoon. On the Sunday afternoon “winery and brewery circuit,” you will find Jack Waldheim at Antimony Brewing in Lenox, Nate Martel at Balderdash Cellars in Richmond, and Lexi Weege & JJ Slater in the Taproom at Bright Ideas Brewing in North Adams. Sunday afternoon and evening, there are two performances of Johnny Cash Late and Alone at The Stationery Factory in Dalton – if you are a Cash fan (isn’t everyone?), you’ll want to catch one of these performances. Sunday night, you’ll find soda-pop rocker Samuel Boat at the Dream Away Lodge and Ska and Reggae performer King Django at Race Brook Lodge.
Something Else
This week, we have three options in our Something Else category. Wednesday night, the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown presents an Outdoor Concert: Nathalie Joachim Trio. The Grammy®-nominated Haitian-American Joachim will perform her recently released album, Ki moun ou ye, “an intimate examination of ancestral connection and self.”
Friday night, Sinatra fans will want to head to The Stationery Factory in Dalton to see A Night of Sinatra with Rich DiMare & The Ron Poster Trio. Sunday midday, you can catch Sherry Steiner outdoors at the First Congregational Church of Lee. Sherry will perform ambient improvisational piano and double-necked ukulele Instrumentals.
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 the 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
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Pianist Kyle P. Walker @ Saint John’s Episcopal Church, Williamstown.
2:00 pm TLI The Art of Conducting: Andris Nelsons with TMC Vocalists @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
5:30 pm – 7:30 pm Music Mondays: The Lucky 5 @ Berkshire Botanical Garden, Stockbridge.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Monday Night Jazz @ Pizzeria Boema, Lenox.
8:00 pm Dima Slobodeniouk and the TMC Conducting Fellows conduct Perry, Bernstein, and Stravinsky @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
Tuesday
5:30 pm – 8:30 pm Jazz Night with Paul Ostermayer and Friends @ Tito’s Mexican Bar and Grill, Pittsfield.
7:00 pm Pretenders @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Mike Duffy @ Methuselah Bar & Lounge, Pittsfield.
Wednesday
1:30 pm TLI Open Workshops: William Christie, conductor and director of Les Arts Florissants @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
5:30 pm – 6:30 pm Tanglewood Music Center Fellows: Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight @ Chesterwood, Stockbridge.
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm Miss B Haven @ Lilac Park, Lenox.
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm Outdoor Concert: Nathalie Joachim Trio @ The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown.
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm Just N Kace @ Dalton CRA, Dalton.
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm Brad Champan Trio @ Windsor Lake, North Adams.
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Don Mikkelsen Trio @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Hannah Bracken and Katie Herbst @ Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, Lenox.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm The Hot Sardines @ Mahaiwe, Great Barrington.
8:00 pm Tanglewood Recital Series: Yuja Wang, piano @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
Thursday
1:00 pm TLI Talks and Walks @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
1:30 pm TLI Open Workshops: Emanuel Ax, piano @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
4:00 pm – 5:30 pm Summer Concert @ Church on the Hill, Lenox.
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm Mary Witt and Ben Kohn of The O-Tones in Persip Park @ Persip Park, Pittsfield.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Live Music with Clara Guatta @ Tito’s Mexican Bar and Grill, Pittsfield.
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm Upstairs at the Firehouse: Live Music with Tom Corrigan! @ Firehouse Cafe & Bistro, Adams.
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Indie Night: Evan Lanoue @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Katherine Winston & Micheal Aaron @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
7:30 pm – 10:30 pm The Wild Weeeds Album Release! @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Emily Keating @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket.
8:00 pm Tanglewood Recital Series: Les Arts Florissants @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
Friday
12:00 pm – 10:00 pm Pug + John @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
5:00 pm – 7:15 pm Sixties with a Chance of Rain & Friends – Remembering Allen Timmons @ Great Barrington Town Hall, Great Barrington.
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm Lexi Weege and JJ Slater (Signature Dish) in Persip Park @ Persip Park, Pittsfield.
5:30 pm The Second Annual David Grover Scholarship Concert “Here We Go Around Again” @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
6:00 pm Prelude Concert @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Dave Brown @ Bousquet, Pittsfield.
6:00 pm Jordan Weller @ Roberto’s Pizza, Sheffield.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Brett Potter @ Knox Trail Inn, East Otis.
6:30 pm – 7:30 pm Emergency Group, Psychic Temple show at the shop @ Belltower Records, North Adams.
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Berkshire Busk @ Downtown Great Barrington, Great Barrington.
6:30 pm – 10:00 pm Berkshire Busk @ Downtown Great Barrington, Great Barrington.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Milton @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm A Night of Sinatra with Rich DiMare & The Ron Poster Trio @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton.
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Melissa Brinton @ Shaw Pond Club, Becket.
7:30 pm – 10:30 pm Chris Pureka with opener Nicole Reynolds @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Rees Shad & The Conversations @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket.
8:00 pm – 11:00 pm New Orleans Night: Natty & The Woes @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield.
8:00 pm Dima Slobodeniouk conducts Bernstein and Brahms featuring Conrad Tao, piano @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
8:00 pm Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues @ Mahaiwe, Great Barrington.
Saturday
10:30 am Open Rehearsal: Andris Nelsons conducts Ives, Beethoven, and Strauss featuring Emanuel Ax, piano @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
11:00 am – 8:00 pm Thirsty Cat Festival @ Catamount, South Egremont.
12:00 pm – 6:30 pm Garden Grove Music Festival Featuring Badfish @ Butternut, Great Barrington.
12:00 pm – 10:30 pm Mountain Day With Whiskey Treaty Roadshow @ Bousquet, Pittsfield.
12:30 pm – 3:30 pm One for One @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
1:30 pm BU Tanglewood Institute Young Artists Orchestra @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm Berkshire Busk @ Downtown Great Barrington, Great Barrington.
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Jazz in Persip Park with The Dave Bartley Quartet @ Persip Park, Pittsfield.
6:00 pm Prelude Concert: TMC Fellows @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm Aston Magna: Side-By-Side-by-Side: Schubert, Chopin & Three Grand Pianos @ St. James Place, Great Barrington.
6:30 pm – 10:00 pm Berkshire Busk @ Downtown Great Barrington, Great Barrington.
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm Lady Di and the Dukes @ Dalton CRA, Dalton.
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Berkshire Busk @ Downtown Great Barrington, Great Barrington.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Silverlake 413 Presents: No Such Thing As Ghosts, The Hauntings, The Snorts @ Hot Plate Brewing Co, Pittsfield.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Wanda Houston @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Tom Corrigan @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
7:30 pm – 10:30 pm Jamie McLean Band @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont.
7:30 pm – 8:30 pm Emergency Group, Psychic Temple, Contour, World Research Lab at the shop @ Belltower Records, North Adams.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Sarah Grella @ Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, Lenox.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm An Evening With Kate Taylor @ Guthrie Center, Great Barrington.
8:00 pm Andris Nelsons conducts Act III of Wagner’s Götterdämmerung @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Iron Sabbath @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton.
8:00 pm – 11:00 pm Katherine Winston & Michael Aaron @ Locker Room Sports Pub, Lee.
8:00 pm – 11:00 pm Taproom Music: Rusted Chains @ Bright Ideas Brewing, North Adams.
8:00 pm – 11:00 pm Chalk Dust @ Knox Trail Inn, East Otis.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Milton @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket.
Sunday
10:00 am – 12:00 pm Domingo Brunch featuring Lexi Weege @ Dottie’s and Dorothy’s, Pittsfield.
10:00 am TMC Chamber Music @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
10:30 am Tanglewood Family Concert @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
11:00 am – 5:00 pm Thirsty Cat Festival @ Catamount, South Egremont.
12:00 pm – 3:00 pm Jack Waldheim @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
12:00 pm – 3:00 pm Jazz Brunch with Billy Newman @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield.
12:30 pm – 1:30 pm Sherry Steiner @ First Congregational Church of Lee, Lee.
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm Nate Martel @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
1:30 pm BU Tanglewood Institute Young Artists Wind Ensemble @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
1:30 pm – 2:30 pm Daryl Brooke @ First Congregational Church of Lee, Lee.
2:30 pm Andris Nelsons conducts Ives, Beethoven, and Strauss featuring Emanuel Ax, piano @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
3:00 pm – 4:30 pm Johnny Cash Late and Alone @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton.
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm Taproom Music: Lexi Weege & JJ Slater @ Bright Ideas Brewing, North Adams.
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm Lara Tupper @ The Barn Kitchen and Bar, Williamstown.
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Michael Junkins and Friends @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
7:00 pm – 8:30 pm Johnny Cash Late and Alone @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton.
7:00 pm Tanglewood Recital Series: Gerald Clayton Trio @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Samuel Boat @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket.
8:00 pm – 11:00 pm King Django @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield.
Please get out and support your local musicians and venues!
— Mark @ Music in the Berkshires