Sunshine and drier air usher in the second half of August, after Hurricane Betty swept through the Berkshire region on Friday night, dampening spirits and disrupting outdoor concert venues. While the music scene has quieted slightly after last week’s record-breaking number of performances, there are still 77 shows on the calendar this week, offering a rich array of genres from classical and Broadway to jazz, rock, pop, folk, and even a touch of zydeco. Below are some highlights for the week ahead, followed by our comprehensive show rundown.
Classical and Opera
We have 20 classical performances on the calendar with just two weeks remaining in the Tanglewood classical season, so take advantage of it while you can! We can’t cover all the performances, but we will touch on the highlights. The music starts Monday at noon with a Chamber Music Concert at Saint John’s Episcopal Church in Williamstown. Pianist Andrew King, violinist Emily Kalish, violist James Bergin, and cellist Perri Morris perform Gabriel Fauré’s Violin Sonata No. 1 and Piano Quartet No. 1. Over at Tanglewood on Monday evening, you can enjoy TMC Opera Excerpts, an all Mozart program drawing from The Magic Flute, Don Giovanni, and The Marriage of Figaro.
Wednesday evening, you can enjoy the Tanglewood Recital Series: The Knights and Emanuel Ax perform Bologne and Mozart. Thursday afternoon, you’ll find the Chamber Music Soiree | Prima Music Foundation at Ventfort Hall in Lenox, featuring Leonid Sigal on the violin and Anastasia Dedik on the piano. Thursday night, catch Tanglewood Recital Series: The Knights and Emanuel Ax perform Ortiz and Mozart.
Friday afternoon, part one of a very interesting two-part series takes place at the Tanglewood Learning Institute: TLI Presents: Trauma, Memory & Transcendence in Music Part 1: Do Not Forget Me. Part two is Saturday afternoon. Friday evening, Tanglewood features Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 & Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 1 with Midori. Prior to that performance, you can catch the Prelude Concert featuring the music of Sibelius, Smit, and Fauré.
Saturday morning at Tanglewood, you can attend the Open Rehearsal for Sunday afternoon’s concert or enjoy the BU Tanglewood Institute Young Artists Orchestra in the early afternoon. Saturday evening, you can attend the Prelude Concert featuring the music of Mozart and Piazzolla, followed by Jurassic Park in Concert. The film will be projected in HD with the full Boston Pops symphony orchestra performing John Williams’ iconic score live.
Sunday morning, you’ll find two performances at Tanglewood: TMC Chamber Music and TLI for Families: Circle Round. The former features the music of Freeman, Mozart, Kerekes, Schulhoff, Barber, and Farrenc. The latter is a very interesting program hosted by WBUR’s Rebecca Sheir with composer Eric Shimelonis. They will be joined by a quintet of Boston Symphony Orchestra musicians plus an all-star cast of actors as they bring exciting folktales to life. In the afternoon, the featured performance is Earl Lee conducts Simon, Schumann, and Beethoven Symphony No. 7 with Yo-Yo Ma (pictured above). Sunday evening, there are two performances of TLI Presents: Silent Film project with TMC Composers, Conductors, and Instrumentalists, in collaboration with Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in the Linde Center at Tanglewood at 6:00 and 9:00 p.m.
Jazz
We have five jazz performances in the county this week. It all starts with Andy Wrba, Conor Meehan, and Benny Kohn hosting 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, you’ll find the Daryl Lowry Trio at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge.
Saturday evening, jazz lovers will want to be at the Bousquet Jazz Festival at Bousquet Mountain in Pittsfield. The program features the Luke Franco Quartet, Samirah Evans, and The Brubeck Brothers Quartet. Sunday night, you’ll find Michael Junkins and Friends performing at The Lion’s Den. This week, Michael features “Junk” with Will Hudgins on Vibes.
Popular (Rock, Pop, Folk, Blues, etc.)
This week, the popular music category has over 45 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 Full Burn at the Great Barrington VFW. Wednesday night, you have several great outdoor concert options. There is a special concert featuring folk-rocker Heather Maloney on the lawn of the President’s home at Williams College. Tom Norton – Norto & the Hecklers perform at the Great Barrington Town Hall, and the Matchstick Architects are at Lilac Park in Lenox. Indoor options include Music in the Berkshires Featured Musician Billy Keane at the Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn in Lenox. If you can’t make it to see Billy there, you can also catch him Friday night at The Egremont Barn.
Thursday night, you can experience something different by taking the chairlift to the top of Bousquet Mountain in Pittsfield to experience Summit Sounds @ Sunset with The Abombs. You’ll find Sasha at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge. Honeysuckle, an indie folk-pop duo from upstate NY and 2019 Americana Artist of the Year, performs at The Egremont Barn. Christopher and Sienna Sears perform at Dream Away Lodge in Becket.
Friday early evening, there are several outdoor performances: The Tom Prettys perform at Catamount in South Egremont. You’ll find The Whinin’ Boys at Persip Park in Pittsfield. Week 8 of Berkshire Busk kicks off Friday night in downtown Great Barrington. Bossa Blue, described by frontman Brad Cole as “Not just bossa nova and blues, but rock, samba, jazz, R&B, old soul,” is at The Lion’s Den, and Steve Adams and The Tangled Party perform at Dream Away Lodge.
Saturday afternoon, you’ll find Katherine Winston at Persip Park and Bobby Sweet and Lara Tupper at the Devonfield Inn in Lee. In downtown Great Barrington, Berkshire Busk continues in the afternoon and evening with another seven musical performances – see our Music Calendar for a list of performers.
Saturday evening, you’ll find Sean Rowe at The Guthrie Center in Great Barrington. His song, “To Leave Something Behind,” was featured in the film “The Accountant” and has garnered 14 million streams on Spotify. That song, plus an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” have given Rowe international recognition. Folk-rocker Jefferson Hamer is at The Lion’s Den, cherished local diva Chantell is at the Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, and Hannah Bracken and her band Gold Crush perform at The Egremont Barn. Americana artist Lisa Michelle Anderson is at the Dream Away Lodge. The Jimmy Carpenter Band makes a stop on their international tour at The Stationery Factory in Dalton. Carpenter is a Grammy® Award-winning composer, saxophonist, and bluesman.
Sunday morning, you can catch Helen Hummel at the Domingo Brunch at Dottie’s and Dorothy’s in Pittsfield. In the early afternoon, you’ll find Mark Franklin followed by Pete Apple and Kathy Garson outdoors at the First Congregational Church of Lee. On the Sunday afternoon “winery and brewery circuit,” you’ll find Jordan Franklin at Antimony Brewing in Lenox and Gina Coleman of Misty Blues at Balderdash Cellars in Richmond. It will be a great night to head up to the hill towns, as the Krishna Guthrie Band will return home to rock Washington Town Park, and later on in nearby Becket, DakouDakou performs at Dream Away Lodge.
Something Else
This week, we have five performances in our Something Else category. Monday night, listen to Krysta Rodriguez at the Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield. Krysta will share her favorite songs from her Broadway shows, including Into the Woods, Spring Awakening, First Date, The Addams Family, In the Heights, A Chorus Line, and Good Vibrations.
Wednesday night, Broadway Bible 2.0 with Deborah Zecher is at Hevreh of Southern Berkshire in Great Barrington. The show was created by Rabbi Deborah Zecher and Dr. Alan Gold by combining beloved stories from the Bible and Midrash with familiar Broadway tunes.
On Saturday morning, Terry ala Berry will perform a children’s concert at the Great Barrington Town Hall. Sunday afternoon, Broadway and Beers comes to Hot Plate Brewing in Pittsfield. The Berkshire Concert Choir will lead attendees in singing familiar favorites from Broadway shows like Cabaret and Wicked. In addition to the sing-along selections, members of the choir will offer several solo pieces. Finally, if you are in the mood for some Zydeco music, then Sunday night, you’ll want to be at The Egremont Barn to see Jeffrey Broussard & The Creole Cowboys.
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 Chamber Music concert @ Saint John’s Episcopal Church, Williamstown.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Monday Night Jazz @ Pizzeria Boema, Lenox.
8:00 pm TMC Opera Excerpts @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
8:00 pm Krysta Rodriguez @ Barrington Stage Company, Pittsfield.
Tuesday
5:30 pm – 8:30 pm Jazz Night with Paul Ostermayer and Friends @ Tito’s Mexican Bar and Grill, Pittsfield.
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm Full Burn @ Great Barrington VFW, Great Barrington.
Wednesday
1:30 pm TLI Open Workshops: Roberto Díaz, viola @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
5:30 pm – 7:15 pm Tom Norton – Norto & the Hecklers @ Great Barrington Town Hall, Great Barrington.
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm Heather Maloney @ Williams College, Williamstown.
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Daryl Lowry Trio @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm Matchstick Architects @ Lilac Park, Lenox.
7:00 pm Broadway Bible 2.0 with Deborah Zecher @ Hevreh of Southern Berkshire, Great Barrington.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Billy Keane @ Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, Lenox.
8:00 pm Tanglewood Recital Series: The Knights and Emanuel Ax perform Bologne and Mozart @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
Thursday
1:00 pm TLI Talks and Walks, featuring violinist Midori @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
1:30 pm TLI Open Workshops: Elizabeth Rowe, Flute @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm Chamber Music Soiree | Prima Music Foundation @ Ventfort Hall, Lenox.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Live Music with Clara Guatta @ Tito’s Mexican Bar and Grill, Pittsfield.
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm Sean Callaghan @ Firehouse Cafe & Bistro, Adams.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Summit Sounds @ Sunset with The Abombs @ Bousquet, Pittsfield.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Sasha @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
7:30 pm – 10:00 pm Christopher and Sienna Sears @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket.
7:30 pm – 10:00 pm Honeysuckle @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont.
8:00 pm Tanglewood Recital Series: The Knights and Emanuel Ax perform Ortiz and Mozart @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
Friday
2:30 pm TLI Presents: Trauma, Memory & Transcendence in Music Part 1: Do Not Forget Me @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm The Whinin’ Boys in Persip Park @ Persip Park, Pittsfield.
5:00 pm – 8:30 pm The Tom Prettys @ Catamount, South Egremont.
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm Pug and John @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Nate Martel @ Knox Trail Inn, East Otis.
6:00 pm Prelude Concert @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
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 Tom Savoy @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Bossa Blue @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
7:30 pm – 10:30 pm Billy Keane @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Steve Adams and The Tangled Party @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket.
8:00 pm Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 & Prokofiev Violin Concerto No. 1 with Midori @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
Saturday
10:30 am Open Rehearsal: Earl Lee conducts Simon, Schumann, and Beethoven featuring Yo-Yo Ma, cello @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
10:30 am – 12:00 pm Terry ala Berry @ Great Barrington Town Hall, Great Barrington.
12:00 pm – 3:00 pm Trevor Wheelock @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
1:30 pm BU Tanglewood Institute Young Artists Orchestra @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Katherine Winston in Persip Park @ Persip Park, Pittsfield.
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm Berkshire Busk @ Downtown Great Barrington, Great Barrington.
2:30 pm TLI Presents: Trauma, Memory & Transcendence in Music Part 2: “A Search for Meaning” with Mark Ludwig and Osvaldo Golijov @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
3:00 pm – 4:20 pm Bobby Sweet and Lara Tupper @ Devonfield Inn, Lee.
4:00 pm – 10:00 pm Bousquet Jazz Festival @ Bousquet, Pittsfield.
4:00 pm – 7:00 pm The Monday Project @ Papa Bob’s Entertainment Hall, Becket.
4:00 pm – 7:00 pm Dan Gingras @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
6:00 pm Prelude Concert @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
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 Jack Waldheim @ Locker Room Sports Pub, Lee.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Jefferson Hamer @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Sky Full of Dippers @ Firehouse Cafe & Bistro, Adams.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Livio Gravini @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Chantell @ Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, Lenox.
7:30 pm – 10:30 pm Gold Crush @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Sean Rowe Live at The Guthrie Center @ Guthrie Center, Great Barrington.
8:00 pm – 11:00 pm Generation X Rock @ Knox Trail Inn, East Otis.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Jimmy Carpenter Band @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton.
8:00 pm Jurassic Park in Concert @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Lisa Michelle Anderson @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket.
Sunday
10:00 am – 12:00 pm Domingo Brunch featuring Helen Hummel @ Dottie’s and Dorothy’s, Pittsfield.
10:00 am TMC Chamber Music @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
10:30 am TLI for Families: Circle Round @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
12:00 pm – 3:00 pm Jordan Franklin @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
12:30 pm – 1:30 pm Mark Franklin @ First Congregational Church of Lee, Lee.
1:30 pm – 2:30 pm Pete Apple and Kathy Garson @ First Congregational Church of Lee, Lee.
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Gina Coleman @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
2:30 pm Earl Lee conducts Simon, Schumann, and Beethoven Symphony No. 7 with Yo-Yo Ma @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
3:00 pm – 4:30 pm Broadway and Beers @ Hot Plate Brewing Co, Pittsfield.
4:00 pm Krishna Guthrie Band @ Washington Town Park, Washington.
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm Lita Williams @ The Barn Kitchen and Bar, Williamstown.
6:00 pm TLI Presents: Silent Film project with TMC Composers, Conductors, and Instrumentalists, in collaboration with Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Michael Junkins and Friends @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Jeffrey Broussard & The Creole Cowboys @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm DakouDakou @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket.
9:00 pm TLI Presents: Silent Film project with TMC Composers, Conductors, and Instrumentalists, in collaboration with Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
Please get out and support your local musicians and venues!
— Mark @ Music in the Berkshires