It’s a vibrant week in the Berkshires as fall activities hit their stride just in time for the holiday weekend. With leaf-peeping, apple picking, harvest festivals, and the much-anticipated Fall Jazz Sprawl, locals and visitors alike are in for a treat. On the music front, we have 51 live music performances across the county, including classical, jazz, rock, blues, folk, country, and Latin. Below are some highlights for the week ahead, followed by our comprehensive show rundown.
Classical and Opera
We have just one classical performance this week, Saturday night’s Two Piano Journey Concert at the Adams Theatre. The performance is a fundraiser for the theatre and features the mother-son duo Michelle Chen Kuo and Christopher Kuo, who perform the Romantic era’s most beloved two piano and duet masterpieces by composers such as Rachmaninoff, Poulenc, Bruch, Chopin, Brahms, and others.
Jazz
It’s a big week for jazz, with the Fall Jazz Sprawl taking place. On Monday night, the George Schuller Trio performs at Methuselah Bar & Lounge in Pittsfield. Tuesday night, the Tarik Shah Trio is at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Pittsfield. Wednesday, the Paul Ostermayer Trio performs at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge.
Thursday night, we have a conflict on our calendar, with The Lucky 5 being listed at two different venues, and as of publication time, we’ve been unable to determine which is correct. You’ll either be able to see the hard-swinging jazz band at Dottie’s and Dorothy’s in Pittsfield or The Ostrich Room at The Apple Tree Inn in Lenox (as The Lucky 3). We will update our calendar with the correct information once we resolve the issue. [This conflict has been resolved: The Lucky 5 will be at Dottie’s, and the Luke Franco Trio will be at The Ostrich Room.]
Friday night, All of Me: A Tribute to Billie Holiday Starring Samirah Evans comes to the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield.
Saturday night, the Wanda Houston Band performs as part of the Becket Arts Center’s Music Brings Communities Together series. Also on Saturday, Melissa Newman, a singer, artist, and daughter of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, will perform with her jazz duo at The Lion’s Den. (Note: Melissa will read from her book, “Head Over Heels: Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman: A Love Affair in Words and Pictures,” at the Red Lion Inn the following morning.)
Sunday evening, catch the final event in the Fall Jazz Sprawl: Berkshires Jazz presents: Grace Kelly with Strings plus Kids 4 Harmony at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox. The saxophonist, singer, and songwriter will perform her newest album, Grace Kelly with Strings: At the Movies, which adapts classic and current movie themes for an orchestral setting, with a full string section augmented by the Kids 4 Harmony advanced ensemble. Also on Sunday night, you’ll find Michael Junkins and Friends at The Lion’s Den. This week, Michael features “Junk” with Will Hudgins on vibes.
Popular (Rock, Pop, Folk, Blues, etc.)
The popular music category dominates our calendar this week, with nearly 40 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 Monday when the 20th Annual FODfest visits Studio 9 in North Adams. The event honors the life of Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reporter who was abducted and murdered by extremists in Pakistan shortly after 9-11. The evening is packed with talent, with performers including Jackson Whalan, Bree Nicola, JoAnne Spies, Rees Shad, Katherine Winston, Christine Bilé, Soul Prophet, Todd Mack, EMCEE P.O.E.T.R.E.Y, and others.
Tuesday night, you can catch Kath Bloom, Lori Goldston, and Vaguely Pagan at Belltower Records in North Adams. On Wednesday, you’ll find Colby Lewis & Steve Ide back at the Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn in Lenox. Thursday night, local diva Wanda Houston performs at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge, while folk-rock artist Namoli Brennet is at Dream Away Lodge in Becket. And at Tourists in North Adams, you can see Hammydown.
Friday night, you’ll find the Misty Blues Band at the October Supper Club at Dottie’s and Dorothy’s in Pittsfield as part of their month-long residency. The psych-rock band Vaguely Pagan performs at The Lion’s Den, while The Beatles tribute band The Eggmen plays at The Egremont Barn. Camp Saint Helene, described as “Occult-folk in the 70’s U.K. tradition,” visits Dream Away Lodge.
Saturday is a busy day of music, with 20 performances across the county. In the afternoon, catch the Tapestry Health Fundraiser Featuring Beast Mode at Hot Plate Brewing in Pittsfield. Also in the afternoon, you’ll find local favorite Kat Winston at Balderdash Cellars in Richmond.
In the early evening, catch Nashville recording artist and Sheffield resident Jeannie Romeo playing country and rock and roll with tributes to Patsy Cline and Brenda Lee at Dewey Hall in Sheffield. Later in the evening, see Chris Merenda of The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow and Picky Bastards with Dave Brown at the Route 8 Pub in Becket. AC/DC fans will want to head over to The Stationery Factory in Dalton to see Back in Black ~ The TRUE AC/DC Experience, while Bob Marley and Peter Tosh fans will want to see the Roots Rock Reality Band – Bob Marley Tribute at The Egremont Barn. Fierce folk band 5 Pound Horse is back at Dream Away Lodge. Our video of the band performing at Dream Away earlier this year is one of our most-watched and liked – you can view it here. Or, you can catch Paper Anniversary at the Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn.
Sunday morning, you’ll find local favorite Melissa Brinton playing at the Domingo Brunch at Dottie’s and Dorothy’s. Sunday afternoon, on the “winery and brewery circuit,” you’ll find Nate Martel at Antimony Brewing in Lenox and Gina Coleman and Benny Kohn at Balderdash Cellars in Richmond. Up the road at portaVia in Dalton, Pete Boyd will be performing.
Sunday evening offers some great music, and you can stay out late since Monday is the Indigenous Peoples’/Columbus Day Holiday. The Egremont Barn is hosting Pressing Strings out of Annapolis, Maryland. We really enjoyed seeing this band last December. They play original music and memorable covers, including a must-listen-to version of Led Zeppelin’s “Going to California.” Or, you can catch the Hot Shot Hillbillies Duo at Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort in Hancock.
Something Else
We have four performances in our Something Else category this week. Saturday at noon, you can bring the whole family to the free Kids Concerts with Terry A La Berry and Friends at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield. Saturday night, you can see Pink Martini Featuring China Forbes (pictured above) on their 30th Anniversary Tour at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington. This band crosses the genres of classical, jazz, and old-fashioned pop music and has performed around the world. Also on Saturday night, in honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, you’ll find Shawn Stevens: Music, Storytelling, & Prophesy at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield. Shawn, an enrolled member of the Stockbridge Munsee Band of Mohicans, whose ancestral homelands are the Berkshires, is a spiritualist, musician, dancer, storyteller, historian, and educator.
Sunday night, The Meridian Brothers make a stop at Race Brook Lodge on a short US tour before heading to Europe. Led by Eblis Alvarez, the five-piece band blends multiple genres, including Latin tropical, psychedelic, and experimental music. They’ve been written about in the New Yorker, The New York Times, and featured on NPR Tiny Desk Concerts.
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
7:00 pm 20th Annual FODfest (Free with RSVP) @ Studio 9, North Adams.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm George Schuller Trio @ Methuselah Bar & Lounge, Pittsfield.
Tuesday
4:30 pm – 6:00 pm Tarik Shah Trio @ St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Pittsfield.
7:00 pm – 8:00 pm Kath Bloom, Lori Goldston, Vaguely Pagan play at the shop @ Belltower Records, North Adams.
Wednesday
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Paul Ostermayer Trio @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Colby Lewis & Steve Ide @ Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, Lenox.
Thursday
6:00 pm – 10:00 pm Jazz Sprawl w/the Lucky 5 @ Dottie’s and Dorothy’s, Pittsfield.
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm The Luke Franco Trio @ Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, Lenox.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Wanda Houston @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Namoli Brennet @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket.
8:00 pm – 9:30 pm Hammydown @ Tourists, North Adams.
Friday
4:00 pm – 7:00 pm Piano with Harris MacDonald @ Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, Lenox.
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm Frank Manzi @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
6:00 pm Brett Potter @ Knox Trail Inn, East Otis.
6:00 pm – 10:00 pm Misty Blues Band October Supper Club @ Dottie’s and Dorothy’s, Pittsfield.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Jon Berman @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
7:00 pm Razztime @ Route 8 Pub, Becket.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Vaguely Pagan @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm All of Me: A Tribute to Billie Holiday Starring Samirah Evans @ Colonial Theatre, Pittsfield.
7:30 pm – 10:30 pm The Eggmen @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Camp Saint Helene @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Fall Music Series: Closet Classics @ Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort, Hancock.
Saturday
12:00 pm Kids Concerts with Terry A La Berry and Friends @ Colonial Theatre, Pittsfield.
12:00 pm – 4:00 pm Trevor Wheelock @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
3:00 pm – 4:20 pm Bobby Sweet and Lara Tupper @ Devonfield Inn, Lee.
3:00 pm Tapestry Health Fundraiser Featuring Flavourful Bites & Beast Mode @ Hot Plate Brewing Co, Pittsfield.
4:00 pm – 7:00 pm Kat Winston @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Music Brings Communities Together – Wanda Houston Band @ Becket Arts Center, Becket.
6:00 pm Nashville Recording Artist: Jeannie Romeo @ Dewey Hall, Sheffield.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Melissa Newman / Book reading the next morning @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
7:00 pm Chris Merenda and Dave Brown @ Route 8 Pub, Becket.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Joe Giddings @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
7:30 pm Two Piano Journey Concert @ Adams Theatre, Adams.
7:30 pm – 10:30 pm Back in Black ~ The TRUE AC/DC Experience! @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton.
7:30 pm – 10:30 pm Roots Rock Reality Band! Bob Marley Tribute @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Fall Music Series: Pug & John Show @ Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort, Hancock.
8:00 pm Pink Martini Featuring China Forbes – 30Th Anniversary Tour @ Mahaiwe, Great Barrington.
8:00 pm – 11:00 pm Shawn Stevens: Music, Storytelling, & Prophesy @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield.
8:00 pm Acoustic Bandwidth @ Knox Trail Inn, East Otis.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm 5 Pound Horse @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket.
8:30 pm – 10:30 pm Paper Anniversary @ Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, Lenox.
Sunday
10:00 am – 12:00 pm Domingo Brunch featuring Melissa Brinton @ Dottie’s and Dorothy’s, Pittsfield.
12:00 pm – 3:00 pm Nate Martel @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
12:00 pm – 5:00 pm Gina Coleman and Benny Kohn @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm Pete Boyd @ portaVia, Dalton.
4:00 pm – 7:00 pm Mike Duffy @ Route 8 Pub, Becket.
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Michael Junkins and Friends @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
7:00 pm – 8:00 pm Spatulas, Lightheaded, Jeanines, Kryssi & Wednesday at the shop @ Belltower Records, North Adams.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Pressing Strings @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Berkshires Jazz presents: Grace Kelly With Strings plus Kids 4 Harmony @ Shakespeare & Company, Lenox.
8:00 pm – 11:00 pm The Meridian Brothers @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Fall Music Series: Hot Shot Hillbillies Duo @ Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort, Hancock.
Please get out and support your local musicians and venues!
— Mark @ Music in the Berkshires