Music in the Berkshires: Week of June 12

Last week was a crazy week for Music in the Berkshires. When I wrote the weekly show rundown on Sunday, we had 44 shows for the week of June 5, but by the end of the week, that had grown to 54 – the highest number since we started tracking shows in early March.

This week things are slightly quieter, with 39 live music shows in Berkshire County for the week of June 12 – 18. But the shows are of high quality, and there are some fantastic performances you won’t want to miss, capped off with five shows on Father’s Day Sunday. We cover all 39 shows in our weekly rundown.

If you prefer, you can jump right to our Calendar to see all events rather than read our performance rundown. For those new to our website, note that you can search for a specific artist, filter the performances based on genre, venue, or location, and view events in both a calendar and map view in addition to the default list view. Use the subscribe button below to receive this weekly rundown of upcoming performances in your inbox.

We start the week off in North Adams at Firehouse Cafe & Bistro, where Patty Keough will perform her original music (and comedy) from 7:00 – 9:00 pm. Patty is originally from Massachusetts but now lives off-grid in Vermont. You can learn about her and listen to her song here.

We continue the trend that Wednesday night is jazz night in the Berkshires, and you’ve got three great jazz shows to choose from. Mary Ann Palermo continues her month-long residency at portaVia in Dalton, performing from 6:00 – 9:00 pm. Redding, Moran, & Kohn  (JoAnne Redding, Ed Moran, and Benny Kohn) start jamming at 6:30 pm at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge, while further south at Dewey Hall in Sheffield, you can listen to the Jazz Jam with Luke Franco starting at 6:30 pm, inspired by the open jazz jams from the formative era of jazz music.

Things pick up substantially on Thursday with 8 live music shows.

[Note: the Wanda Houston performance listed in the original version of this post is no longer on the Naumkeag calendar. We apologize for any confusion this caused.]

Starting off the evening, you can catch Jared & John performing at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge from 7:00 – 10:00 pm.

Just up the road in Lenox at Gateways Inn, you can listen to jazz when Kathryn Anderson & Benny Kohn perform from 6:00 – 9:00 pm. Also in Lenox at the Ostrich Room at Appletree Inn, Katherine Winston performs from 7:00 – 9:00 pm. Katherine is a Massachusetts-based singer/songwriter and American Idol alum who blends country and pop influences. We saw her jump in with Johnny Irion last Saturday night at the Ostrich Room and enjoyed her songs. You can learn more about and listen to her music here.

Further north, at The Stationery Factory in Dalton, you can enjoy Indie Night – Pocket Merchant from 7:00 – 9:00 pm. Pocket Merchant, from the Hudson Valley, is described as “a jazz-fusion quartet recognized for their big sound and groove-based energy.” Listen to one of their songs here.

In North Adams, you can see the acclaimed Grace Kelly Quartet perform from 7:00 – 9:00 pm at the MCLA Venable Theatre. You can learn more about and listen to the singer-saxophonist-songwriter-composer and band leader here.

Down in Sheffield, you can catch Thin Lear at the Down County Social Club at Race Brook Lodge, performing from 7:00 – 10:00 pm. The NJ-based band “evokes the haunting melodies and glimmering production work of 70’s-era studio obsessives.” You can learn more and listen to Thin Lear here.

Over at Egremont Barn, Sam Brown is back in town again, performing at 7:30 pm. We saw Sam at The Lion’s Den recently and enjoyed her original music and covers. You can learn more about Sam here.

Rounding out Thursday are the Riverside Brothers, a trio featuring Edward Moran, Stan Pyrzanowski, and Seth Fleischmann, playing up at Dream Away Lodge in Becket at 8:00 pm. 

Friday night has eight performances, starting off with Kate Winston (aka Katherine Winston, who we covered above), playing from 5:00 – 8:00 pm at Balderdash Cellars in Richmond.

In another installment of the Town of Great Barrington’s outdoor concert series, you can see Rees Shad & the Conversations play from 5:30 – 7:15 pm at the gazebo behind the Town Hall. 

At the LIFT Bistropub at Bousquet in Pittsfield, you can listen to Mark Franklin from 6:00 – 9:00 pm.

Grammy-nominated and Vermont-based songwriter Reed Foehl performs at Studio 9 in North Adams starting at 7:00 pm, just one stop on his nationwide tour. You can listen to his music here.

The Riverside Brothers take the stage again, this time at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge at 7:00 pm. While All Over the Map, a duo of Brad Licht and Zoltan Nemeth from the band SHYNE, play at the Rusty Anchor Pub in Pittsfield from 7:00 – 10:00 pm.

Clare Maloney & The Great Adventure are back in Berkshire County for their sixth show of the year. This will be the first time they play at Egremont Barn and take the stage at 7:30 PM. We’ve seen this incredible band three times and will be there Friday for this one, too. We interviewed Clare (pictured above) this week, and you can read about her fascinating journey, which includes spending three summers at Tanglewood Institute.

Rounding out Friday night, you can see Jack Waldheim & The Criminal Hearts at Dream Away Lodge in Becket at 8:00 pm. We saw Jack playing solo recently at Bousquet in Pittsfield and enjoyed his show.

We jump up to 12 shows on Saturday, starting off with Tom Corrigan, who will be playing from noon to 3:00 pm at Balderdash Cellars in Richmond. If the weather is nice, it’s a wonderful place to listen to music and enjoy the beautiful view of Richmond Pond, looking across toward Lenox Mountain.

At 4:00 pm, you can take advantage of another one of The Berkshires’ 9 great outdoor concert series by attending the Lich Gate Concerts in the Park at Sheffield Town Park. They will be featuring a chamber music program for string quartet and oboe. 

At 6:00 pm, jazz lovers can find the Michael Junkins Duo at Gateways Inn in Lenox, and at 7:00 pm, just down the road in Stockbridge at The Lion’s Den, you can catch MA-based singer-songwriter Jake Manzi. Jake has a new album titled Here She Comes dropping on August 1st. You can listen to a cut off that album and learn more about Jake here.

The Southfield Church Community Choir performs “Songs for a Shining Night” at The Southfield Church (in Southfield) at 7:00 pm.

Up at the Rusty Anchor Pub in Pittsfield, you can catch classic rockers The Liquid Courage Band from 7:00 – 10:00 pm. Also, in Pittsfield, in the same time slot, Mr. Doubtfire will perform covers at Hot Plate Brewing. 

Down in Sheffield at Race Brook Lodge, Jake Xerxes Fussell & Sam Moss perform at 7:00 pm. Jake is described as a “Singer, guitarist, and folk music interpreter who has distinguished himself as one of his generation’s preeminent interpreters of traditional (and not so traditional) folk songs.” He’s on a summer tour of the east coast – plus a date in Helsinki, Finland – and several of his dates have sold out, including at The Sinclair in Cambridge, so get your tickets soon. You can learn more about him and listen to him here. 

Over at Egremont Barn, Dan & The Wildfire and Jake Swamp & The Pine play at 7:30. Boston-based Dan & the Wildfire is a “soulful rock n’ roll” quintet. Also from Boston, Jake Swamp and the Pines has been nominated four years in a row for the Boston Music Awards Americana Act of the Year, as well as New England Music Awards Americana Act of the Year. You can learn more about and listen to them here.

Up at MASS MoCA in North Adams, Raiche with Jasmine Janai Presented by the Berkshire Black Economic Council perform at 8:00 pm. Raiche, a Pittsfield native, fuses her soulful roots with a little pop and is known for her positivity. You can read her incredible bio and listen to her here.

Northampton-based Brother Sals Blues Band is back in Berkshire County again, this time playing at Knox Trail Inn in East Otis at 8:00 pm. You can listen to them here. 

Also at 8:00 pm, Galvanizer performs at Dream Away Lodge in Becket. Galvanizer is the creative brainchild of guitarist & band leader John Cabán and is described as “a melting pot of psychedelic rock, funk, blues, surf, dub & outer worldly influences, that gets your groove shaking and mind swirling.” John is an amazing guitarist – we’ve seen him perform all around the county with StompBox Trio, Glori Wilder, and others – this will be our first time seeing him with Galvanizer. Learn more here.

[Note: the Sunday Morning show at Dottie’s Coffee Lounge that we shared in the original version of this post has been canceled. Dottie’s is closed from June 15 – 23 while they have a new HVAC unit installed.]

You can participate in a free Juneteenth Eve Celebration at the MCLA Church Street Center in North Adams from noon to 3:00 pm to celebrate Black Music Appreciation Month. The lineup includes Misty Blues, Wanda Houston, Chantell McFarland, The Diego Mongue Band, and Tendai Muparutsa.

Other Sunday afternoon shows include Paul Zarvis playing at Balderdash Cellars in Richmond from 2:00 – 5:00 pm, and Wintergreen, performing outdoors at Lilac Park in Lenox at 3:30 pm, featuring traditional and contemporary folk artists Jared Polens and Larry and Alice Spatz. This show is part of the LenoxLovesMusic! Series.

For some early evening jazz, you can chill to Michael Junkins & Friends playing from 5:30 to 8:30 pm at The Lion’s Den 30 in Stockbridge as part of their June Jazz Series.

You can put a bow on a perfect weekend of live music by seeing The Guthrie Girls with The Rear Defrosters at 8:00 pm at Dream Away Lodge in Becket. Sisters Cathy and Sarah Lee Guthrie come from a long line of American folk heritage, being the daughters of Arlo and granddaughters of Woody. Both have long-standing careers on their own for over 20 years; Cathy has achieved critical acclaim for her works with Folk Uke, and Sarah Lee has made several albums and toured extensively.

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We hope you’ll get out this week and enjoy live music in The Berkshires!

— Mark @ Music in the Berkshires