Music in the Berkshires: Week of October 16

In the third week of October, Berkshire County music lovers will find themselves spoiled for choice with an incredible array of diverse and exceptional performances. We have 41 shows on the calendar for the coming week, and the quality is so high that you may need help to make your picks for the week. We have jazz, rock, pop, folk, blues, bluegrass, American songbook, and classical. Below are a few highlights, followed by the full show rundown. But before moving on, if you’ve not already done so, please subscribe to our free weekly Show Rundown to receive this content in your inbox each Monday – plus, you’ll receive exclusive information not found on our website or social media pages about recently announced shows and hot tickets. Subscribing also shows our supporters how much you value Music in the Berkshires.

We have some incredible jazz performances this week. On Monday, the Jason Ennis Trio performs at Methuselah Bar & Lounge in Pittsfield. Luke Franco will be at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge on Wednesday. On Thursday, Andy Wrba and Friends perform at The Lion’s Den. On Friday, Karen Tchougourian is at Gateways Inn in Lenox. The week’s highlight is Saturday’s performance of Felipe Salles’ The New Immigrant Experience Concert (pictured above) at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield. It’s a powerful multimedia work inspired by the lives of “Dreamers” and a fundraiser for Berkshire Immigrant Center, The West Stockbridge Historical Society, and Berkshire Theatre Group. Sunday, you have three options. In the morning, you’ll find the Domingo Brunch featuring Jason Ennis & Natalia Bernal at Dottie’s Coffee Lounge in Pittsfield. You can catch the Jazz Brunch with Michael Junkins at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield at noon. You can see Michael Junkins again in the evening, this time with some of his friends at The Lion’s Den.

Classical music lovers have several options this weekend. On Friday, the Williams Chamber Players perform at Williams College in Williamstown. And on Sunday afternoon, at Bard College at Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington, you’ll find the pianist Thomas Sauer performing works by Bach, Mozart, Meltzer, Piazzolla, and featuring Brahms’ “Variations on a Theme by Handel.” And if you enjoy the neighboring genres of contemporary classical and the American songbook, then Monday night’s performance by the Louisville Brass Concert at Bard College at Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington might be your thing.

We have over 30 shows that fall into the popular music categories of rock, pop, blues, bluegrass, and folk – and if you are like me, you will need help making your picks this week – the options are incredible and diverse – I can only highlight some of them. On Wednesday, the indie-folk-soul band GoldenOak makes a stop on their east coast tour when they visit Tourists in North Adams. Thursday offers many great choices. You’ll need to choose between the unconventional cellist Trevor Exter, who is performing at Race Brook Lodge, local favorite Jordan Weller, who is playing at The Stationery Factory in Dalton, folk musician Matthew Fowler at Egremont Barn, and April Verch and Joe Newberry, who will bring their folk and bluegrass music to Dewey Hall in Sheffield.

Friday has many enticing options, too. For those who love the music of the 70s and 80s, consider seeing Dancing Dream: The Music of ABBA at the Colonial Theatre. Rocker Dylan Connor is at The Lions Den, while up the road at the Stationery Factory, local favorite Glori Wilder is having her EP Release party for her new EP Stepping on Flowers. She will be joined by another local artist, Evan Lanoue, and Music in the Berkshires Featured Musician Katie Henry. Another of our Featured Musicians, Clare Maloney and The Great Adventure, will perform at the Egremont Barn. The great music continues at Race Brook Lodge when indie-folk artist Brown Bones plays at the Down County Social Club. To make the choices even more difficult, folk and pop musician Mirah performs at Dream Away Lodge in Becket. Mirah has over 265K monthly listeners on Spotify, with her song “Special Death” garnering over 13M streams! I’m going to need a teleporter to be in five places at once!

Saturday night also has many incredible performances to choose from. We have a unique opportunity to see Grace McLean at Race Brook Lodge. In addition to being an actress and writer, she is an alt-indie-pop musician who critics say might remind you of Regina Spektor or St. Vincent – two artists on my playlist. Several local favorites are also performing in the county, including the Misty Blues Duet at Antimony Brewing in Lenox, Eavesdrop at Hot Plate Brewing in Pittsfield, Lisa Michelle Anderson at The Lions Den, The Beatles cover band The Eggmen at Egremont Barn, and Rees Shad & The Conversations at Dream Away Lodge (Rees will also be at Big Elm Brewery earlier in the day). 

You can chill out to rock and folk Sunday afternoon with Melissa Brinton at portaVia in Dalton, Dave Brown at Antimony Brewing, or Dirty Bird in the Taproom at Bright Ideas Brewing in North Adams. Sunday evening, your options are The Decker Bandits, bringing their mix of bluegrass, rock, jam, and jazz to Dream Away Lodge, or the folk-improv violin-accordion duo Hinterlands at Race Brook Lodge. Wow! What a week!

You can read about all of these performances and more in our weekly show rundown below or jump right to our music calendar. 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.

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Jason Ennis Trio at Methuselah Bar & Lounge, Pittsfield. Jazz. Learn more and listen to Jason here.

7:30 pm Louisville Brass Concert at Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Great Barrington. Contemporary Classical, American Songbook.

No performances.

6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Luke Franco Trio at The Lions Den, Stockbridge. Jazz.

8:00 pm Goldenoak at Tourists, North Adams. Indie, Soul, Folk. Learn more and listen here.

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Jason & Trev at Firehouse Cafe & Bistro, Adams.

7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Andy Wrba and Friends at The Lions Den, Stockbridge. Jazz. Learn more about Andy here. Read our interview with Andy here.

7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Jim Witherell at Antimony Brewing, Lenox.

7:00 pm – 10:00 pm DCSC: Trevor Exter at Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield. Unconventional Cellist. Learn more and listen here.

7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Indie Night: Jordan Weller at The Stationery Factory, Dalton. Rock, Folk.

7:30 pm – 10:30 pm Matthew Fowler at Egremont Barn, South Egremont. Folk. Learn more and listen here.

8:00 pm – 9:30 pm TapRoot Sessions: April Verch and Joe Newberry Concert at Dewey Hall, Sheffield. Fiddle and Banjo; Folk, Bluegrass, and more. Learn more and listen to April Verch here. Learn more and listen to Joe Newberry here.

6:00 pm Pogo at Berkshire Palate, Pittsfield. Rock.  Funk, Pop, Rock.

6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Karen Tchougourian at Gateways Inn, Lenox. Jazz.

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Code Blue Duo at Shire Beer Company, Dalton. Rock, Blues.

7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Dylan Connor at The Lions Den, Stockbridge. Rock. Learn more and listen here.

7:30 pm Dancing Dream: The Music of ABBA at Colonial Theatre, Pittsfield.

7:30 pm Williams Chamber Players at Williams College, Williamstown. Chamber.

7:30 pm – 10:00 pm Glori Wilder EP Release Party at The Stationery Factory, Dalton. R&B, Soul, Pop. Learn more and listen here.

7:30 pm – 10:30 pm Clare Maloney and The Great Adventure at Egremont Barn, South Egremont. Rock. Learn more and listen here. Read our Featured Musician interview with Clare here.

8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Mirah at Dream Away Lodge, Becket. Pop, Folk. Learn more and listen here.

8:00 pm – 10:00 pm DCSC: Brown Bones at Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield. Indie, Folk. Learn more and listen here.

8:00 pm – 11:00 pm The Juckets at Antimony Brewing, Lenox.

2:00 pm – 4:00 pm Rees Shad and The Conversations at Big Elm Brewery & Taproom, Sheffield. Jazz, Folk, Americana. Learn more and listen here.

7:00 pm Eavesdrop at Hot Plate Brewing Co, Pittsfield. Americana Folk-Pop. Learn more and listen here.

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Sky Full of Dippers at Firehouse Cafe & Bistro, Adams.

7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Lisa Michelle Anderson at The Lions Den, Stockbridge. Americana, Rock, Folk. Learn more and listen here.

7:30 pm Felipe Salles’ The New Immigrant Experience Concert at Colonial Theatre, Pittsfield. Jazz. Learn more and listen here.

7:30 pm – 10:30 pm The Eggmen at Egremont Barn, South Egremont. Beatles cover band.

8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Rees Shad & The Conversations at Dream Away Lodge, Becket. Jazz, Folk, Americana. Learn more and listen here.

8:00 pm – 11:00 pm Misty Blues Duet at Antimony Brewing, Lenox. Blues. Learn more and listen here.

8:00 pm – 11:30 pm Grace McLean at Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield. Alterative Indie-Pop. Learn more and listen here.

10:00 am – 12:00 pm Domingo Brunch featuring Jason Ennis & Natalia Bernal at Dottie’s Coffee Lounge, Pittsfield. Jazz. Learn more about Jason here.

11:00 am – 3:00 pm Jazz Brunch with Michael Junkins at Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield. Learn more and listen here.

1:00 pm – 4:00 pm Melissa Brinton at portaVia, Dalton. Folk, Pop, Rock. Learn more and listen here.

2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Dave Brown at Antimony Brewing, Lenox.

3:00 pm South Berkshire Concert: Thomas Sauer, Pianist at Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Great Barrington.

4:00 pm – 6:00 pm Taproom Music: Dirty Bird at Bright Ideas Brewing, North Adams. Folk. Learn more and listen here.

6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Michael Junkins and Friends at The Lions Den, Stockbridge. Jazz.  Learn more and listen here.

7:30 pm – 10:30 pm The Decker Bandits at Dream Away Lodge, Becket. Bluegrass, Rock, Jam, Jazz. Learn more and listen here.

8:00 pm – 11:00 pm Hinterlands at Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield. Folk, Improvisation. Learn more and listen here.

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That’s our performance rundown for the week of October 16. I hope you’ll take advantage of the incredible music we have in Berkshire County this week.

— Mark @ Music in the Berkshires