Music in the Berkshires: Week of October 23

The final full week of October offers an incredibly diverse set of music offerings in Berkshire County, including many Halloween-inspired shows, three great bluegrass artists, and several indie artists garnering millions of streams on Spotify. We have 42 shows on the calendar for the coming week, and like last week, the quality is so high that you may need help to make your picks for the week. We have jazz, rock, hip-hop, indie, pop, folk, blues, bluegrass, choral, cabaret, marimba, and classical. Wow! 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.

It’s Halloween weekend, and we have ten Halloween-inspired events to choose from on Friday and Saturday nights! The fun starts on Friday night at Hot Plate Brewing (Pittsfield) and Zinky’s Pub (Dalton) and continues on Saturday with shows at Tavern at the A (Pittsfield), the Italian-American Club (Pittsfield), Dream Away Lodge (Becket), Hot Plate Brewing, Egremont Barn, Bogies Restaurant and Pub (Great Barrington), Knox Trail Inn (East Otis), and Shire Beer Company (Dalton). Get your costume ready and check out our show rundown for all the performers and details.

The next theme that jumps out this week is the incredible bluegrass shows we have, beginning on Wednesday night with the mandolin virtuoso and two-time International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame inductee Sam Bush (pictured above) at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield. Then, on Thursday and Friday, Egremont Barn has back-to-back bluegrass+ bands – both hailing from the Boston area. On Thursday, Cold Chocolate brings their mix of folk, funk, and bluegrass; on Friday, Grain Thief brings their bluegrass-Americana blend. We saw Grain Thief at the Barn late last year and had a blast.

Continuing in the popular music genres, there are many other great shows to see. For those in northern Berkshire County, Tourists in North Adams has two events in their Sing for your Slumber series. On Monday, the alt-indie band Squirrel Flower performs; on Friday, both Hammydown and HABE perform. HABE, a New York City-based singer, songwriter, and producer, has over 300K monthly listeners on Spotify, with his song “Self Discovery” having 3.3M plays. Also in North County, MASS MoCA is celebrating the opening of their newest exhibition, Like Magic, by hosting the indie-pop band MICHELLE, another band with a huge following – 608K monthly Spotify listeners. Their song “Sunrise” has 13M streams. One more North County show we will mention is 5 Pound Horse, playing at The Barn on Green River Road in Williamstown on Friday night. We saw them at FreshGrass and enjoyed them so much we went back to see them at this intimate venue – visit our Instagram and Facebook pages for several short clips of 5 Pound Horse.

Some popular music highlights in South County include the rock band Ex-Temper at Dream Away Lodge in Becket and folk musician Andrew Victor at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield, both on Thursday night. On Friday night, you can catch rock and folk artist Adelaide Punkin at Antimony Brewing in Lenox or the “Accordion-driven Dark Cabaret” band Dust Bowl Faeries at Dream Away Lodge. Saturday night, you can catch Katherine Winston at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge or Melissa Britton at Locker Room Sports Pub in Lee (Melissa performs again Sunday afternoon at Antimony Brewing). On Sunday morning, you’ll find rock and folk artist Christine Bile at Dottie’s Coffee Lounge in Pittsfield, and for something exceptional, you’ll find Ghanaian hip-hop performance artist JOJO ABOT at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield. Her music has kept me company and lifted my spirits as I write on this dreary, rainy Friday afternoon.

Jazz lovers will find six performances in the county this week, beginning Monday with the Benny Kohn Trio at Methuselah Bar & Lounge in Pittsfield, followed by the Dave Salazzo Trio at The Lion’s Den on Wednesday. Music in the Berkshires Featured Musician Andy Wrba and Friends wraps up his October residency at The Lion’s Den, this time accompanied by Kris Allen, Peter McEachern, and George Schuller – the group that recorded Andy’s new single “Bluie.” The jazz continues at The Lion’s Den again on Friday with Ivan Dalia. There is no jazz on Saturday, but on Sunday, you’ll find a Jazz Brunch with Nick D’Amico at Race Brook Lodge and  Michael Junkins and Friends at The Lion’s Den in the evening.

Classical music lovers have three options this weekend. On Friday, the Berkshire Symphony performs at Williams College in Williamstown. The program includes Williams – Cowboys Overture, Ives – Three Pieces in New England, and Beethoven – Triple Concerto. On Saturday afternoon, you can attend Crescendo: Fantastic Baroque at St. James Place in Great Barrington, offering music for chorus, soloists, and orchestra by European and Latin American composers, including J. S. Bach, Vivaldi, Telemann, Purcell, Charpentier, Rameau, Gluck, Zipoli, Zumaya, and Torrejón y Velasco. And on Sunday afternoon, you must see The West Stockbridge Chamber Players Harvest Concert at the intimate West Stockbridge Historical Society.

Finally, we must mention two very unique shows: Friday, you’ll find Alan Cumming & Ari Shapiro: Och & Oy! A Considered Cabaret at Mahaiwe in Great Barrington, and on Saturday, you’ll find the Zambezi Marimba Band with music from Zambia and Zimbabwe at Williams College. 

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 Benny Kohn Trio at Methuselah Bar & Lounge, Pittsfield. Jazz.

8:00 pm Squirrel Flower at Tourists, North Adams. Alt-Indie. Learn more and listen here.

7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Melissa Brinton at Methuselah Bar & Lounge, Pittsfield. Folk, Pop, Rock. Learn more and listen here.

6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Dave Salazzo Trio at The Lions Den, Stockbridge. Jazz. Learn more and listen here.

7:30 pm Sam Bush at Colonial Theatre, Pittsfield. Bluegrass. Learn more and listen here.

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Livio Gravini at Firehouse Cafe & Bistro, Adams. Rock, Blues. Learn more and listen here.

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Calliope Cafe at The Stationery Factory, Dalton. Read our post about this important program that helps develop the future musicians of Berkshires County.

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 GypZbilly at Antimony Brewing, Lenox. Blues, Zydeco, Swing, Rockabilly. Learn more and listen here.

7:30 pm – 9:00 pm Ex-Temper at Dream Away Lodge, Becket. Rock. Learn more and listen here.

7:30 pm – 10:00 pm Cold Chocolate at Egremont Barn, South Egremont. Folk, Funk, Bluegrass. Learn more and listen here.

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

7:00 pm Mr. Doubtfire Halloween Show at Hot Plate Brewing Co, Pittsfield. Rock.

7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Ivan Dalia at The Lions Den, Stockbridge. Jazz. Learn more and listen here.

7:30 pm Berkshire Symphony at Williams College, Williamstown. Classical. The program includes Williams – Cowboys Overture, Ives – Three Pieces in New England, and Beethoven – Triple Concerto.

7:30 pm – 10:30 pm Grain Thief at Egremont Barn, South Egremont. Bluegrass, Americana. Learn more and listen here.

8:00 pm Hammydown & HABE at Tourists, North Adams. Alt-Indie Rock. Learn more about Hammydown here. Learn more about HABE here.

8:00 pm 5 Pound Horse at The Barn on Green River Road, Williamstown. Indie-Rock.

8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Alan Cumming & Ari Shapiro: Och & Oy! A Considered Cabaret at Mahaiwe, Great Barrington. Cabaret. Listen here.

8:00 pm – 11:00 pm Adelaide Punkin at Antimony Brewing, Lenox. Rock, Folk. Learn more and listen here.

8:00 pm – 11:00 pm Zinky’s Halloween 23 at Zinky’s Pub, Dalton. Music by the Rumours. Rock.

8:00 pm – 11:30 pm Dust Bowl Faeries at Dream Away Lodge, Becket.  “Accordion-driven Dark Cabaret.” Learn more and listen here.

4:00 pm – 5:30 pm Crescendo: Fantastic Baroque at St. James Place, Great Barrington. Music for chorus, soloists, and orchestra by European and Latin American composers, including J. S. Bach, Vivaldi, Telemann, Purcell, Charpentier, Rameau, Gluck, Zipoli, Zumaya, and Torrejón y Velasco.

5:30 pm The Happy Together Band Halloween Dinner Dance at Italian-American Club, Pittsfield. Rock.

6:00 pm 2nd Annual Halloween At The A at Tavern at the A, Pittsfield. Rock. Performers include Austin Honig, Brian Benlien, Jim Witherell, T.L.T, Holly Slade, Justin Riza, Jason & Trev, and Dan Gringas.

6:00 pm – 1:30 am LOST IN SPACE: Halloween Hustle with Home Body! At Dream Away Lodge, Becket. Fever-pop. Learn more and listen here.

7:00 pm – 8:00 pm Hot Plate Halloween Cover Show at Hot Plate Brewing Co, Pittsfield. Rock.

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Kevin James Healey at Firehouse Cafe & Bistro, Adams. Rock, Pop, Folk. Learn more and listen here.

7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Canna Provisions Presents Live Music at The Locker Room Featuring Melissa Britton at Locker Room Sports Pub, Lee. Folk, Pop, Rock. Learn more and listen here.

7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Katherine Winston at The Lions Den, Stockbridge.Folk, Pop, Rock.  Learn more and listen here.

7:30 pm Zambezi Marimba Band – Family Days Concert at Williams College, Williamstown. Marimba music from Zambia and Zimbabwe. Learn more here. Listen here.

7:30 pm – 10:30 pm Halloweeed Costume Party! At Egremont Barn, South Egremont. Featuring the Rock band Wild Weeeds. Learn more and listen here.

8:00 pm Halloween Bash with The 413s at Knox Trail Inn, East Otis. Rock. Listen here.

8:00 pm MICHELLE at MASS MoCA, North Adams. Indie-Pop. Learn more and listen here.

8:00 pm – midnight Halloween Bash W/Hairballz, WKYD, and Legacy at Bogies Restaurant and Pub, Great Barrington. Rock.

9:00 pm – midnight Mr. Doubtfire at Shire Beer Company, Dalton. Rock.

10:00 am – 12:00 pm Domingo Brunch featuring Christine Bile at Dottie’s Coffee Lounge, Pittsfield. Rock, Folk, Pop. Learn more and listen here.

12:00 pm – 3:00 pm Jazz Brunch with Nick D’Amico at Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield. Learn more and listen here.

2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Melissa Brinton at Antimony Brewing, Lenox. Folk, Pop, Rock. Learn more and listen here.

4:00 pm The West Stockbridge Chamber Players Harvest Concert at West Stockbridge Historical Society, West Stockbridge. Chamber.

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

7:30 pm – 11:00 pm JOJO ABOT at Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield. Ghanaian Hip Hop performance artist. Learn more and listen here.

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That’s our performance rundown for the week of October 23.

— Mark @ Music in the Berkshires