Music in the Berkshires: Week of October 30

Editor’s Note: Our weekly newsletter for the Week of November 6 incorrectly linked to this post from October 30. If you are looking for the November 6 show rundown, you can find it here. We apologize for the error.

As October gives way to November, Berkshire County comes alive with a vibrant array of live music, showcasing a remarkable diversity of genres and talents throughout the week that promises to captivate music lovers of all tastes and backgrounds. We have 41 shows on the calendar for the coming week – just one less than last week – with an incredible mix of jazz, rock, indie, pop, folk, blues, choral, classical, and Broadway show tunes. Below are a few highlights, followed by the detailed show rundown.

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Jazz

Jazz lovers will find five performances in the county this week, beginning Monday with Steve Keller at Methuselah Bar & Lounge in Pittsfield, followed by the Michael Junkins Trio at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge on Wednesday. Williams College in Williamstown offers back-to-back jazz performances on Thursday and Friday with the Williams Jazz Combos and Williams Jazz Orchestra. On Sunday, you can catch the Domingo Brunch w/Jazz duo David Bartley and Pete Toigo at Dottie’s Coffee Lounge in Pittsfield in the morning and Michael Junkins and Friends at The Lion’s Den in the evening.

Classical

Classical music lovers have four options this week, starting Monday with the Williams Chamber Music Concert at Williams College. The performance will include a Beethoven trio for flute, bassoon, and piano; Menotti trio for two cellos and piano; Tico/Mower Flute Quartet; and a Muczynski Fantasy Trio for Piano, Clarinet, and cello. On Wednesday, also at Williams, you’ll find the Pelia Quartet – Visiting Artist Series. On Sunday afternoon, we have two performances. The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown presents Classical Music: The Beethoven Effect Featuring The Jak Duo With Daniel Temkin. The performance will include three pieces: Beethoven’s “Romance in F” and “Kreutzer” and American composer Daniel Temkin’s “Maksimal.” The Mahaiwe in Great Barrington hosts Close Encounters with Music: Virtue and Virtuosity, with works by Sarasate, Saint Saëns, Kapustin, and Brahms.

Popular (Rock, Pop, Folk, Blues…)

We have roughly 23 performances in the popular music genres – too many to cover all of them here, but we will give a few highlights. The action starts Thursday with local favorites Colby Lewis and Steve Ide performing at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge. Steve was our very first Featured Musician at Music in the Berkshires. Another local favorite, Wanda Houston, performs at Egremont Barn. Also on Thursday, you’ll find Belle-Skinner at Dream Away Lodge in Becket. She calls herself a “dark nostalgic singer-songwriter.” I thoroughly enjoyed listening to her cover of Joni Mitchell’s “California” on Spotify – it was not dark, but it was certainly nostalgic for me. She reminds me a bit of Ingrid Michaelson.

Friday features Will Evans (pictured above) with Hayley Jane at The Stationery Factory in Dalton. Will founded the national touring band Barefoot Truth along with local Featured Musician Andy Wrba but now performs mostly solo, with an incredible talent for live-looping numerous instruments ranging from the didgeridoo to guitar to drums. We saw Will earlier this year at the Stationery Factory and were amazed by his performance. Also on Friday, you’ll find local favorite Misty Blues at Berkshire Palate in Pittsfield – they are starting a Friday night residency there that will continue through the end of the year. And over at the Egremont Barn, you’ll find Roots Rock Reality/Bob Marley Tribute. 

On Saturday, you can spend the whole day at the Deadfall II Music and Arts Festival at The Stationery Factory with five bands performing on two stages: Dead Man’s Waltz, Steal Your Funk, Phriends of Phil, Neon Avenue, and Them Picky Bastards (one of my personal favorites!). That should be a rockin’, stompin’, and jammin’ day! Also on Saturday, you’ll find Jake Manzi at The Lion’s Den and Jackson Emmer at Egremont Barn.

On Sunday, you have a fantastic opportunity to see S.G. Goodman, who will be making a stop on her national tour at Tourists in North Adams as part of their “Sing for your Slumber” series. S.G. has over 260K monthly listeners on Spotify and is one of the acts just announced for the FreshGrass Festival in Bentonville in May. You won’t want to miss this opportunity to see her in such an intimate setting.

Something Else

This week, we have many outstanding performances that fall outside the three categories of classical, jazz, and popular music. The first is Ben Cosgrove, performing Thursday at Dewey Hall in Sheffield. Ben is an instrumentalist who straddles a line between folk and classical music and explores themes of landscape, place, and environment. He’ll perform work from his new album Bearings, just released in early October.

Another performance you should consider is Friday night’s Look Up at MASS MoCA featuring the Lorelei Ensemble, recognized globally for “its bold and inventive programs that champion the extraordinary flexibility and virtuosity of the human voice.” Use the “Learn more and Listen” link in the detailed listing below to explore their wide-ranging works.

If you love Broadway tunes, consider attending Me and the Sky: A Cabaret of Empowering Broadway Hits, running from Wednesday through Saturday at Shakespeare and Company in Lenox. The performance focuses on an array of women’s stories and features songs from such hit musicals as Rent, Come From Away, Newsies, Shucked, and Waitress.

Finally, Race Brook Lodge is hosting two Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) performances on Sunday, a Brunch with Yo Soy Arte, and a late afternoon performance by Pulso De Barro. 

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.

5:30 pm – 6:30 pm Williams Chamber Music Concert at Williams College, Williamstown. Performance to include Beethoven trio for flute, bassoon and piano; Menotti trio for 2 cellos and piano; Tico/Mower Flute Quartet; and Muczynski Fantasy Trio for Piano, Clarinet and cello.

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Steve Keller Solo at Methuselah Bar & Lounge, Pittsfield. Jazz.

No performances.

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

7:30 pm Pelia Quartet – Visiting Artist Series at Williams College, Williamstown. String Quartet.

7:30 pm Me and the Sky: A Cabaret of Empowering Broadway Hits at Shakespeare & Company, Lenox. Broadway Show Tunes.

7:00 pm – 8:30 pm An Evening with Ben Cosgrove at Dewey Hall, Sheffield. Instrumental. Learn more and listen here.

7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Colby Lewis & Steve Ide at The Lions Den, Stockbridge. Rock, Folk. Learn more and listen to Colby here. See our interview with featured musician Steve Ide here.

7:00 pm – 10:00 pm 50 Years Later at Antimony Brewing, Lenox.

7:30 pm Williams Jazz Combos at Williams College, Williamstown.

7:30 pm Me and the Sky: A Cabaret of Empowering Broadway Hits at Shakespeare & Company, Lenox. Broadway Show Tunes.

7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Belle-Skinner at Dream Away Lodge, Becket. Called a “dark nostalgic singer-songwriter.” Rock, Folk, Pop. Learn more and listen here.

7:30 pm – 10:00 pm Wanda Houston Band at Egremont Barn, South Egremont. Rock, Jazz, American Songbook. Learn more and listen here.

7:00 pm Misty Blues at Berkshire Palate, Pittsfield. Blues. Learn more and listen here.

7:30 pm Williams Jazz Orchestra at Williams College, Williamstown.

7:30 pm Me and the Sky: A Cabaret of Empowering Broadway Hits at Shakespeare & Company, Lenox. Broadway Show Tunes.

7:30 pm – 10:00 pm Will Evans wsg Hayley Jane at The Stationery Factory, Dalton. Rock, Pop. Learn more and listen here.

7:30 pm – 10:30 pm Roots Rock Reality/Bob Marley Tribute at Egremont Barn, South Egremont. 

7:30 pm – 11:00 pm Hollow Deck and Wendy Eisenberg at Dream Away Lodge, Becket. Experimental, Improvisation. Learn more and listen to Hollow Deck here. Learn more and listen to Wendy Eisenberg here.

8:00 pm Look Up at MASS MoCA, North Adams. Lorelei Ensemble (vocal). Learn more and listen here.

8:00 pm – 11:00 pm Pug and John at Antimony Brewing, Lenox.

2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Fundraising Event to Support Berkshire Nursing Families with Marji Zintz at Big Elm Brewery & Taproom, Sheffield. Folk, Americana. Learn more and listen to Marji here.

3:00 pm – 11:00 pm Deadfall II Music and Arts Festival at The Stationery Factory, Dalton. Rock. Featuring five bands: Dead Man’s Waltz, Steal Your Funk, Phriends of Phil, Neon Avenue, Them Picky Bastards. Rock, Bluegrass.

5:00 pm – 6:30 pm Miriam Elhajli with Tendai Muparutsa at The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown. Folk, Jazz. Learn more and listen to Miriam here. Learn more about Tendai here.

6:00 pm – 7:00 pm Dave Bacon and Simon Guthrie at Dream Away Lodge, Becket. Rock, Blues, Ragtime, Bebop.

7:00 pm Melissa Brinton at Knox Trail Inn, East Otis. Folk, Pop, Rock. Learn more and listen here.

7:00 pm Galvanizer at Hot Plate Brewing Co, Pittsfield. Psychedelic Rock. Learn more and listen here.

7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Canna Provisions Presents Live Music at The Locker Room Featuring Lindsay Anne at Locker Room Sports Pub, Lee. Acoustic Rock, Folk.

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

7:30 pm Me and the Sky: A Cabaret of Empowering Broadway Hits at Shakespeare & Company, Lenox. Broadway Show Tunes.

7:30 pm – 10:30 pm Jackson Emmer at Egremont Barn, South Egremont. Folk, Rock. Learn more and listen here.

8:00 pm – 11:00 pm Tom Savoy at Antimony Brewing, Lenox. Rock, Folk, Pop, Country. Learn more and listen here.

8:00 pm – 9:30 pm Madden Aleia at Dream Away Lodge, Becket.

9:30 pm – 11:00 pm Purple Dawn at Dream Away Lodge, Becket. European Fiddle and Progressive Rock. Learn more and listen here.

10:00 am – 12:00 pm Domingo Brunch w/Jazz duo David Bartley and Pete Toigo at Dottie’s Coffee Lounge, Pittsfield. Learn more and listen to David here.

12:00 pm – 3:00 pm Dia De Los Muertos: Brunch with Yo Soy Arte at Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield. Latin.

2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Hec Vito at Antimony Brewing, Lenox.

3:00 pm – 4:30 pm Classical Music: The Beethoven Effect Featuring The Jak Duo With Daniel Temkin at The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown. Performance of 3 pieces: Beethoven’s “Romance in F” and “Kreutzer” and American composer Daniel Temkin’s “Maksimal.”

4:00 pm Close Encounters with Music: Virtue and Virtuosity at Mahaiwe, Great Barrington. Classical. Works by Sarasate, Saint Saëns, Kapustin, and Brahms.

4:00 pm – 11:00 pm Dia De Los Muertos: Pulso De Barro at Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield. Latin.

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

8:00 pm S.G. Goodman at Tourists, North Adams. Rock. Learn more and listen here.

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That’s our Show Rundown for the week of October 30.

— Mark @ Music in the Berkshires