Music in the Berkshires: Week of November 27

As Thanksgiving fades into the rearview mirror, December ushers in a symphony of festive holiday concerts and appearances by local favorites and acclaimed regional, national, and international touring bands. We have 37 performances in Berkshire County this week, including rock, folk, blues, jazz, classical, and several holiday performances. Below are a few highlights, followed by the full show rundown.

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Jazz

We have five jazz performances this week, starting off Monday night with the Don Mikellsen Trio at Methuselah Bar & Lounge in Pittsfield. On Wednesday, you’ll find Tim Ward at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge, and on Thursday, catch The Lucky 5 at Egremont Barn. Sunday morning, catch David Bartley and Pete Toigo at Dottie’s Coffee Lounge in Pittsfield. And as usual, the jazz week concludes Sunday evening with Michael Junkins and Friends at The Lion’s Den.

Classical

Classical music returns to the County with a wonderful performance at the Mahaiwe on Sunday: Close Encounters with Music: Nocturne – Night and Dreams. The performance will feature works by Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, Borodin, and Bernstein, as well as selections from favorite musicals.

Popular (Rock, Pop, Folk, Blues, etc.)

We have over 20 performances in the popular music genres – we can’t highlight them all, but there are many great shows that will motivate you to venture out of the house. We have two shows to highlight on Wednesday. The first is the BCC Alumni Music Fest at Berkshire Community College in Pittsfield. This free show features Grammy-nominated Matt Cusson, Samba Trio with Tarcisio “Taz” Ramos dos Santos, Laura Cabrera, Billy Keane, Andy Wrba, Chantell McCulloch, Dave Brown, and Gina Coleman and Seth Fleischmann of the band “Misty Blues.” Or, consider heading over to Egremont Barn to catch two great artists: Hayley Heynderickx & Max Garcia Conover. Hayley has over 1.6M monthly Spotify listeners, and her song “The Bug Collector” has over 66M plays!

Friday features several local and regional favorites, starting with The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow (pictured above) with The Jamie McLean Band at The Stationery Factory in Dalton. It’s the band’s first performance in the county since their highly successful Mountain Day festival at Bousquet in July. Read our interview with The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow written just prior to that performance. Another local favorite, Johnny Irion, performs in the Holiday Walk Weekend Concert: Johnny Irion and U.S. Elevator at The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown. Johnny and his band will be playing new music coming out in 2024. And we have two more local favorites on Friday: Misty Blues is performing at Berkshire Palate in Pittsfield, and Milton is playing at The Lion’s Den. A great pairing from Brooklyn and Nashville returns to the Egremont Barn: Joy Askew & Lauren Balthrop. Joy has played alongside artists such as Peter Gabriel, Laurie Anderson, and Joe Jackson and opened for David Bowie and David Byrne (two of my heroes), among others. 

Saturday’s featured show is the indie-folk band Pressing Strings, making a stop on their east coast tour at Egremont Barn. The Annapolis, Maryland-based band has over 61M monthly listeners, and their rendition of Led Zeppelin’s “Going to California” has nearly 2.5M plays. I’m enjoying it now as I write this.

Sunday’s featured show is the international touring troubadour, Stephen Sanchez, performing at MASS MoCA in North Adams. Stephen’s retro-sounding hit “Until I Found You” peaked at number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has over 835M Spotify streams! He’s performed the song on several late-night shows, including The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. 

Holiday

During the month of December, we will highlight the Holiday performances in the County for the week. On Saturday, you can enjoy Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas Holiday Concert featuring The Berkshire Bach Players 2023 at the First Congregational Church of Stockbridge. Sunday has three options, all in the late afternoon. The first is the Williamstown Theatre Festival Presents Sammie and Dan at The Clark Art Institute. The performance features singing and holiday cheer with Samantha Williams and Dan Rudin. The second is Christmas at Trinity at Trinity Episcopal Church in Lenox. The third is a Brass and Trombone Ensemble Holiday Concert at the  Adams Free Library.  

Something Else

We have two things in our “Something Else” category this week – both on Friday night.  Down in South County, you can catch the Hungarian Music Night with ROZSA at the Down County Social Club at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield. And up in North County, you can see the Williams Percussion Ensemble 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 – 10:00 pm Don Mikellsen Trio @ Methuselah Bar & Lounge, Pittsfield. Jazz.

No Performances.

6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Tim Ward @ The Lions Den, Stockbridge. Jazz.

7:00 pm BCC Alumni Music Fest @ Berkshire Community College, Pittsfield.

7:30 pm – 10:00 pm Hayley Heynderickx & Max Garcia Conover @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont. Indie-Rock, Folk. Learn more and listen to Hayley here. Learn more and listen to Max here.

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Calliope Cafe @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton. Read our story about this unique program developing Berkshire County’s next generation of musicians.

7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Melissa Brinton @ The Lions Den, Stockbridge. Folk, Pop, Rock. Learn more and listen here.

7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Tim Gallagher @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.

7:30 pm – 10:30 pm The Lucky 5 @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont. Jazz. Learn more and listen here.

8:00 pm – 10:00 pm DCSC: Sandman Allen @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield. Folk, Rock.

6:00 pm – 7:30 pm Holiday Walk Weekend Concert: Johnny Irion and U.S. Elevator @ The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown. Rock. Learn more and listen here.

7:00 pm  Misty Blues @ Berkshire Palate, Pittsfield. Blues. Read our interview with Gina Coleman of Misty Blues. Learn more and listen here.

7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Milton @ The Lions Den, Stockbridge. See our Featured Musician interview with Milton. Listen to Milton here.

7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Mr. Doubtfire @ Firefly Gastropub, Lenox. Rock.

7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Tears Streaming Down / James III / Job Creators / Bare Mattress @ Hot Plate Brewing Co, Pittsfield.

7:30 pm The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow wsg Jamie McLean @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton. Read our interview with The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow. Learn more and listen here. 

7:30 pm Williams Percussion Ensemble @ Williams College, Williamstown.

7:30 pm – 10:30 pm Joy Askew & Lauren Balthrop @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont. Indie, Rock, Pop, Folk. Learn more and listen to Joy here. Learn more and listen to Lauren here.

8:00 pm 5 Pound Horse @ Heart’s Pace, North Adams. Rock, Folk, Americana.

8:00 pm – 10:00 pm DCSC: Hungarian Music Night with ROZSA @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield.

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

8:00 pm – 11:00 pm Aquanett @ Proprietor’s Lodge, Pittsfield.

2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Melissa Brinton @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond. Folk, Pop, Rock. Learn more and listen here.

7:00 pm – 8:15 pm Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas Holiday Concert featuring The Berkshire Bach Players 2023 @ First Congregational Church of Stockbridge, Stockbridge.

7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Canna Provisions Presents Live Music at The Locker Room Featuring The Liquid Courage @ Locker Room Sports Pub, Lee. Rock.

7:00 pm – 10:00 pm South Pleasant Revival @ The Lions Den, Stockbridge. Rock.

7:30 pm – 10:30 pm Pressing Strings @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont. Indie, Folk, Soul. Learn more and listen here.

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

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

2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Lee Rogers @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.

2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Livio Gravini @Balderdash Cellars, Richmond. Rock, Blues. Learn more and listen here.

3:00 pm – 3:45 pm Williamstown Theatre Festival Presents Sammie and Dan @ The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown. Singing and Holiday Cheer with Samantha Williams and Dan Rudin.

3:00 pm – 4:30 pm Christmas at Trinity @ Trinity Episcopal Church, Lenox.

3:00 pm – 4:30 pm Brass and Trombone Ensemble Holiday Concert @ Adams Free Library, Adams.

4:00 pm Close Encounters with Music: Nocturne – Night and Dreams @ Mahaiwe, Great Barrington. Works by Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, Borodin, and Bernstein, as well as selections from favorite musicals.

4:00 pm – 6:00 pm Taproom Music: RJ McCarty @ Bright Ideas Brewing, North Adams. Folk, Americana. Learn more and listen here.

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

8:00 pm Stephen Sanchez @ MASS MoCA, North Adams. Rock, Pop. Learn more and listen here.

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That’s our Show Rundown for the week of November 27.

— Mark @ Music in the Berkshires