Music in the Berkshires: Week of December 11

Holiday lights are aglow, the ski lifts are humming, and the music scene in The Berkshires is cranking as we move into the heart of December. We have 41 performances in the County this week, including rock, folk, blues, jazz, classical, and several holiday performances. Below are a few highlights, followed by the full show rundown.

Before we proceed, we’d like to emphasize the importance of supporting our local musicians and venues. The vibrant live music scene in our community is a treasure, but it’s vital that we recognize and actively contribute to its sustenance. In rural areas like The Berkshires, musicians and venue operators depend on our support, especially during the winter months when travel wanes, and residents tend to hunker down. As we move into winter, let’s make it a priority to show our support for the Berkshire Music scene. Venture out to your favorite music venue—invite friends to join you, have some tasty food and beverages, pick up some merch as gifts, and do what you can to support the Berkshire Music scene. It’s a fun investment you’ll be glad you made.

Jazz

We have six jazz performances this week, starting off Monday night with the Parker’s Jazz Trio at Methuselah Bar & Lounge in Pittsfield. On Wednesday, you can catch the Jazz Jam with Luke Franco at Dewey Hall in Sheffield. On Friday, you’ll find the Simon’s Rock Jazz Ensemble Winter Concert at Bard College at Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington. On Saturday, The Mahaiwe in Great Barrington is offering a special performance: John Pizzarelli Trio – Stage and Screen. On Sunday morning, you can take in a Jazz Brunch with Bobby MacVeety at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield, and as usual, the jazz week concludes Sunday evening with Michael Junkins and Friends at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge. This week and through December, Michael will be performing holiday jazz.

Classical

We have two classical performances this week, beginning with Thursday’s Chamber Orchestra Winter Concert at Bard College at Simon’s Rock. The program includes Paul Hindemith – Tafelmusik, Bohuslav Martinu – Serenata 3, Jean-Baptiste Lully – Chaconne from Roland, and Luigi Boccherini – Sinfonia #5. On Saturday, you can listen to “Luminous Night”: The Northern Berkshire Chorale in concert at
Williams College in Williamstown. The program features seasonal songs from Bach, Britten, Betinis, Harris, Lauridsen, and Price, with orchestra and harp.

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

We have roughly 24 performances in the popular music genres – we can’t list them all, but we will mention a few highlights. The action starts on Tuesday night with a performance by Nashville-based James Hatem and Omaha’s Miwi La Lupa (bright eyes) at Methuselah Bar & Lounge in Pittsfield.  

On Wednesday, over at Antimony Brewing in Lenox, a new band called the Housie Shakers is performing as part of Antimony’s Garage Band night.

Thursday night has several great options. Touring acts visiting the region include indie-folk-rocker Simone White at Race Brook Lodge. She’s been called “equidistant between Laurie Anderson and Joni Mitchell,” and her song “Tiny Drop” has over 2M streams on Spotify. Over at Egremont Barn, you’ll find indie-folks artists Jenna Nicholls/Jon LaDeau & Jefferson Hamer making a stop on their regional tour. Local favorite Evan Lanoue is at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge. Finally, if you want to feel really good about the future of music in The Berkshires, head on over to The Stationery Factory in Dalton to see Calliope Cafe, featuring our next generation of performing artists. You can read our story about this program for the students of Berkshire County here.

Friday night, you’ll find this week’s featured musicians, Osei Essed & Simon Kafka (pictured above), performing at Race Brook Lodge. You can read our interview with Osei and Simon here. The Zydeco band Zoot Allures & The Zydeco Playboys are jamming over at Egremont Barn, while Bird Streets is performing at The Lion’s Den. Local favorites performing in the County include Misty Blues at Berkshire Palate in Pittsfield and the BTUs at Firefly Gastropub in Lenox. Both bands include Music in the Berkshires featured musicians: Gina Coleman of Misty Blues and Steve Ide of the BTUs.

Saturday night, you can catch another of our featured musicians, Billy Keane and The Waking Dream, at Egremont Barn. Read our interview with Billy here. Over at The Stationery Factory in Dalton, you’ll find the Whiskey City Holiday Celebration. At The Lion’s Den, NY City’s Sam Brown is back in town performing her blend of rock, folk, and pop. Or if you are up in North County, consider popping into Provisions Williamstown to see 5 Pound Horse. We first saw this relatively new band at FreshGrass in September and really enjoy their music.

Sunday morning, you’ll find Lexi Weege at Dottie’s Coffee Lounge in Pittsfield. In the afternoon, on the brewery and winery circuit, you can catch Nate Martel at Antimony Brewing, Mike Duffy at Balderdash Cellars in Richmond, and Tony Lee Thomas at Bright Ideas Brewing in North Adams. And Sunday night, you won’t want to miss the Holiday Extravaganza (& Jenny’s Bday) at Egremont Barn, featuring The BTU’s, Wanda Houston, Billy Keane, Kip and Caroline From Lucky 5, Jackson Whalan, and others to be announced. 

Holiday

During the month of December, we will highlight the Holiday performances in the County for the week. On Saturday, you’ll find two performances in Stockbridge: Home for Christmas – Stockbridge at the First Congregational Church of Stockbridge and Carols for the Earth at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Sunday offers three performances: a Free Holiday Concert by The Eagles Band at First United Methodist Church of Pittsfield, a Holiday Cabaret “Swingin’ In The Season” at Ventfort Hall in Lenox, and Natalie Macmaster & Donnell Leahy: A Celtic Family Christmas at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington. 

Something Else

We have two performances in our  “Something Else” category this week, beginning on Tuesday, with the Williams Brass Ensemble at Williams College, Williamstown. And on Sunday, you’ll find experimental/noise and 8-track looping artist Aaron Dilloway at The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown. 

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 Parker’s Jazz Trio @ Methuselah Bar & Lounge, Pittsfield.

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

8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Nashville-based James Hatem and Omaha’s Miwi La Lupa (bright eyes) @ Methuselah Bar & Lounge, Pittsfield. Rock. Learn more and listen to James here. Learn more and listen to Miwi here.

6:30 pm Jazz Jam with Luke Franco @ Dewey Hall, Sheffield.

7:30 pm – 10:00 pm Garage Band Night with the Housie Shakers @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox. Rock.

7:00 pm Chamber Orchestra Winter Concert @ Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Great Barrington. The program includes Paul Hindemith – Tafelmusik, Bohuslav Martinu – Serenata 3, Jean-Baptiste Lully – Chaconne from Roland, and Luigi Boccherini – Sinfonia #5.

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Calliope Cafe @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton.

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

7:30 pm – 10:30 pm Jenna Nicholls/Jon LaDeau & Jefferson Hamer with opener Katie Herbst @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont. Learn more and listen to Jenna here. Learn more and listen to Jon here. Learn more about Jefferson here.

8:00 pm – 10:00 pm DCSC: Simone White @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield. Indie, Folk, Rock. Learn more and listen here.

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

7:00 pm Mike Duffy & Lindsay Anne @ Hot Plate Brewing Co, Pittsfield.

7:00 pm – 10:00 pm The BTU’s @ Firefly Gastropub, Lenox. Rock.

7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Bird Streets @ The Lions Den, Stockbridge. Indie, Rock, Folk. Learn more and listen here.

7:30 pm – 10:30 pm Zoot Allures & The Zydeco Playboys @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont. Zydeco.

8:00 pm Simon’s Rock Jazz Ensemble Winter Concert @ Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Great Barrington.

8:00 pm – 11:00 pm Osei Essed & Simon Kafka @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield. Rock. Learn more about Osei here. Read our Featured Musician Interview with Osei and Simon here.

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

2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Dan Hamilton @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.

3:00 pm – 5:00 pm Home for Christmas – Stockbridge @ First Congregational Church of Stockbridge, Stockbridge.

4:00 pm – 5:30 pm Carols for the Earth @ St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Stockbridge.

5:00 pm 5 Pound Horse @ Provisions Williamstown, Williamstown. Rock, Americana.

6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Lucky Bucket @ Cove Bowling and Entertainment, Great Barrington. Rock.

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

7:30 pm – 10:30 pm Billy Keane and The Waking Dream @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont. See our interview with Billy here. Learn more and listen here.

7:30 pm – 11:00 pm Whiskey City Holiday Celebration @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton. Country, Rock. Learn more and listen here.

7:30 pm – 8:30 pm “Luminous Night”: The Northern Berkshire Chorale in concert @ Williams College, Williamstown. The program features seasonal songs from Bach, Britten, Betinis, Harris, Lauridsen, and Price, with orchestra and harp.

8:00 pm John Pizzarelli Trio – Stage and Screen @ Mahaiwe, Great Barrington. Jazz. Learn more and listen here.

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

9:00 pm – 11:59 pm The Liquid Courage @ Parkside Restaurant, Pittsfield. Rock.

10:00 am – 12:00 pm Domingo Brunch featuring Lexi Weege @ Dottie’s Coffee Lounge, Pittsfield. Rock, Jazz. Learn more and listen to Lexi here.

12:00 pm – 3:00 pm Jazz Brunch with Bobby MacVeety @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield. Learn more and listen here.

2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Nate Martel @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox. Rock, Folk. Learn more and listen here.

2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Mike Duffy @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond. Rock, Folk.

3:00 pm – 4:30 pm Free Holiday Concert by The Eagles Band @ First United Methodist Church of Pittsfield, Pittsfield.

3:30 pm – 5:30 pm Holiday Cabaret “Swingin’ In The Season” @ Ventfort Hall, Lenox.

4:00 pm – 6:00 pm Taproom Music: Tony Lee Thomas @ Bright Ideas Brewing, North Adams. Rock. Learn more and listen here.

5:00 pm – 6:30 pm Music at the Manton: Aaron Dilloway @ The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown. Experimental/noise; 8-track tape loops. Listen here.

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

7:00 pm Natalie Macmaster & Donnell Leahy: A Celtic Family Christmas @ Mahaiwe, Great Barrington. Learn more and listen here.

7:30 pm – 10:30 pm Holiday Extravaganza (& Jenny’s Bday) Egremont Barn, South Egremont.

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That’s our Show Rundown for the week of December 11.

— Mark @ Music in the Berkshires