As we enter the first full week of June, our live music calendar contains 44 live music shows across Berkshire County, up 10 from last week. We have an extra heavy dose of great live jazz music this week, with an incredible 15 jazz shows, capstoned by the Berkshire Gateway Jazz Weekend. We also have many great rock, folk, and Americana shows, but just one classical performance. This week, we continue to organize our rundown by day of the week.
If you prefer, you can jump right to our Calendar to see all events rather than read our performance rundown. For those new to our website, note that you can search for a specific artist, filter the performances based on genre, venue, or location, and view events in both a calendar and map view in addition to the default list view. Use the subscribe button below to receive this weekly rundown of upcoming performances in your inbox.
Tuesday
For those in north county, you can start your week off right by checking out The Brave Brothers from 7:00 – 9:00 pm at Firehouse Cafe & Bistro in Adams. Brothers Bruce and Dave perform music from bands like Incubus, Goo Goo Dolls, Toto, Beatles, Van Morrison, and Pousette-Dart Band.
Wednesday
Things heat up a little on Wednesday with three performances: You can catch the Michael Junkins Trio from 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm at The Lions Den in Stockbridge, part of their June Jazz Session. For more jazz, you can see Mary Ann Palermo from 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm at portaVia restaurant in Dalton. Mary Ann is kicking off her June residency at portaVia.
If folk music is more your jam, see Mark Franklin, who performs at the Ostrich Room at the Apple Tree Inn in Lenox from 8:00 – 10:00 pm. Mark draws from artists such as Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, Bob Dylan, John Prine, and Richard Thompson. Or you can see Driftwood Soldier up at Dream Away Lodge in Becket. According to their website, Driftwood Soldier is not “your average gutter-folk duo.” They perform at 8:00 pm.
Thursday
Thursday offers six great live music options.
Nate Martel will perform at 7:00 pm at Berkshire Palate in Pittsfield. He plays classic rock/soul and 90s pop/rock covers, along with his original music, which you can listen to here.
[Note, the Jason Ennis show at the Ostrich Room at the Apple Tree Inn in Lenox was canceled after this post was first published on Monday].
Connecticut-based R&B, Soul, and pop singer-songwriter Glori Wilder will perform from 7:00 – 10:00 pm at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield. Glori is a Berkshire favorite who we’ve seen perform at Egremont Barn and Stationery Factory. She was our featured artist back in late March.
Meanwhile (channeling Stephen Colbert), Dylan Conner will be playing at The Lion’s Den from 7:00 – 10:00 pm in Stockbridge, and Honeysuckle will perform at 7:30 pm at Egremont Barn. This upstate NY-based band has performed at Newport Folk Festival, Lollapalooza, Mountain Jam, Americanafest, Otis Mountain Get Down, and Audiotree. You can check them out here.
In Becket at Dream Away Lodge, Daniel Moreno will perform at 8:00 pm.
Friday
The performances really kick up Friday night with 13 shows across the county, including the opening performance of the Town of Great Barrington Concert Series, featuring The Lucky Bucket Band and the Wanda Houston Band from 5:30 pm – 7:15 pm at the gazebo behind the Town Hall.
Up in Pittsfield, you can listen to Jack Waldheim, who plays from 6:00 – 9:00 pm at the LIFT Bistropub at Bousquet.
Jazz lovers can find four performances to satisfy their jazz fix, starting with the Michael Junkins Duo at the Lion’s Den in Stockbridge, playing from 6:00 – 9:00 pm. Further north, you can see Redding, Moran, & Kohn from 6:30 – 9:00 pm at Berkshire Mantiques in Lanesborough. JoAnne Redding, Ed Moran, and Benny Kohn present an evening of jazz, blues, and soul-infused pop. Down in Lee at 7:30 pm, you can attend the Berkshire Gateway Jazz Weekend: Roberta Donnay and the Prohibition Mob Band at the First Congregational Church of Lee (pictured above). You find more Berkshires Gateway Jazz Weekend performances on Saturday and Sunday. Finally, The Lucky Five will play at the Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn in Lenox from 8:00 – 10:00 pm. They are described as a “hard-swinging jazz band that blends 30’s and 40’s style swing with gypsy and Parisian flavors.”
In Stockbridge at the Lion’s Den, you can listen to the Ryan Hommel Trio at 7:00 pm. Ryan was recently interviewed on Johnny Irion’s WSBS weekly radio show, where we learned about his amazing experience as Music Director on the Amazon series Daisy Jones and The Six, teaching the actors how to play the songs in the show. He’s releasing a new album shortly – Johnny played three of Ryan’s new songs on the radio show. We also learned that Ryan’s father, Rich Hommel, is an accomplished guitarist who regularly plays in the Berkshires, often with Mary Ann Palermo, who has several shows on our rundown this week.
Up at MASS MoCA in North Adams, you and see Japanese-British pop savant Rina Sawayama hold the Girl Tour: Reloaded, at 7:00 pm. This is one of 25 stops on her world tour. You can learn more about Rina and listen to her music here.
Down at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield, you will find DCSC: Alex Harvey presents Shinbone Alley playing from 7:00 – 11:00 pm. Shinbone Alley is an old-world folk collective reimagining street ballads and 18th and 19th-century sea songs. You can learn more and listen to them here.
Based on their bio, I’m personally excited about Coral Moons, playing at The Foundry in West Stockbridge at 7:30 pm. They bring a blend of retro-rock and surf-pop to the stage, drawing influences from Maggie Rogers, Lake Street Dive (one of my favorites), and the Alabama Shakes. You can learn more and listen to them here.
The Mammals, a quintet featuring fiddle, banjo, guitar, organ, bass, and drums, perform at Egremont Barn at 7:30 pm, while Trixter – Acoustic performs at The Stationery Factory in Dalton, also at 7:30 pm. You can listen to Trixter perform here.
Rounding out the Friday night docket is Colwell, playing at Dream Away Lodge in Becket at 8:00 pm. Colwell is NYC/ATL-based pop-rockers, cousins Jeb & Clayton Colwell. You can learn more about and listen to them here.
Saturday
Saturday offers a dizzying 14 live music shows to pick from.
We start the day off with jazz as part of the Berkshire Gateway Jazz Festival. Dave Bartley Quartet plays from 11:00 am – 2:00 pm at Starving Artist Cafe & Creperie in Lee, while Jazz in the Park runs from 11:30 am – 4:00 pm at the First Congregational Church of Lee. Local musicians Mary Ann Palermo and First Take play at 11:30 am, The Lucky Five at 1:00 pm, and Riverblend Jazz at 2:30 pm. The festival continues later in the evening at 7:30 pm with Berkshire Gateway Jazz Weekend: Alexis Cole with the Amherst Jazz Orchestra at the First Congregational Church of Lee.
The Jazz continues with Bobby MacVeety playing at Gateways Inn in Lenox from 6:00 – 9:00 pm, while just over Lenox Mountain, Pamela Knowles performs at the West Stockbridge Historical Society at 7:30 pm. You can learn more about and listen to Pamela’s music here.
Finally, jazz pianist Misha Piatigorsky performs at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge at 7:00 pm. Misha was also featured on Johnny Irion’s WSBS Radio Show recently, and you can listen to him here.
Moving away from the day’s extensive jazz line-up, you’ll find Dave Brown performing at the LIFT Bistropub at Bousquet in Pittsfield from 6:00 – 9:00 pm, while Oakes & Smith, a folk duo, plays at the Southfield Church. You can learn more about them here.
For something truly unique, check out the Boston Typewriter Orchestra performing at The Foundry in West Stockbridge at 7:30 pm. This show features rhythmic typewriter manipulation combined with elements of performance, comedy, and satire.
Berkshire-based Americana-Rocker Billy Keane plays the first of two shows at Studio 9 in North Adams at 7:30 pm. Billie is a Berkshire-county favorite (and also a personal favorite with many songs on my Spotify playlist), but if you’ve never heard him, you can check him out here. We saw him a few weekends ago at a magical performance with Andy Wrba at Dream Away Lodge.
If you are a Led Zeppelin fan, you won’t want to miss Four Sticks! Led Zeppelin Tribute Band at Egremont Barn at 7:30 pm. The band features Chris Merenda, Tom Major, Glenn Douglass Jubilee, and Nunzio Signore.
Eric Andersen plays the Guthrie Center in Great Barrington at 8:00 pm as part of their Troubadour Series. His songs have been recorded and performed by world-renowned artists such as Judy Collins, Bob Dylan, Peter Paul and Mary, Linda Ronstadt, Johnny Cash, The Grateful Dead, Linda Thompson, and Mary Chapin Carpenter. You can learn more about Eric here.
Our final two shows for Saturday (whew!!!) are Brother Sals Blues Band playing at the Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn in Lenox, and John Brodeur, playing at Dream Away Lodge in Becket. Both shows are at 8:00 pm.
Sunday
On Sunday, you can wrap up your weekend with four great jazz shows, one classical performance, and one rock show.
The jazz line-up includes Domingo Brunch w/Jason Ennis & Natalia Berna at Dottie’s Coffee Lounge in Pittsfield from 10:00 am to noon, followed by the Michael Junkins Quartet performing at Starving Artist Cafe & Creperie in Lee from 1:00 am – 2:00 pm, part of the Berkshire Gateway Jazz Weekend.
If you are in south county, you might want to hit the Jazz Brunch with Jonathan Suters at The Stagecoach Tavern at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield from 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm. Later in the day, at 5:30 pm, Michael Junkins & Friends will play at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge. Michael has a very busy day!
Our one classical performance for the week is at The Mahaiwe in Great Barrington at 4:00 pm: Close Encounters With Music: Gala Concert – Schubert “Trout” and Schumann Piano Quintet.
Closing out the weekend at 7:30 pm is the second show by Billy Keane at Studio 9 in North Adams.
With the onset of the summer season, we hope you’ll get out this week and enjoy live music in The Berkshires!
— Mark @ Music in the Berkshires