This week promises to be nothing short of extraordinary, marked by the celestial dance of the 2024 solar eclipse gracing us on Monday afternoon, coinciding with a welcomed surge in temperatures. It’s also a fantastic week of live music in the Berkshires with 43 performances spanning classical, jazz, rock, pop, folk, blues, bluegrass, Americana, and Brazilian, including a few of our favorite bands and featured musicians here at Music in the Berkshires. Below are a few highlights of the week ahead, followed by our comprehensive show rundown.
Classical
We have five classical performances this week, kicking off on Eclipse Monday with a Spring Chamber Music Concert Series at Williams College. The program is aptly named since the weather on Monday is supposed to be nice–finally! On Wednesday at Williams, as part of the Visiting Artist Series, you can enjoy Judith Ingolfsson, violin; Vladimir Stoupel, piano. This program features an all-French program, including Francis Poulenc’s Sonata for Violin and Piano, Olivier Messiaen’s “Louange à l’immortalité de Jésus” from Quartet for the End of Time, and Albéric Magnard’s Sonata in G Major for Violin and Piano, op. 13. Saturday afternoon, catch The Berkshire Bach Organ Masters: Peter Sykes Plays the Great Roosevelt Organ at the First Congregational Church of Great Barrington. At the same time, you’ll find Music on Main: Spring Awakening at the First Congregational Church of Stockbridge, featuring a program of operatic arias and duets. On Sunday afternoon at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington, you can listen to Close Encounters with Music: Something Borrowed, Something Blue – A Cross-Cultural Synergy! The program features works by Gershwin, Max Bruch, Cesar Cui, Ravel, and Haydn.
Jazz
We have four jazz performances this week. Friday night, catch the Hudson Valley jazz-fusion band Pocket Merchant at The Foundry in West Stockbridge. Saturday night, the David Bartley Quartet will be at Dorothy’s Estaminet in Pittsfield. Sunday midday, chill out at the Jazz Brunch with Bobby MacVeety at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield. Then, in the evening, Michael Junkins and Friends will perform at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge. Michael will be joined by “The Regulars” with Will Hudgins on Vibes.
Popular (Rock, Pop, Folk, Blues, etc.)
We have over 30 performances in the popular music category – we can’t highlight them all but will mention a few (see our calendar or show rundown below for all the performances). The music starts Tuesday with Amy Attias at Methuselah Bar & Lounge in Pittsfield, performing an eclectic solo set with bluesy vocals and a violin twist. On Wednesday night, you’ll find Melissa Brinton at RJ’s Restaurant in Pittsfield.
Thursday night Ben Kohn and Chantell continue their month-long residency at Dorothy’s Estaminet in Pittsfield. We stopped in this past Thursday and really enjoyed the evening – see our Instagram and Facebook pages to enjoy a video of one of their songs. Meanwhile, just around the corner at Hot Plate Brewing, catch something entirely different as the medium-core rock and emo bands Cemetery Weather with Was & When, Carlos Danger, and Things I Miss perform. Further north, catch Indie Night: Midight:30 at The Stationery Factory in Dalton, while Katherine Winston & Michael Aaron perform rock and pop at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge. Katherine will be back at The Den Friday night as well. And further south at the Egremont Barn, catch the Zydeco and Cajan tunes of Zoot Allures and the Zydeco Playboys.
On Friday night, one of our favorite regional bands, The Mammals, will perform their memorable blend of rock and folk at the Egremont Barn with opener Brendan Daniel. Ruth Ungar Merenda and Mike Merenda front this great band from the Hudson Valley. It’s a talented family, as Mike’s brother, Chris Merenda, will be at the Barn for the next two nights with The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow. Up in North Adams, catch Railway Concerts At Studio 9 Presents: Greg Greenway. Greg is a folk musician from the Boston area. Local favorite Evan Lanoue is Dorothy’s Estaminet, while The BTUs are at Firefly Gastropub, featuring local musicians Steve Ide, Bobby Macveety, and Rob Putnam. Steve, our very first Featured Musician, has a busy week since he’s playing again on Saturday with Colby Lewis at Antimony Brewing in Lenox.
Another of our favorite regional bands, The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow (pictured above), will be at Egremont Barn on Saturday night with opener King Kyote. It’s sure to be a packed house, but if you can’t get in Saturday, they’ll be back again Sunday night. Check out our interview with the band from last year. Also on Saturday, you can see Music Is My Story w/ Louise Mosrie at the Becket Arts Center. Meanwhile, over at the Lion’s Den, you can witness the blues when Brother Sal Blues Band performs. If you are a Doors fan, then you’ll want to head up to The Stationery Factory to see Crystal Ship – A Tribute To The Doors.
On the Sunday afternoon “winery and brewery circuit,” you’ll find Nate Martel at Antimony Brewing and Jim Witherell at Balderdash Cellars in Richmond. To finish out Eclipse week, catch the aforementioned second performance of The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow with opener King Kyote at Egremont Barn.
Something Else
This week, we have three performances in our Something Else category. Friday night, you can listen to the Williams Percussion Ensemble at Williams College. In partnership with New Music Williams, they will present a concert titled In Landscapes that explores the concept of music as a sonic landscape. Saturday at noon, grab the kids of all ages and head over to the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield for the Kids Concerts with Terry A La Berry and Friends. Sunday morning, you’ll find Brazilian music when Quarteto de Samba performs at Dottie’s Coffee Lounge in Pittsfield.
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.
Monday
5:30 pm Spring Chamber Music Concert Series! @ Williams College, Williamstown.
Tuesday
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Amy Attias @ Methuselah Bar & Lounge, Pittsfield.Rock, Folk, Blues.
Wednesday
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Melissa Brinton @ RJ’s Restaurant, Pittsfield. Folk, Pop, Rock. Learn more and listen here.
7:30 pm Judith Ingolfsson, violin; Vladimir Stoupel, piano – Visiting Artist Series @ Williams College, Williamstown. This program features an all-French program, including Francis Poulenc’s Sonata for Violin and Piano, Olivier Messiaen’s “Louange à l’immortalité de Jésus” from Quartet for the End of Time, and Albéric Magnard’s Sonata in G Major for Violin and Piano, op. 13.
Thursday
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Dan Gingras @ Dalton American Legion, Dalton.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Ben Kohn and Chantell @ Dorothy’s Estaminet, Pittsfield. Jazz, Pop, and American Songbook.
7:00 pm Cemetery Weather with Was & When, Carlos Danger, Things I Miss @ Hot Plate Brewing Co, Pittsfield. Medium-core rock, Emo. Listen to Cemetary Weather here.
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Indie Night: Midight:30 @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton. Rock. Listen here.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Katherine Winston & Michael Aaron @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge. Rock, Pop. Learn more and listen to Katherine here. Learn more and listen to Michael here.
7:30 pm – 10:00 pm Zoot Allures and the Zydeco Playboys! @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont. Zydeco, Cajun.
Friday
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Uncle Stash @ Bousquet, Pittsfield.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Evan Lanoue @ Dorothy’s Estaminet, Pittsfield. Rock, Pop. Learn more and listen here.
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm The Balance Rockers @ Shire Beer Company, Dalton.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm The BTUs @ Firefly Gastropub, Lenox. Rock, Blues. Featuring local musicians Steve Ide, Bobby Macveety, and Rob Putnam.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Jon Berman @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox. Listen more and listen here.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Taraka / Katherine Winston @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge. Rock, Pop. Learn more and listen to Katherine here.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm John Nalepa & Riverbend Orchestra @ Methuselah Bar & Lounge, Pittsfield.
7:30 pm Williams Percussion Ensemble @ Williams College, Williamstown.
7:30 pm Pocket Merchant @ The Foundry, West Stockbridge. Jazz-Fusion. Learn more and listen here.
7:30 pm Railway Concerts At Studio 9 Presents: Greg Greenway @ Studio 9, North Adams. Folk. Learn more and listen here.
7:30 pm – 10:30 pm The Mammals w/opener Brendan Daniel @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont. Rock, Folk, Bluegrass. Learn more and listen to The Mammals here.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm DCSC: LI @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield.
Saturday
12:00 pm Kids Concerts with Terry A La Berry and Friends @ Colonial Theatre, Pittsfield.
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Jack Waldheim @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
4:00 pm The Berkshire Bach Organ Masters: Peter Sykes Plays the Great Roosevelt Organ @ First Congregational Church of Great Barrington, Great Barrington. Classical.
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm Music on Main: Spring Awakening @ First Congregational Church of Stockbridge, Stockbridge. Classical. A program of operatic arias and duets, H. Leslie Adams’ “Nightsongs”, Clara Schumann’s “Sechs Lieder” (Six songs) Op. 23, and the premiere of composer Peter Frost’s song cycle “Rival Gardens” from prize-winning poet Connie Wanek’s book.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm David Bartley Quartet @ Dorothy’s Estaminet, Pittsfield. Jazz. Learn more and listen to David here.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Piano Man of the Berkshires Paul Zarvis @ Methuselah Bar & Lounge, Pittsfield.
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Music Is My Story w/ Louise Mosrie @ Becket Arts Center, Becket. Folk, Americana. Learn more and listen here.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Colby Lewis with Steve Ide @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox. Learn more and listen to Colby here. See our interview with featured musician Steve Ide here.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Brother Sal Blues Band @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.Blues. Learn more and listen here.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Movin On @ Dalton American Legion, Dalton.
7:30 pm – 10:00 pm Crystal Ship – A Tribute To The Doors @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton.
7:30 pm – 10:30 pm The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow with opener King Kyote @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont. Americana, folk, rock. See our interview with The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow. Learn more and listen here.
8:00 pm The Conspiracy @ Knox Trail Inn, East Otis. Rock.
Sunday
10:00 am – 12:00 pm Domingo Brunch featuring Quarteto de Samba @ Dottie’s Coffee Lounge, Pittsfield. Brazilian.
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 TomKat Acoustic @ Zinky’s Pub, Dalton.
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Jim Witherell @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
4:00 pm Close Encounters with Music: Something Borrowed, Something Blue – A Cross-Cultural Synergy! @ Mahaiwe @ Great Barrington.Featuring works by Gershwin, Max Bruch, Cesar Cui, Ravel, and Haydn.
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Michael Junkins and Friends @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge. Jazz. Learn more and listen here.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow with opener King Kyote @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont. Americana, folk, rock.
Please get out and support your local musicians and venues!
— Mark @ Music in the Berkshires