As August draws to a close, the cool, crisp days of the past week hint at the approach of autumn in the Berkshires. This week, we’re wrapping up summer with several headliners, including the final two popular music performances at Tanglewood. With 63 diverse performances on the calendar, there’s something for everyone—from classical and Broadway tunes to jazz, rock, pop, folk, and even a ukulele concert. Below are some highlights for the week ahead, followed by our comprehensive show rundown.
Classical and Opera
This week, we have nine classical and opera performances. The music starts Tuesday with the Berkshire Opera Festival: Faust at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington, with a second performance on Friday. Thursday night, catch Opera Meets Hollywood | Prima Music Foundation at Ventfort Hall in Lenox, showcasing opera arias featured in movies. At Ventfort Hall Friday night is Edwin Barker & Friends: Duos & Sonatas. Barker, the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s longest-running Principal Double Bassist, will lead a quartet performing music by Handel, Halvorsen, Rossini, Gubaidulin, and Schubert.
On Saturday, there are afternoon and evening performances of MPZ Productions presents Operatic Broadway at St. James Place in Great Barrington. The show features performers from the Metropolitan Opera, regional opera, and theater worldwide, performing music from Broadway shows such as Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Porgy and Bess, and The King and I. Also on Saturday afternoon, you can enjoy a special free Outdoor Concert: The Knights Orchestra at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown. The Knights will perform works by Saint-Georges, Ortiz, Sanna, and Azmeh. Saturday early evening, you can enjoy Renaissance Music: The Salisbury Four at Chesterwood in Stockbridge. The ensemble members include Zahra Brown, soprano; Judith Dansker, recorder; Christopher Morrongiello, lute; and Marcia Young, soprano and Renaissance harp.
Sunday midday, back at the Clark Art Institute, you find a Family Concert: The Knights Orchestra. In this performance, The Knights perform excerpts from works by Saint-Georges, along with audience participation activities that highlight musical details and showcase how instruments can tell a story.
Jazz
We have nine jazz performances in the county this week. It all starts with Andy Wrba, Conor Meehan, and Benny Kohn hosting a final week in their summer-long Monday Night Jazz residency at Pizzeria Boema in Lenox. On Tuesday, catch the Jazz Night with Paul Ostermayer and Friends at Tito’s Mexican Bar and Grill in Pittsfield. Wednesday night, you’ll find the Dave Solazzo Trio at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge. Also on Wednesday, The Lucky 3, a subset of the hard-swinging jazz band The Lucky 5, perform at the Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn in Lenox. (The full Lucky 5 band will be at Dream Away Lodge on Friday night.)
Thursday early evening, you’ll find jazz duo JoAnne Redding with Benny Kohn on keys at Persip Park in Pittsfield. Saturday afternoon in Pittsfield, catch Jazz in Persip Park with Luke Franco. Sunday morning, chill out at the Domingo Brunch featuring duo David Bartley and Dan Broad at Dottie’s and Dorothy’s in Pittsfield. Sunday night, you’ll find Michael Junkins and Friends performing at The Lion’s Den. This week, Michael features “Junk” with Will Hudgins on Vibes.
Popular (Rock, Pop, Folk, Blues, etc.)
This week, the popular music category has over 40 performances. We can’t highlight them all, but we will mention a few (see our calendar or show rundown below for all the performances).
The music starts Tuesday with Connecticut’s Steve McGrath performing classic rock of the 60s and 70s at Methuselah Bar & Lounge in Pittsfield. Wednesday offers two outdoor concerts: The BTU’s at Lilac Park in Lenox and the Matchstick Architects at Windsor Lake in North Adams. Indoor options include The Lukewarm Lamb Fingers at portaVia in Dalton, featuring Luke Bates, Matty Lamb, and Benny Kohn.
Thursday night is full of great music. At the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, you’ll find An Evening with Darlene Love & Natasha Bedingfield. The concert is a benefit fundraiser for the Berkshire Theatre Group and Barrington Stage Company. Bedingfield (pictured above) has multiple hit pop songs, including “Unwritten,” which has over 1 billion (!!!) streams on Spotify. Love is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Grammy winner, and Oscar winner for her film 20 Feet From Stardom. Elsewhere on Thursday, you’ll find FM-Steely Dan Tribute at The Egremont Barn, Asher Isak (of Bella’s Bartok) at Dream Away Lodge in Becket, Indie Night: RJ McCarty at The Stationery Factory in Dalton, and folk and blues violinist Chris Murphy at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge. Chris is back at the Den on Friday night.
Friday night’s headliner is Judy Collins, Rufus Wainwright, and Indigo Girls at Tanglewood, an incredible triple-bill – each performer has a sizeable and loyal following. You can learn more about two of these artists by reading our interviews in Berkshire Magazine: Look Forward with Judy Collins and The Power of Two with the Indigo Girls. Meanwhile, the tenth and final weekend of Berkshire Busk kicks off Friday night in downtown Great Barrington while Christine Bilé performs outdoors in Pittsfield’s Persip Park. Indoor options include the extremely popular Beatles tribute band The Eggmen at The Egremont Barn and Lady Moon & The Eclipse at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield. We saw Lady Moon give a truly mesmerizing performance at The Foundry earlier this year – watch a clip from that evening on our Instagram page here.
Saturday in downtown Great Barrington, Berkshire Busk continues in the afternoon and evening with another four musical performances – see our Music Calendar for a list of performers. Saturday night’s headliner is DISPATCH with the Boston Pops at Tanglewood, the final popular music performance of the season. If you don’t think you know their music, you are probably mistaken – with 1.1M monthly Spotify listeners, the Boston-based band has numerous hits like “The General” and “Only the Wild Ones.” And, the band is collaborating with Pittsfield’s Hot Plate Brewing on a new beer which will be available at the performance and at a special “Patch Party” at the brewery before the performance.
Elsewhere Saturday night, you’ll find the Johnny Irion Album Release Show at The Lion’s Den, celebrating Johnny’s new album, Sleeping Soldiers of Love. Bow Thayer, joined by Krishna Guthrie and Steve Ferraris, will perform at Studio 9 in North Adams. Hannah Bracken and Wes Buckley are at the Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn in Lenox, and at Dream Away Lodge, you’ll find Singer/Songwriters in the Round with Rees Shad, Stephen Clair and Michael Eck. Or check out The Slambovian Circus Of Dreams, folk-Americana rockers from the Hudson Valley, at The Guthrie Center in Great Barrington.
Sunday afternoon, progressive folk rock singer-songwriter Matthew Thornton performs outdoors at Lilac Park in Lenox. On the Sunday afternoon “winery and brewery circuit,” you’ll find Les Chrostowski at Balderdash Cellars in Richmond (Antimony Brewing has not yet posted their Sunday show). In the evening, Dead Gowns, the project of Portland, Maine singer-songwriter Geneviève Beaudoin, plays at Dream Away Lodge.
Something Else
This week, we have seven performances in our Something Else category. Tuesday night, you’ll find Bernadette Peters: 30th Anniversary Celebration Concert, a sold-out event at the Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield. Read Dr. Joshua Sherman’s interview with Bernadette – one of his heroes – in Berkshire Magazine here. Wednesday early evening, you can catch the Sunday Strummers Uke Band outdoors at the Great Barrington Town Hall.
Italian pianist and showman Ivan Dalia has two performances this week. On Friday, he’ll entertain you with an evening of stories and music on spectacular Steinway and Bosendorfer Concert Grands at A Piano Lover’s Dream at the Flynn Pianos Workshop and Gallery in Great Barrington. You can catch Ivan again Saturday night at Bach to Rock, a “journey through the generations & genres of music that bring people together” at the Church on the Hill in Lenox.
Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield has back-to-back-to-back shows on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. On Friday night, you’ll find Julie Benko: Standby, Me. The Broadway star will perform Broadway classics and jazz standards. On Saturday and Sunday nights, you can enjoy An Evening with Telly Leung. The Broadway and television star performs Broadway favorites by Stephen Sondheim, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Jerry Herman, and songs from pop artists like Billy Joel, Indigo Girls, and Whitney Houston.
You can read about all of these performances and more in our day-by-day show rundown below or jump right to our music calendar. Please note that our deadline for inclusion in the weekly narrative above and the day-by-day listing below is Wednesday at noon. Check our music calendar for shows we’ve added after our weekly publication deadline. 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
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Monday Night Jazz @ Pizzeria Boema, Lenox.
Tuesday
5:30 pm – 8:30 pm Jazz Night with Paul Ostermayer and Friends @ Tito’s Mexican Bar and Grill, Pittsfield.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Steve McGrath @ Methuselah Bar & Lounge, Pittsfield.
7:30 pm – 10:15 pm Berkshire Opera Festival: Faust @ Mahaiwe, Great Barrington.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Bernadette Peters: 30th Anniversary Celebration Concert @ Barrington Stage Company, Pittsfield.
Wednesday
5:30 pm – 7:15 pm Sunday Strummers Uke Band @ Great Barrington Town Hall, Great Barrington.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm The Lukewarm Lamb Fingers! @ portaVia, Dalton.
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm The BTU’s @ Lilac Park, Lenox.
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Dave Solazzo trio @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm Matchstick Architects @ Windsor Lake, North Adams.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Lucky 3 @ Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, Lenox.
Thursday
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm Opera Meets Hollywood | Prima Music Foundation @ Ventfort Hall, Lenox.
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm Jazz Duo in Persip Park: JoAnne Redding with Benny Kohn on keys @ Persip Park, Pittsfield.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Live Music with Clara Guatta @ Tito’s Mexican Bar and Grill, Pittsfield.
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Indie Night: RJ McCarty @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Chris Murphy @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
7:30 pm – 10:00 pm Asher Isak (of Bella’s Bartok) @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket.
7:30 pm – 10:30 pm FM-Steely Dan Tribute @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont.
7:30 pm – 10:00 pm An Evening with Darlene Love & Natasha Bedingfield @ Colonial Theatre, Pittsfield.
Friday
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm Christine Bilé with full band in Persip Park @ Persip Park, Pittsfield.
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm Mike Duffy @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Uncle Stash @ Bousquet, Pittsfield.
6:00 pm Jordan Weller @ Roberto’s Pizza, Sheffield.
6:30 pm – 10:00 pm Berkshire Busk @ Downtown Great Barrington, Great Barrington.
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Berkshire Busk @ Downtown Great Barrington, Great Barrington.
7:00 pm Judy Collins, Rufus Wainwright, and Indigo Girls @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Chris Murphy @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
7:00 pm – 8:00 pm A Piano Lover’s Dream @ Flynn Pianos Workshop and Gallery, Great Barrington.
7:00 pm Edwin Barker & Friends: Duos & Sonatas @ Ventfort Hall, Lenox.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Kollin Kozlowski @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
7:30 pm – 10:30 pm The Eggmen @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont.
7:30 pm – 10:15 pm Berkshire Opera Festival: Faust @ Mahaiwe, Great Barrington.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm The Lucky 5 @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket.
8:00 pm – 11:00 pm Lady Moon & The Eclipse @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield.
8:00 pm Julie Benko: Standby, Me @ Barrington Stage Company, Pittsfield.
Saturday
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm Berkshire Busk @ Downtown Great Barrington, Great Barrington.
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Jazz in Persip Park with Luke Franco @ Persip Park, Pittsfield.
3:00 pm – 5:00 pm MPZ Productions presents Operatic Broadway @ St. James Place, Great Barrington.
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm Outdoor Concert: The Knights Orchestra @ The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown.
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm Nate Martel @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
5:30 pm – 6:30 pm Renaissance Music: The Salisbury Four @ Chesterwood, Stockbridge.
6:30 pm – 10:00 pm Berkshire Busk @ Downtown Great Barrington, Great Barrington.
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Berkshire Busk @ Downtown Great Barrington, Great Barrington.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Tom Savoy @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
7:00 pm DISPATCH with the Boston Pops @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm John and Uncle Stash @ Firehouse Cafe & Bistro, Adams.
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm MPZ Productions presents Operatic Broadway @ St. James Place, Great Barrington.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Johnny Irion Album Release Show @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
7:00 pm Bow Thayer @ Studio 9, North Adams.
7:00 pm – 8:00 pm Bach to Rock @ Church on the Hill, Lenox.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Mike Duffy @ Locker Room Sports Pub, Lee.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Hannah Bracken and Wes Buckley @ Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, Lenox.
8:00 pm An Evening with Telly Leung @ Barrington Stage Company, Pittsfield.
8:00 pm – 11:00 pm Rock 201 @ Knox Trail Inn, East Otis.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Singer/Songwriters in the Round with Rees Shad, Stephen Clair and Michael Eck @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm The Slambovian Circus Of Dreams Live At The Guthrie Center @ Guthrie Center, Great Barrington.
Sunday
10:00 am – 12:00 pm Domingo Brunch featuring duo David Bartley and Dan Broad @ Dottie’s and Dorothy’s, Pittsfield.
12:00 pm – 12:45 pm Family Concert: The Knights Orchestra @ The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown.
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Les Chrostowski @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
3:00 pm – 5:00 pm Matthew Thornton @ Lilac Park, Lenox.
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Michael Junkins and Friends @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Dead Gowns @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket.
8:00 pm An Evening with Telly Leung @ Barrington Stage Company, Pittsfield.
Please get out and support your local musicians and venues!
— Mark @ Music in the Berkshires