Valentine’s Day week has arrived, and love—for live music—is in the crisp Berkshire air! As we head into the President’s Day holiday weekend, the region welcomes a diverse lineup of international touring artists among 44 performances spanning classical, jazz, rock, pop, and even traditional Chinese music. Below are some standout shows for the week ahead, followed by our full show rundown.
Classical and Opera
This week, we have one classical performance: Schubert’s Winter Journey on Sunday afternoon at Trinity Episcopal Church in Lenox. Acclaimed baritone Philip Lima, accompanied by Music at Trinity’s Artistic Director and pianist Noah Palmer, will perform Schubert’s Winterreise song cycle.
Jazz
We have eight jazz performances this week. The jazz week starts Monday night when the George Schuller Trio performs at Methuselah Bar & Lounge in Pittsfield. Wednesday night, catch the Standard Edition Trio at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge. Thursday night, groove to the Luke Franco Trio at the Ostrich Room at the Apple Tree Inn in Lenox. Friday night, if you are one of the lucky folks who got tickets, then you’ll be attending the sold-out show TLI Presents: Jumaane Smith – Love Always: Celebrating the Romance of Nat King Cole at Tanglewood’s Linde Center. A second show was added for Saturday and unfortunately it is sold out, too.
Saturday night, catch Scott Robinson, 10 by Sax at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Pittsfield, presented by Berkshires Jazz. New York-based sax virtuoso Scott Robinson will perform 10 numbers that were composed or made popular by 10 different jazz saxophonists. And he will be doing this on 10 different saxophones! Sunday at midday, you can enjoy the Jazz Brunch with Tarik Shah at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield, and on Sunday night, you’ll find Michael Junkins and Friends at The Lion’s Den. This week, Michael features Benny Kohn on Piano.
Popular (Rock, Pop, Folk, Blues, etc.)
The popular music category dominates our calendar this week, with over 30 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 night with local favorite Melissa Brinton at Methuselah Bar & Lounge in Pittsfield. Thursday night, you might want to join me down at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield to see Kendra McKinley: A Tribute to Joni Mitchell. It’s the first of three performances as part of Kendra’s February residency at the lodge, and I had the pleasure of speaking with Kendra (pictured above) last week – read the interview with this creative and fascinating multi-faceted artist. I’ve been listening to her music for the past several weeks and really enjoy it – particularly her song “Fine as a Vine.” I’m torn, however, since another of my favorite artists, Glori Wilder, performs right down the street from me at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge. I interviewed Glori for the profile I wrote for Berkshire Magazine: “Take Note: Glori Wilder.” This was the first in a new series highlighting young artists making their mark on the music scene in the Berkshires – stay tuned for the next installment, which will hit the streets in early March in the next issue of the magazine.
Friday is Valentine’s Day, and there are two holiday-themed shows, including one featuring two other performers we know and love, Chantell from The Diego Mongue Band and Tory Hanna from The Whiskey Treaty Road Show, who will perform a heartfelt selection of soulful classics and timeless ballads at Heart & Soul Date Night at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield. You can also catch Valentine’s Night with Brett Potter at Knox Trail Inn in East Otis. Elsewhere on Friday, you can enjoy the Trae Sheehan Duo at the Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn in Lenox, and down the road at The Lion’s Den, you can listen to the Hilltown Hamhocks, a modern folk trio with old-time roots. In North Adams at Studio 9, catch Railway Concerts presents Goodnight Moonshine, a duo comprised of Molly Ventro (voice, songwriting) and Eben Pariser (guitar). The “result is folk music with a depth of improvisation and tonal subtlety usually reserved for jazz.” If skiing is part of your Valentine’s Day plans, then you might want to check out the Peak Music Series – Hot Shot Hillbillies Duo at Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort in Hancock.
Speaking of skiing, folk-rocker Reed Foehl is back again in the lodge at Catamount on Saturday afternoon. Saturday night, ZZ Tops’ Billy F Gibbons comes to the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington for a sold-out show. Further south in Sheffield, there are still tickets for Nicotine Dolls: Solo and Acoustic at Dewey Hall. The show features Sam Cieri, lead singer of the pop band Nicotine Dolls, who will perform a special one-night-only acoustic fundraiser at the hall. Nicotine Dolls’ hit song “What Makes You Sad” was featured on the TV show “The Good Doctor” and has over 14M streams on Spotify. Elsewhere Saturday night, you’ll find local favorite and former American Idol semi-finalist Katherine Winston at The Lion’s Den and Mike Cobb & The Crevulators at the Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn. Fans of Def Leppard will want to be at The Stationery Factory in Dalton for Sticky Sweet – A Def Leppard Tribute. Over at Proprietor’s Lodge in Pittsfield, you can experience “soul for the masses” with the Albany-based hip-hop, neo-soul, R&B, and rock band The Ill Funk Ensemble.
Sunday morning, head on over to Dottie’s in Pittsfield for some folk, Americana, and indie music at the Domingo Brunch featuring the Amy Van Dyne Trio. In the afternoon, support a great cause by heading to The Jake Hescock Win the Day Foundation Fundraiser at The Stationery Factory, rescheduled from January. The bands performing include Full Burn, Live Wire, HB Funk & Co, Generation X Rock, and Liquid Courage. Skiers at Catamount can warm up to Jefferson Hamer in the lodge. On the Sunday afternoon “winery and brewery circuit,” you can enjoy John & Pug at Balderdash Cellars in Richmond, Jack Waldheim at Antimony Brewing in Lenox, or Dave Brown at Bright Ideas Brewing in North Adams. Over in Dalton, catch Pet Boyd at portaVia.
Since Monday is the President’s Day holiday, why not head out Sunday night to catch Tyler Ramsey, the former lead guitarist of Band of Horses, at Tourists in North Adams, Joe Adee & the Lug Nuts at Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort, or local favorites Bobby Sweet and Lara Tupper at the Route 8 Pub in Becket.
Something Else
We have two performances in our Something Else category this week. On Thursday night, as part of its Visiting Artist series, Williams College presents Music From China, a chamber ensemble that performs a dual repertoire of traditional and contemporary Chinese music. On Valentine’s Day, share some love by attending Tipsy McBoozle’s “Spread Your Love” Sing-A-Long, featuring Tom Truss as Tipsy McBoozle, at The Foundry in West Stockbridge.
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. 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
7:00 pm George Schuller Trio @ Methuselah Bar & Lounge, Pittsfield.
Tuesday
7:00 pm Melissa Brinton @ Methuselah Bar & Lounge, Pittsfield.
Wednesday
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Standard Edition @ The Lion's Den, Stockbridge.
Thursday
12:09 am Music From China @ Williams College, Williamstown.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Les Chrostowski @ Dalton American Legion, Dalton.
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Luke Franco Trio @ Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, Lenox.
7:00 pm Glori Wilder @ The Lion's Den, Stockbridge.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Kendra McKinley: A Tribute to Joni Mitchell @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield.
Friday
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Martin Piggot in the Catamount Lodge @ Catamount, South Egremont.
6:00 pm Valentine’s Night with Brett Potter @ Knox Trail Inn, East Otis.
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Trae Sheehan Duo @ Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, Lenox.
7:00 pm Hilltown Hamhocks @ The Lion's Den, Stockbridge.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Ari & Jeff Lynch @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
7:00 pm TLI Presents: Jumaane Smith – Love Always: Celebrating the Romance of Nat King Cole (SOLD OUT) @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
7:30 pm Heart & Soul Date Night @ Colonial Theatre, Pittsfield.
7:30 pm Railway Concerts presents Goodnight Moonshine at Studio 9 @ Studio 9, North Adams.
7:30 pm Tipsy McBoozle’s “Spread Your Love” Sing-A-Long @ The Foundry, West Stockbridge.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Peak Music Series – Hot Shot Hillbillies Duo @ Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort, Hancock.
Saturday
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm All Ten and Jon @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Reed Foehl in the Catamount Lodge @ Catamount, South Egremont.
6:00 pm Papa & Friends @ Knox Trail Inn, East Otis.
7:00 pm Katherine Winston @ The Lion's Den, Stockbridge.
7:00 pm TLI Presents: Jumaane Smith – Love Always: Celebrating the Romance of Nat King Cole (SOLD OUT) @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Greg Caproni @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
7:00 pm The Mikes @ Route 8 Pub, Becket.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Peak Music Series – Jack Waldheim @ Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort, Hancock.
7:30 pm – 10:30 pm Sticky Sweet – A Def Leppard Tribute @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton.
7:30 pm – 10:30 pm Mike Cobb & The Crevulators @ Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, Lenox.
8:00 pm Billy F Gibbons @ Mahaiwe, Great Barrington.
8:00 pm Nicotine Dolls: Solo and Acoustic (Canceled) @ Dewey Hall, Sheffield.
8:00 pm – 11:00 pm The Ill Funk Ensemble @ Proprietor's Lodge, Pittsfield.
Sunday
10:00 am – 12:00 pm Domingo Brunch featuring the Aimee Van Dyne Trio @ Dottie's Coffee Lounge, Pittsfield.
12:00 pm – 3:00 pm Jack Waldheim @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
12:00 pm – 3:00 pm Jazz Brunch with Tarik Shah @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield.
1:00 pm – 8:00 pm The Jake Hescock Win the Day Foundation Fundraiser @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton.
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm Pete Boyd @ portaVia, Dalton.
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm John & Pug @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Jefferson Hamer in the Catamount Lodge @ Catamount, South Egremont.
4:00 pm – 7:00 pm Music by Dave Brown @ Bright Ideas Brewing, North Adams.
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm Bobby Sweet and Lara Tupper @ Route 8 Pub, Becket.
6:30 pm Michael Junkins and Friends @ The Lion's Den, Stockbridge.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Peak Music Series – Joe Adee & the Lug Nuts @ Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort, Hancock.
8:00 pm Tyler Ramsey @ Tourists, North Adams.
Please get out and support your local musicians and venues!
— Mark @ Music in the Berkshires