February is packed with excitement—from Groundhog Day and the Grammys to Valentine’s Day and, of course, an incredible lineup of live music across the Berkshires. This first week of the month features 33 diverse performances, spanning classical, jazz, rock, bluegrass, and even a children’s concert —something for every music lover to enjoy! A special thank you and shout out to MASS MoCA as our newest supporter. MASS MoCA will host a special performance by Dave Guy at the month’s end – check it out! Below are some highlights for the week ahead, followed by our comprehensive show rundown.
Classical and Opera
We have two classical performances this week. Saturday afternoon, you can enjoy Renée Anne Louprette (pictured above) plays The Best of Bach—The Great Organ Works at the Unitarian Universalist Meeting of South Berkshire in Housatonic. In addition to Louprette’s performance of four Bach pieces, George Stauffer, PhD, will provide commentary about Bach’s life and music. You have just enough time after Louprette’s performance to make your way up to Williamstown to hear the Saturday early evening performance Introvert/Extrovert: A Two-Piano Recital at the Clark Art Institute. Composer-pianist Matthew Aucoin and pianist Conor Hanick team up for a two-piano recital featuring a new work composed by Aucoin for Hanick, along with works by Morton Feldman, Gabriella Smith, Julius Eastman, and John Adams, including Adams’s ebullient Hallelujah Junction.
Jazz
We have five jazz performances this week. The jazz week starts Wednesday night with the Michael Junkins Trio at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge. Thursday night, catch the Mark Philips Trio at the Ostrich Room at the Apple Tree Inn in Lenox. Friday night, groove to the Phil Skaller Trio at The Lion’s Den. Sunday midday, you can enjoy the Jazz Brunch with Natalia Bernal & Jason Ennis at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield. A special shout-out of congratulations to Natalia for dropping her first single, “Aquí Estoy Yo” on Spotify this week! On Sunday night, you’ll find Michael Junkins and Friends at The Lion’s Den. This week, Michael features Charlie Tokarz on Saxophone.
Popular (Rock, Pop, Folk, Blues, etc.)
The popular music category dominates our calendar this week, with 25 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 Thursday night with one of my favorite emerging duos, Camellia, featuring Hannah Bracken and Taylor Slonaker, performing at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge. Up at Studio 9 in North Adams, catch the First Thursday Local Artist Showcase featuring David Geer, Abigail Dustin, and Tegan Taylor. And Li returns to the Down County Social Club at Race Brook Lodge.
Friday night, the Chris Merenda Trio performs at the Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn in Lenox. You may know Chris from his other projects, which include Picky Bastards, the Four Sticks, and The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow. I wrote about his skillful banjo playing and incredibly intense voice in “A Band of Brothers” in the summer issue of Berkshire Magazine. Local favorites The BTUs perform at Firefly Gastropub in Lenox. On a historical note, Steve Ide of the BTUs was gracious enough to be my first interview for Music in the Berkshires almost two years ago when I launched the site – I’m grateful to him for that and his outstanding guitar skills and significant contributions to the Berkshire music culture. For something a little hardcore, get on over to Hot Plate Brewing in Pittsfield to rock out at Silver Lake Presents: Arms Like Roses & Friends. One of my favorite local bands, 5 Pound Horse, is performing their unique “fierce folk” at Heart’s Pace in North Adams. And if you happen to be skiing at Jiminy Peak, you can hang out after and enjoy their Peak Music Series with Jack Waldheim.
Speaking of ski resorts, if you plan to ski at Catamount on Saturday, you’ll find folk rocker Reed Foehl performing in the lounge during the afternoon. It’s another jam-packed Saturday night with 10 performances in the popular music category – I’m particularly excited about several of them. You’ll find a tribute to one of my heroes with Big Yellow Taxi: The Music & Genius of Joni Mitchell at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield. (Stay tuned for another nod to Joni next week, with Kendra McKinley performing Mitchell’s music at Race Brook Lodge – I interviewed Kendra this past week and will be sharing our wonderful conversation later this week – be on the lookout!)
While on the subject of tribute bands, lovers of Led Zeppelin won’t want to miss Zep & Co at The Stationery Factory in Dalton. Vaguely Pagan, featuring Brian Kantor, Wes Buckley, and Miles Lally, will be jamming at The Lion’s Den. Bluegrass lovers will want to seriously consider getting down to Race Brook Lodge to hear the Winter Bluegrass Jubilee in the Down County Social Club. The event will be hosted by the Catskill Mountain String Band, with an extended jam session in multiple spaces throughout the lodge after the initial set. Finally, you can catch Lulu Lewis at Tourists in North Adams. The duo is comprised of Dylan Hundley on vox and synths and Pablo Martin on guitar, synths, bass and electronics. They’ve been involved with one of my favorite bands from my college days, Tom Tom Club.
Sunday morning, head on over to Dottie’s in Pittsfield for some folk, Americana, and indie music at the Domingo Brunch featuring Helen Hummel. On the Sunday afternoon “winery and brewery circuit,” you can enjoy Melissa Brinton at Balderdash Cellars in Richmond or Nate Martel at Antimony Brewing in Lenox. Up the road in Dalton, catch Pug and John at portaVia, and in the evening, catch the Celtic rock band Kilashandra at the Route 8 Pub in Becket.
Something Else
In our Something Else category this week, children of all ages will want to attend the Kids Concerts with Terry A La Berry and Friends at noon on Saturday at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield.
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
No Performances.
Tuesday
No Performances.
Wednesday
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Michael Junkins Trio @ The Lion's Den, Stockbridge.
Thursday
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Camellia @ The Lion's Den, Stockbridge.
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Mark Phillips Trio @ Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, Lenox.
7:00 pm Studio 9 Presents – First Thursday Local Artist Showcase @ Studio 9, North Adams.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm DCSC: LI @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield.
Friday
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Brian Benlien @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Chris Merenda Trio @ Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, Lenox.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm The BTU*s @ Firefly Gastropub, Lenox.
7:00 pm Silver Lake Presents: Arms Like Roses & Friends @ Hot Plate Brewing Co, Pittsfield.
7:00 pm Phil Skaller Trio @ The Lion's Den, Stockbridge.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Pug and John @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
7:00 pm – 8:30 pm Live Music by 5 Pound Horse @ Heart's Pace, North Adams.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Peak Music Series – Riverbend Orchestra @ Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort, Hancock.
Saturday
12:00 pm Kids Concerts with Terry A La Berry and Friends @ Colonial Theatre, Pittsfield.
2:00 pm Renée Anne Louprette plays The Best of Bach—The Great Organ Works @ Unitarian Universalist Meeting of South Berkshire, Housatonic.
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Reed Foehl in the Catamount Lodge @ Catamount, South Egremont.
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm TomKat @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm Introvert/Extrovert: A Two-Piano Recital @ The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown.
7:00 pm John Nalepa & Friends @ Methuselah Bar & Lounge, Pittsfield.
7:00 pm Vaguely Pagan @ The Lion's Den, Stockbridge.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Kollin Kozlowski @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Zep & Co @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Peak Music Series – Pug & John Show @ Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort, Hancock.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm DCSC: Winter Bluegrass Jubilee @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield.
7:30 pm Big Yellow Taxi: The Music & Genius of Joni Mitchell @ Colonial Theatre, Pittsfield.
7:30 pm – 10:30 pm Unfinish’d Bizness @ Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, Lenox.
8:00 pm Lulu Lewis @ Tourists, North Adams.
Sunday
10:00 am – 11:00 am Domingo Brunch featuring Helen Hummel @ Dottie's and Dorothy's, Pittsfield.
12:00 pm – 3:00 pm Nate Martel @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
12:00 pm – 3:00 pm Jazz Brunch with Natalia Bernal & Jason Ennis @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield.
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm Pug and John @ portaVia, Dalton.
2:00 pm Community Sing @ Hot Plate Brewing Co, Pittsfield.
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Melissa Brinton @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm Music by Nate Goyette @ Bright Ideas Brewing, North Adams.
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm Kilashandra @ Route 8 Pub, Becket.
6:30 pm Michael Junkins and Friends @ The Lion's Den, Stockbridge.
Please get out and support your local musicians and venues!
— Mark @ Music in the Berkshires