The temperatures are finally climbing back to reasonable levels—after an icy low of minus 16 here in West Stockbridge this week!—and the local music scene is warming up as well. With international and national touring acts heading to the Berkshires, this week’s lineup boasts 30 performances across genres like classical, jazz, rock, pop, Americana, and shoegaze. There’s something for everyone to enjoy! Below are some highlights for the two weeks ahead, followed by our comprehensive show rundown.
Classical and Opera
We have one classical performance this week on Sunday: the TLI Chamber Concert at Tanglewood’s Linde Center. The performance includes works by Reger and Beethoven.
Jazz
We have five jazz performances this week, starting Wednesday night with the Daryl Lowery Trio at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge. Friday night, catch local favorite the Bobby Macveety Jazz Trio at the Ostrich Room at the Apple Tree Inn in Lenox. Sunday morning, you can find jazz at the Domingo Brunch featuring duo David Bartley and Pete Toigo at Dottie’s and Dorothy’s in Pittsfield, and at noon, you can enjoy the Jazz Brunch with Charlie Tokarz at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield. On Sunday night, you’ll find Michael Junkins and Friends at The Lion’s Den. This week, Michael features “Junk” with Will Hudgins on vibraphone.
Popular (Rock, Pop, Folk, Blues, etc.)
The popular music category dominates our calendar this week, with over 20 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 Monday night with Ollabelle performing at Studio 9 in North Adams. Glenn Patscha (Bonnie Raitt), Byron Isaacs (The Lumineers), Tony Leone (Little Feat), Fiona McBain (The Nine Seas), and Amy Helm, a solo artist whose father Levon Helm was the spiritual godfather of Ollabelle, reunite to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their first album. The band takes “American gospel, folk, and mountain music and drags it into the future with the utmost respect and abandon.” Thursday night, catch The Rejuvenators at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge or be inspired by some incredible young musicians at Calliope Cafe at The Stationery Factory in Dalton.
Friday night, shoegaze band Slowdive (pictured above) comes to MASS MoCA in North Adams as part of their international tour. Their song “When the Sun Hits” from their 1993 Album Souvlaki has over 154 million streams on Spotify. You can visit Dottie’s in Pittsfield to catch some reggae at the Friday Supper Club w/Secondhand Dredi and Guest Chef Core Kitchen. Or you’ll find some emo and hard-core rock at Hot Plate Brewing in Pittsfield with Silver Lake Presents: When The Time Comes, Jockey, Sinking, Oolong.
Saturday night is a busy night with 10 performances in the popular music category. The Ballroom Thieves, an alt-indie pop and folk duo comprised of Calin Peters and Martin Earley, are in town, performing at Tourists in North Adams as part of their Sing for Your Slumber program. They perform again at Tourists on Sunday night. Just down the street in North Adams, you can catch Studio 9 Presents A Night of Country Music with CJ Field & Cheley Tackett. Tom Petty fans won’t want to miss tribute band The BrokenHearted at The Stationery Factory. Over at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, you celebrate 60 years of Grateful Dead music at Rev Tor’s 13th Annual Dead of Winter Jam with Dead Man’s Waltz and friends. The concert will feature a special tribute to Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh who passed away in October. Lisa Michelle Anderson brings her blend of Americana, folk, and rock back to The Lion’s Den, and TomKat is at Methuselah Bar & Lounge in Pittsfield. The Trae Sheehan Band is at the Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn in Lenox. Schenectady’s Cryin’ Out Loud! brings its blend of rock, dance, and country music to Proprietor’s Lodge in Pittsfield.
On the Sunday afternoon “winery and brewery circuit,” you can see Gina and Ben (Coleman and Kohn) at Balderdash Cellars in Richmond or Mike Duffy at Antimony Brewing in Lenox. Tony Lee Thomas performs at portaVia in Dalton and Americana and bluegrass band Rounder’s Revival is at Route 8 Pub in Becket.
Something Else
In our Something Else category this week, head down to Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield on Thursday to hear Flophouse Follies in the Down County Social Club. This Berkshire-based trio, comprised of Heather Fisch on vocals, ukulele, and accordion, Kip Beacco on six-string guitar, and Alex Harvey on tenor banjo and mandriola (a type of Neapolitan mandolin), conjures a bygone era with parlor ballads, novelty songs, and vaudeville satires.
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
8:00 pm Ollabelle @ Tourists, North Adams.
Tuesday
No Performances.
Wednesday
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Daryl Lowery Trio @ The Lion's Den, Stockbridge.
Thursday
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Rees Shad Trio @ Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, Lenox.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm The Rejuvinators @ The Lion's Den, Stockbridge.
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Calliope Cafe @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm DCSC: Flophouse Follies @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield.
Friday
6:00 pm – 10:00 pm Friday Supper Club w/Secondhand Dredi and Guest Chef Core Kitchen @ Dottie's and Dorothy's, Pittsfield.
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Bobby Macveety Jazz Trio @ Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, Lenox.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Buddy McEarns @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
7:00 pm Silver Lake Presents: When The Time Comes, Jockey, Sinking, Oolong @ Hot Plate Brewing Co, Pittsfield.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm South Pleasant Revival @ The Lion's Den, Stockbridge.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Livio Gravini @ Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort, Hancock.
8:00 pm Slowdive @ MASS MoCA, North Adams.
Saturday
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Michael Louis in the Catamount Lodge @ Catamount, South Egremont.
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Jim Witherall @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Lisa Michelle Anderson @ The Lion's Den, Stockbridge.
7:00 pm TomKat @ Methuselah Bar & Lounge, Pittsfield.
7:00 pm Studio 9 Presents A Night of Country Music with CJ Field & Cheley Tackett @ Studio 9, North Adams.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Alex Touhey @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
7:30 pm – 10:00 pm The BrokenHearted @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton.
7:30 pm Rev Tor’s 13th Annual Dead of Winter Jam @ Colonial Theatre, Pittsfield.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Peak Music Series – Brave Bros. @ Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort, Hancock.
7:30 pm – 10:00 pm Trae Sheehan Band @ Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, Lenox.
8:00 pm The Ballroom Thieves @ Tourists, North Adams.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Cryin’ Out Loud! @ Proprietor's Lodge, Pittsfield.
Sunday
10:00 am – 12:00 pm Domingo Brunch featuring duo David Bartley and Pete Toigo @ Dottie's and Dorothy's, Pittsfield.
12:00 pm – 3:00 pm Jazz Brunch with Charlie Tokarz @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield.
12:00 pm – 3:00 pm Mike Duffy @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm Tony Lee Thomas @ portaVia, Dalton.
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Gina and Ben @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
3:00 pm TLI Chamber Concert @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm Rounder’s Revival @ Route 8 Pub, Becket.
6:30 pm Michael Junkins and Friends @ The Lion's Den, Stockbridge.
8:00 pm The Ballroom Thieves @ Tourists, North Adams.
Please get out and support your local musicians and venues!
— Mark @ Music in the Berkshires