Knock on wood, we’ve been blessed with July-like weather here in the Berkshires, even though it’s only the second week of June. The warmth invites you to swim in Stockbridge Bowl or your favorite swimming hole, and it’s perfect for kicking off the outdoor concert season. As Father’s Day approaches on Sunday, we have another week packed with diverse music featuring national headliners, regional favorites, plenty of jazz, Broadway stars, seven outdoor concerts, and even opera infused with country. With 55 live music events this week, you can enjoy genres such as classical, opera, jazz, rock, pop, folk, bluegrass, and Broadway. Below are a few highlights of the week ahead, followed by our comprehensive show rundown.
Classical and Opera
We have four classical and opera performances this week. Saturday afternoon and evening, there are two performances of Opera Cowgirls at The Stationery Factory in Dalton. The group is called an “Alt-country opera fusion.” Listening to their music on Spotify, it felt more like opera than country, hence the categorization here. Saturday night, you can listen to Manon Hutton-DeWys, piano with Eva Gerard, viola at The Southfield Church. They will perform two 20th-century sonatas for viola and piano by Dmitri Shostakovich and Rebecca Clarke. Sunday afternoon, there is a special outdoor performance of Classics on the Labyrinth: Hyperion Quartet at the Trinity Episcopal Church in Lenox. They will perform works by Puccini, Shostakovich, Mozart, and Barber.
Jazz
It’s a banner week for jazz with 12 performances in the county. The music starts with Andy Wrba, Conor Meehan, and Benny Kohn hosting Monday Night Jazz at Pizzeria Boema in Lenox. The same trio will also be performing Thursday night at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge. On Wednesday, catch Mary Ann Palermo at portaVia in Dalton. On Thursday, you’ll find Tarik Shah & Friends Sounds of Summer Music Series outdoors on the Terrace at The Mount in Lenox. Friday night, The Lucky 5 are at Dream Away Lodge in Becket; they perform again Saturday night at The Lion’s Den. Saturday afternoon in Pittsfield, catch Jazz in Persip Park with Michael Junkins. In the evening, the David Bartley Quartet will perform at Dottie’s and Dorothy’s in Pittsfield. Sunday midday, you can enjoy the Jazz Brunch with Tristan Geary at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield. Sunday late afternoon, you won’t want to miss Berkshires Jazz presents: The Django Festival Allstars at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox. In the evening, catch the Ben Kohn Trio at Bascom Lodge at the top of Greylock Mountain in Adams or Michael Junkins and Friends at The Lion’s Den. Michael will be featuring Don Mikkelsen on Trombone.
Popular (Rock, Pop, Folk, Blues, etc.)
Our calendar is dominated by the popular music category, with over 30 performances this week – 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 on Tuesday night with Nate Martel at Methuselah Bar & Lounge in Pittsfield. Wednesday, folk artist Eli Elkus performs outdoors at the Windsor Lake concert series in North Adams.
Thursday night, reggae artist Secondhand Dredi is at Dottie’s and Dorothy’s in Pittsfield, while country band Creek Road is at the Indie Night at The Stationery Factory in Dalton. The Egremont Barn is hosting the World’s Greatest Sing a Long – we went to the last installment of this show and had a blast. And folk-rock musician Belle-Skinner is at Dream Away Lodge in Becket.
Friday early evening, you’ll find two more outdoor concerts: The O-Tones perform in Persip Park in Pittsfield, while the Railroad Street Dreamers take the stage at the Great Barrington concert series. Michael Lesko is at Dotties and Dorothy’s, while Mike Duffy is at Bousquet in Pittsfield – he performs again Saturday night at Methuselah Bar and Lounge. John Cadley & Family are at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge, playing rock, folk, and bluegrass.
Saturday night’s headliner is Keb’ Mo’ (pictured above), who is performing at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington. You can read “10 minutes with Blues Icon Keb’ Mo’” by my colleague Benjamin Learner in the May/June issue of Berkshire Magazine. The Guthrie Center in Great Barrington is hosting An Evening with Antje Duvekot. We saw Antje at The Egremont Barn earlier this year and really loved her vibe. Meanwhile, Music in the Berkshires Featured Musician Jordan Weller is at Big Elm Brewery & Taproom in Sheffield, while Katherine Winston is at Balderdash Cellars in Richmond. Misty Blues – Roadhouse Revival Gospel Blues takes place at the Adams Theatre, with another of our Featured Musicians, Gina Coleman. Lovers of The Grateful Dead will want truck on over to The Egremont Barn to jam with Grateful Dread. Up at Dream Away Lodge in Becket, you can catch the folk music of Bobby Sweet w/Pete Adams & Lara Tupper.
Sunday morning you can enjoy the Domingo Brunch featuring Bernice Lewis and Amy Attias at Dottie’s and Dorothy’s. On the Sunday afternoon “winery and brewery circuit,” you’ll find Jack Waldheim at Antimony Brewing in Lenox and Paul Zarvis at Balderdash Cellars in Richmond. Also, in the afternoon, you’ll find the third installment of the Lenox Loves Music outdoor series in Lilac Park when Boots & The Mixtape takes the stage.
Sunday evening offers three really great shows. Folk-rockers The Clements Brothers are at Dream Away Lodge, while jazz, folk, pop, and blues artist Dayna Kurtz is back at The Foundry in West Stockbridge. Finally, country and Americana band Blue Cactus makes a stop on their national tour at Tourists in North Adams.
Something Else
This week, we have five options in our Something Else category. On Monday, Joshua Henry performs again at the Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield. Joshua has performed in some of the biggest Broadway shows, including Hamilton, The Scottsboro Boys, Into the Woods and also starred and sang in the film adaptation of the musical tick, tick… BOOM! And, in 2021 Joshua released his debut album of his original soul, pop, and R&B music, Grow.
On Thursday night, Grammy®-nominated musician Samir LanGus performs Moroccan Gnawa music infused with jazz at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield. On Friday night, you can participate in A Spell for Living: An Evening of Music and Ritual at The Foundry in West Stockbridge. According to Amy Brentano over at The Foundry, “it’s an immersive audience participatory experience that includes music in its ritual aspects, but is not entirely a ‘sit back and watch’ musical performance.” They perform again Saturday night. Finally, back at The Foundry on Sunday afternoon, you’ll find Seán Dagher: Singing Sea Shanties!
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. Monday Night Jazz summer residency with Andy Wrba, Conor Meehan, and Benny Kohn. Learn more about Andy here. Read our interview with Andy here.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Joshua Henry @ Barrington Stage Company, Pittsfield. American Songbook, Broadway. Learn more here or here.
Tuesday
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Nate Martel @ Methuselah Bar & Lounge, Pittsfield. Rock, Folk. Learn more and listen here.
Wednesday
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Mary Ann Palermo @ portaVia, Dalton. Jazz. Learn more and listen here.
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm Eli Elkus @ Windsor Lake, North Adams. Folk. Learn more and listen here.
Thursday
5:30 pm – 7:00 pm Tarik Shah & Friends Sounds of Summer Music Series @ The Mount, Lenox. Jazz. Learn more and listen here
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Les Chrostowski @ Dalton American Legion, Dalton.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Secondhand Dredi @ Dottie’s and Dorothy’s, Pittsfield. Reggae. Learn more and listen here.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Andy Wrba & Friends @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge. Featuring Benny Kohn and Conor Meehan. Learn more about Andy here. Read our interview with Andy here.
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Indie Night: Creek Road @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton. Country.
7:30 pm – 10:00 pm World’s Greatest Sing a Long @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Belle-Skinner @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket. Rock, Folk. Learn more and listen here.
8:00 pm – 11:00 pm Samir LanGus @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield. Moroccan Gnawa. Learn more and listen here.
Friday
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm Pug & John @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm The O-Tones in Persip Park @ Persip Park, Pittsfield. Swing, Motown, blues, soul, Latin. Learn more and listen here.
5:30 pm – 7:15 pm Railroad Street Dreamers @ Downtown Great Barrington, Great Barrington. Outdoors, weather permitting.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Michael Lesko Fri night at Dorothy’s @ Dottie’s and Dorothy’s, Pittsfield. Rock. Learn more here.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Mike Duffy @ Bousquet, Pittsfield.
6:30 pm – 9:00 pm Scott Salvia @ Knox Trail Inn, East Otis.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm John Cadley & Family @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge. Rock, Folk, Bluegrass. Learn more and listen here.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Jon Berman @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox. Rock. Listen more and listen here.
7:30 pm A Spell for Living: An Evening of Music and Ritual @ The Foundry, West Stockbridge.
Saturday
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm Randy Sykes @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond. Rock, Folk. Learn more and listen here.
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Jazz in Persip Park with Michael Junkins @ Persip Park, Pittsfield. Jazz. Learn more and listen here.
3:00 pm Opera Cowgirls @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton. “Alt-country opera fusion.” Learn more and listen here.
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm Jordan Weller @ Big Elm Brewery & Taproom, Sheffield. Rock, Folk.
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm Katherine Winston @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond. Folk, Pop, Rock. Learn more and listen here.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm David Bartley Quartet @ Dottie’s and Dorothy’s, Pittsfield. Jazz. Learn more and listen to David here.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Pug + John @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Mike Duffy @ Methuselah Bar & Lounge, Pittsfield.
7:00 pm Manon Hutton-DeWys, piano with Eva Gerard, viola @ The Southfield Church, Southfield. Classical. Performing two 20th-century sonatas for viola and piano by Dmitri Shostakovich and Rebecca Clarke.
7:00 pm – 8:30 pm Opera Cowgirls @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton. “Alt-country opera fusion.” Learn more and listen here.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Lucky Five @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge. Jazz. Learn more and listen here.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm One for One Duo @ Locker Room Sports Pub, Lee.
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm TomKat Acoustic @ Firehouse Cafe & Bistro, Adams.
7:30 pm Misty Blues – Roadhouse Revival Gospel Blues @ Adams Theatre, Adams. Gospel. Blues. Learn more and listen here. Read our Featured Musician interview with Misty Blues’ Gina Coleman.
7:30 pm A Spell for Living: An Evening of Music and Ritual @ The Foundry, West Stockbridge.
7:30 pm – 10:30 pm Grateful Dread @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont. The Grateful Dead tribute band.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Bobby Sweet w/Pete Adams & Lara Tupper @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket. Folk. Learn more and listen to Bobby here.
8:00 pm Keb’ Mo’ @ Mahaiwe, Great Barrington. Blues, Gospel. Learn more and listen here. Read “10 minutes with Blues Icon Keb’ Mo’” in the May/June issue of Berkshire Magazine here.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm An Evening with Antje Duvekot @ Guthrie Center, Great Barrington. Folk. Learn more and listen here.
9:00 pm – 11:00 pm Whiskey Traveler @ Knox Trail Inn, East Otis. Alt-Country, Americana. Learn more and listen here.
Sunday
10:00 am – 12:00 pm Domingo Brunch featuring Bernice Lewis and Amy Attias @ Dottie’s and Dorothy’s, Pittsfield. Folk. Learn more and listen to Bernice here.
12:00 pm – 3:00 pm Jack Waldheim @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
12:00 pm – 3:00 pm Jazz Brunch with Tristan Geary @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield. Learn more and listen here.
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Paul Zarvis @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
2:00 pm Seán Dagher: Singing Sea Shanties! @ The Foundry, West Stockbridge. Sea Shanties. Learn more and listen here.
3:00 pm – 4:45 pm Classics on the Labyrinth: Hyperion Quartet @ Trinity Episcopal Church, Lenox. Classical. Performing works by Puccini, Shostakovich, Mozart, and Barber.
3:00 pm – 5:00 pm Boots & The Mixtape @ Lilac Park, Lenox.
4:00 pm Berkshires Jazz presents: The Django Festival Allstars @ Shakespeare & Company, Lenox. Jazz. Learn more and listen here.
5:30 pm – 6:30 pm Ben Kohn Trio @ Bascom Lodge, Adams.
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Michael Junkins and Friends @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge. Jazz. Featuring Don Mikkelsen on Trombone. Learn more and listen here.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm The Clements Brothers @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket. Rock, Folk. Learn more and listen here.
7:30 pm Dayna Kurtz @ The Foundry, West Stockbridge. Jazz, Folk, Pop, and Blues. Learn more and listen here.
8:00 pm – 9:30 pm Blue Cactus @ Tourists, North Adams. Country, Americana. Learn more and listen here.
Please get out and support your local musicians and venues!
— Mark @ Music in the Berkshires