The Berkshire music scene is hitting full stride this week, with major headliners Nas and Jon Batiste lighting up the stage at Tanglewood and several outdoor concert series launching across the region. With 71 performances on the calendar — spanning classical, opera, jazz, Broadway, rock, pop, folk, and more — there’s no shortage of incredible live music to discover. Read on for this week’s highlights, and don’t forget to check out the full countywide lineup to plan your week ahead.
- Blue Cactus & Luke Schneider at Tourists on Monday. Blue Cactus is a folk, alt-country, and psychedelic-tinged rock band out of North Carolina, while Schneider is a pedal steel guitarist who has appeared on SNL, Late Night, and more.
- 2025 Kids 4 Harmony Summer Gala Concert at Tanglewood on Tuesday. The Gala features Haitian-American cellist Francesca McNeeley and raises funds for the Kids 4 Harmony youth development program.
- Sounds of Summer Free Jazz Series | Standard Edition at The Mount on Tuesday. The weather prediction is favorable, so you won’t want to miss this first installment of the outdoor music series at the fabulous home of Edith Wharton.
- Seán Dagher at The Foundry on Wednesday. The folk and classical music artist and member of the Skye Consort is widely known from his recordings for the Assassin’s Creed video game series, including “Leave Her Johnny,” which has over 60 million streams on Spotify.
- Maya De Vitry at The Egremont Barn on Thursday. The Nashville-based singer-songwriter’s music blurs the lines of folk, country, indie rock, and Americana – after listening to her gorgeous song “Wilderness,” you won’t want to miss this show.
- Berkshire Busk in Downtown Great Barrington. The outdoor street festival kicks off and runs for 10 weeks with performances on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon and evening. See the list of performers and locations by following the link in the event details to the Berkshire Busk website.
- Nas with the Boston Pops (pictured above) at Tanglewood on Friday. The 2020 GRAMMY winner for “Best Rap Album” makes his first visit to Tanglewood.
- Pink Floyd’s The Wall: A Theatrical Concert Experience at Colonial Theatre on Friday and Saturday. With overwhelming demand after a highly successful run last year, the theatrical concert experience returns to Pittsfield for two performances.
- MPZ Productions: A Jewish Journey Through Broadway: Part 2 at St. James Place on Friday evening, Saturday afternoon, and evening. We’ve heard from several readers that Jewish Journey Part I was incredible, so you won’t want to miss Part II.
- Boston Early Music Festival presents: Telemann’s Pimpinone and Ino at Mahaiwe on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon. GRAMMY winners Paul O’Dette and Stephen Stubbs are featured in this humorous chamber opera that bridges the baroque and classical eras.
- Jon Batiste at Tanglewood on Saturday. The winner of an Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, and five GRAMMY Awards is back again after putting on an amazing performance at the Shed last summer.
- Jazzmeia Horn at MASS MoCA on Saturday. The multi-award-winning contemporary jazz vocalist makes a stop in North Adams on her international tour.
In addition to the two Tanglewood Popular series performances mentioned above, you’ll also find several classical performances in the Ozawa Hall and the Linde Center, including TMC Vocal Music on Saturday, TMC Music for Brass and Percussion on Sunday morning, and three performances of the TMC String Quartet Marathon on Sunday afternoon and evening.
And don’t miss all the incredible local musicians playing around the county this week, including Andy Wrba & Friends, Colby Lewis & Steve Ide, Natalia Bernal, Jordan Weller and the Feathers, Wanda Houston, and Michael Junkins and Friends.
You can learn more about all of these performances in our day-by-day show rundown below, or jump right to our music calendar. Use the subscribe button below to receive this free weekly rundown of upcoming performances in your inbox each Monday.
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No Performances.Please get out and support your local musicians and venues!
— Mark @ Music in the Berkshires