This final week of June promises to be one of the most musically thrilling of the Berkshire summer, packed with international headliners and an array of spectacular events. At Tanglewood, enjoy performances by Brandi Carlile, Jon Batiste, and Trey Anastasio, while the Solid Sound 2024 music festival features Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Wilco, Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets, and Iris DeMent. The excitement continues with the Down County Jump Music Festival with headliner Tim Eriksen at Race Brook Lodge and the opening weekend of Berkshire Busk, along with six classical performances at Tanglewood’s smaller venues. We have 68 live music events this week – covering genres like classical, opera, jazz, pop, rock, folk, R&B, blues, bluegrass, and more. Below are some highlights for the week ahead, followed by our comprehensive show rundown.
Classical and Opera
While the official opening night of the Tanglewood classical music series is not until July 5, we get our first six classical performances of the Tanglewood summer season, starting Wednesday afternoon with TLI Open Workshops: Techniques of string quartet performance. On Saturday afternoon, you’ll find a TMC Vocal Recital featuring pieces by Hilton, Morley, Schubert, Schumann, and others. Sunday morning, you can take in TMC Chamber Music, featuring pieces by Glanert, DiBerardino, Nikunen, Gabrieli, Reich, and Broughton. Then, there are three installments of the TMC String Quartet Marathon at 1:00, 4:00, and 8:00 p.m., featuring classical and contemporary works.
Elsewhere, you’ll find Concert: Dancing On A Volcano—Opera Lafayette at The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown on Wednesday night. Soprano Ariana Wehr joins musicians of Opera Lafayette to present music from the operas of Gluck, Philidor, Gretry and the music from the Chevalier de Saint-George. Thursday early evening, catch Piano Extravaganza | Prima Music Foundation at Ventfort Hall in Lenox. A fundraiser for Rising Stars Piano Camp, works by J.S. Bach, F. Chopin, C. Chaminade, and S. Prokofiev will be performed.
Jazz
It’s another strong week for jazz, with ten performances in the county. The music starts with Andy Wrba, Conor Meehan, and Benny Kohn hosting Monday Night Jazz at Pizzeria Boema in Lenox. They perform again on Thursday night at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge. On Tuesday, catch the Jazz Night with Paul Ostermayer and Friends at Tito’s Mexican Bar and Grill in Pittsfield. On Wednesday, catch Mary Ann Palermo at portaVia in Dalton.
Friday night, you can listen to the Rhythm Future Quartet perform Gypsy jazz at The Foundry in West Stockbridge. Saturday afternoon, catch Jazz in Persip Park with the Matt Steckler Trio at Pittsfield’s Persip Park. Sunday morning, head over to Dottie’s and Dorothy’s for the Domingo Brunch featuring Jason Ennis & Natalia Bernal. At noon, you can catch the Jazz Brunch with Bobby MacVeety at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield. Sunday evening, Michael Junkins and Friends perform at The Lion’s Den. This week, Michael features Matt Steckler on Saxophone.
Popular (Rock, Pop, Folk, Blues, etc.)
Our calendar is dominated by the popular music category, with over 50 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 Monday night with the rock and folk duo The Clements Brothers at Tourists in North Adams. Tuesday night, you must get over to Methuselah Bar & Lounge in Pittsfield to see our cherished local diva, Chantell, sing R&B, soul, pop, and rock songs. Wednesday night, you’ll need to choose from one of four performances. Colby Lewis and Steve Ide perform outdoors at Lilac Park in Lenox, while Ian Campbell performs outdoors at Windsor Lake in North Adams. Music in the Berkshires Featured Musician Jordan Weller kicks off the second week of music since the Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn reopened in Lenox. And up at Tourists in North Adams, Jenifer Jackson performs pop, folk, and rock. If you miss her there, you can find her performing at The Lion’s Den on Friday night.
Thursday night, you can pick from several great shows, including local rockers Vaguely Pagan at Dream Away Lodge in Becket, Michael Lesko & Suns and Noah B. Harley at The Egremont Barn, Big Sadie + The Audreys at Tourists, performing acoustic bluegrass and old-time music, or indie-rockers Cecilie Beck & Gabriel Gordon at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield.
Friday is an all-out musical blitz, making tough choices for music lovers, particularly this one. Five-time Grammy® Award winner Jon Batiste performs at Tanglewood. At the same time, our two weekend-long music festivals get underway, with Solid Sound 2024 kicking off at Mass MoCA with Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit and Wilco and the Down County Jump Festival getting underway at Race Brook Lodge with the Sweet May Dews. If that wasn’t enough, Berkshire Busk also kicks off its summer season with six musical performances, all in downtown Great Barrington. You should also consider heading to The Egremont Barn to see Steve Forbert or Dream Away Lodge to see Party of the Sun with Eleanor Elektra.
Berkshire Busk continues in downtown Great Barrington on Saturday afternoon and evening, with another six musical performances – see our detailed Show Rundown for a list of performers. Saturday evening’s headliner is Trey Anastasio with the Boston Pops at Tanglewood. I’m not sure what to expect from the Phish frontman and super-creative Anastasio, but I’m sure it will be an incredible evening. Rev Tor and The Deal perform songs of The Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia at The Egremont Barn, while Rick Maguire (of Pile) & All Feels is at Dream Away Lodge. Finally, you can catch Tony Trischka’s Earljam – A Tribute to Earl Scruggs at The Guthrie Center in Great Barrington. Trischka is a bluegrass legend who counts among his students Béla Fleck.
Sunday’s headliner is Brandi Carlile (pictured above), who performs a sold-out 6:00 p.m. show at Tanglewood. On the Sunday afternoon “winery and brewery circuit,” you’ll find Alex Cohen at Antimony Brewing in Lenox, Kollin Kozlowski at Balderdash Cellars in Richmond, and Sage King in the Taproom at Bright Ideas Brewing in North Adams. You’ll also find the folk and old-time country band Moonshine Holler at Bascom Lodge in Adams, and the improvisational band Hour at Dream Away Lodge in Becket.
Something Else
This week, we have two options in our Something Else category. On Wednesday evening, you’ll find Berkshire Sings outdoors at the pavilion at Great Barrington Town Hall. On Sunday, 15 Stories is at Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield. Performer Alysha Umphress takes on 15 different personae in one evening, performing songs from Bock and Harnick, Kurt Weill, Bobby Gentry, Lyle Lovett, Randy Newman, Leiber and Stoller and others.
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 – 9:30 pm The Clements Brothers @ Tourists, North Adams. Rock, Folk. Learn more and listen here.
Tuesday
5:30 pm – 8:30 pm Jazz Night with Paul Ostermayer and Friends @ Tito’s Mexican Bar and Grill, Pittsfield.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Chantell @ Methuselah Bar & Lounge, Pittsfield. R&B, Soul, Pop, Rock.
Wednesday
1:30 pm TLI Open Workshops: Techniques of string quartet performance @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
5:30 pm – 7:15 pm Berkshire Sings @ Great Barrington Town Hall, Great Barrington. Outdoors.
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm Concert: Dancing On A Volcano—Opera Lafayette @ The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown. Soprano Ariana Wehr joins musicians of Opera Lafayette to present music from the operas of Gluck, Philidor, Gretry, and the music from the Chevalier de Saint-George.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Mary Ann Palermo @ portaVia, Dalton. Jazz. Learn more and listen here.
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm Colby Lewis and Steve Ide @ Lilac Park, Lenox. Outdoors. Rock, Folk. Learn more and listen to Colby here. See our interview with featured musician Steve Ide here.
6:30 pm – 8:00 pm Ian Campbell @ Windsor Lake, North Adams. Outdoors. Folk, Rock. Learn more and listen here.
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Jordan Weller @ Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, Lenox. Folk, Rock. Read our Featured Musician interview with Jordan here.
8:00 pm – 9:30 pm Jenifer Jackson @ Tourists, North Adams. Pop, Folk, Rock. Learn more and listen here.
Thursday
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm Piano Extravaganza | Prima Music Foundation @ Ventfort Hall, Lenox. Performing works by J.S. Bach, F. Chopin, C. Chaminade, and S. Prokofiev. This is a fundraiser for Rising Stars Piano Camp.
5:00 pm On Tap @ Hot Plate Brewing Co, Pittsfield.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Live Music with Clara Guatta @ Tito’s Mexican Bar and Grill, Pittsfield. Rock,
7:00 pm – 9:30 pm Calliope Cafe season finale with Blood Type: Blue @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton. Read our article about this important program that helps develop the future musicians of Berkshires County.
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.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Vaguely Pagan @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket. Rock, Folk, Soul. Learn more here. See our interview with Brian Kantor, drummer for Vaguely Pagan.
7:30 pm – 10:00 pm Michael Lesko & Suns and Noah B. Harley @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont. Rock. Learn more about Michael here. Learn more about Noah here.
8:00 pm – 9:30 pm Big Sadie + The Audreys @ Tourists, North Adams. Acoustic Bluegrass and Old-time music. Listen to Big Sadie here.
8:00 pm – 11:00 pm Cecilie Beck & Gabriel Gordon @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield. Indie-Rock. Listen to Cecilie and Gabriel and their band Gate to Venus here.
Friday
3:00 pm – 12:00 am Solid Sound 2024 @ MASS MoCA, North Adams. Featuring 29 different music performances, including Wilco, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets, and Iris DeMent.
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm Dan Hamilton @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
5:30 pm – 7:15 pm Elizabeth Berliner @ Great Barrington Town Hall, Great Barrington. Rock, Folk. Listen to Elizabeth, aka Jaane Doe, here.
6:00 pm – 12:00 am Down County Jump Music Festival @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield. Featuring 16 different performances including Tim Eriksen, The Lucky 5, Slowey and the Boats, and Jackson and the Janks.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Tim Gallagher @ Bousquet, Pittsfield.
6:30 pm – 10:00 pm Berkshire Busk @ Downtown Great Barrington, Great Barrington. Main Stage Raillroad Street music performances include Noah Robertson.
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Berkshire Busk @ Downtown Great Barrington, Great Barrington. Music performances include: Garrin Benfield at Rubiner’s Alley, Carolyn Shapiro at Carr Hardware, Rick and Marilyn: Triplex Courtyard, Brian Hailes: Gorham & Norton, and Josh Driver: Castle Street Corner.
6:30 pm Rhythm Future Quartet @ The Foundry, West Stockbridge. Gypsy Jazz. Learn more and listen here.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Jenifer Jackson @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge. Pop, Folk, Rock. Learn more and listen here.
7:00 pm – 10:30 pm Steve Forbert @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont. Rock, Americana. Learn more and listen here.
7:00 pm Jon Batiste @ Tanglewood, Lenox. Jazz, R&B, Soul, Hip-hop, Pop. Learn more and listen here.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Jim Witherell @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Party of the Sun with Eleanor Elektra @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket. Psych-Folk. Learn more and listen here.
8:00 pm – 11:00 pm Duece Moose @ Locker Room Sports Pub, Lee.
Saturday
11:00 am – 12:00 am Solid Sound 2024 @ MASS MoCA, North Adams. Featuring 29 different music performances, including Wilco, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets, and Iris DeMent.
12:00 pm – 12:00 am Down County Jump Music Festival @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield. Featuring 16 different performances including Tim Eriksen, The Lucky 5, Slowey and the Boats, and Jackson and the Janks.
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm Pete Boyd and Dan Gingras @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm Berkshire Busk @ Downtown Great Barrington, Great Barrington. Music performances include Mike Cobb and The Crevulators at Berkshire Mountain Distillers.
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Jazz in Persip Park with the Matt Steckler Trio @ Persip Park, Pittsfield. Jazz. Learn more and listen here.
4:00 pm – 7:00 pm Sherwood Forest Duo @ Papa Bob’s Entertainment Hall, Becket. Rock, Country.
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm Mike Duffy @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
6:30 pm – 10:00 pm Berkshire Busk @ Downtown Great Barrington, Great Barrington. Main Stage Railroad Street music performances include Galush at Upper Railroad.
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Berkshire Busk @ Downtown Great Barrington, Great Barrington. Music performances include Christine Bilé: Castle Street Corner, Ryan Leddick: Rubiner’s Cheesemongers, Natalie Lewis: Triplex Courtyard, and Mike Pagnani: Gorham & Norton.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Evan Lanoue @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge. Rock, Pop. Learn more and listen here.
7:00 pm TMC Vocal Recital @ Tanglewood, Lenox. Featuring pieces by Hilton, Morley, Schubert, Schumann, and others.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Colby Lewis with Steve Ide @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox. Rock, Folk. Learn more and listen to Colby here. See our interview with featured musician Steve Ide here.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Tom Corrigan @ Locker Room Sports Pub, Lee.
7:00 pm Trey Anastasio with the Boston Pops @ Tanglewood, Lenox. Learn more and listen here.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm TomKat @ Methuselah Bar & Lounge, Pittsfield. Rock, Country.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Rev Tor and The Deal @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont. Songs of The Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia. Learn more and listen here.
7:30 pm – 10:30 pm Rick Maguire (of Pile) & All Feels @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket. Indie-Rock. Learn more and listen here.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Paper Anniversary @ Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, Lenox. Country, Folk, Bluegrass. Learn more and listen here.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Hotshot Hillbillies @ Knox Trail Inn, East Otis. Classic Rock, Country. Learn more and listen here.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Tony Trischka’s Earljam – A Tribute to Earl Scruggs @ Guthrie Center, Great Barrington. Bluegrass. Learn more and listen here.
Sunday
10:00 am – 7:00 pm Solid Sound 2024 @ MASS MoCA, North Adams. Featuring 29 different music performances, including Wilco, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets, and Iris DeMent.
10:00 am TMC Chamber Music @ Tanglewood, Lenox. Chamber. Music by Glanert, DiBerardino, Nikunen, Gabrieli, Reich, and Broughton.
10:00 am – 12:00 pm Domingo Brunch featuring Jason Ennis & Natalia Bernal @ Dottie’s and Dorothy’s, Pittsfield. Learn more about Natalia here. Learn more about Jason here.
12:00 pm – 3:00 pm Alex Cohen @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
12:00 pm – 3:00 pm Jazz Brunch with Bobby MacVeety @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield. Learn more and listen here.
1:00 pm TMC String Quartet Marathon @ Tanglewood, Lenox. Classical and contemporary works.
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Kollin Kozlowski. @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
3:00 pm – 5:00 pm Karen Tchougourian @ Lilac Park, Lenox.
4:00 pm – 6:00 pm Taproom Music: Sage King @ Bright Ideas Brewing, North Adams. Rock, Country. Learn more and listen here.
4:00 pm TMC String Quartet Marathon @ Tanglewood, Lenox. Classical and contemporary works.
5:30 pm – 6:30 pm Moonshine Holler @ Bascom Lodge, Adams. Folk, Old-time Country. Learn more and listen here.
6:00 pm Brandi Carlile @ Tanglewood, Lenox. Rock, Folk, Americana. Learn more and listen here.
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Michael Junkins and Friends @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge. Jazz. Learn more and listen here. Featuring Matt Steckler on Saxophone.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Hour @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket. Improvisational. Learn more here.
8:00 pm TMC String Quartet Marathon @ Tanglewood, Lenox. Classical and contemporary works.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm 15 Stories @ Barrington Stage Company, Pittsfield. Broadway, Pop, Rock. Performing songs from Bock and Harnick, Kurt Weill, Bobby Gentry, Lyle Lovett, Randy Newman, Leiber and Stoller and others.
Please get out and support your local musicians and venues!
— Mark @ Music in the Berkshires