As we dive into June, the Berkshire music scene is bursting with an impressive array of performances. This week, we welcome national touring bands, a Grammy® Award-winning songwriter, a Tony®-nominated Broadway singer, and several outdoor concerts. The lineup includes three tribute bands and a special evening of romantic violin duets. With 52 live music events this week alone, you can enjoy genres ranging from classical and baroque to jazz, rock, pop, folk, soul, funk, blues, and Broadway. The Berkshires truly offer something for every music lover. Below are a few highlights of the week ahead, followed by our comprehensive show rundown.
Classical and Opera
We have three classical performances in the county this week. You’ll have to choose between two great performances on Saturday afternoon. You can listen to A Baroque Spring Posy at Bard College at Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington, presented by Berkshires Bach, which will be performing music by Bach and Handel for violin and harpsichord. At the same time, Lich Gate Concerts in the Park will be taking place outdoors under the pavilion at Sheffield Town Park, where they will perform works by Handel, Mozart, and Beethoven. On Sunday afternoon, you’ll find Close Encounters with Music: Gala Concert – Great Piano Quintets at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington. The performance will include Dvořák’s Piano Quintet in A Major and Brahms’s Piano Quintet in F minor, op. 34. Also, classical music lovers should read our Something Else section for some choral and other performances that draw on classical music.
Jazz
We have nine jazz performances, starting on Monday with Monday Night Jazz at Pizzeria Boema in Lenox. Andy Wrba is launching a summer-long residency and will by joined by Conor Meehan and Benny Kohn. On Tuesday night, Paul Ostermayer and Friends are at Tito’s Mexican Bar and Grill in Pittsfield. Wednesday night, catch Mary Ann Palermo at portaVia in Dalton or the Michael Junkins Trio at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge. Thursday night, catch Benny Kohn and Wanda Houston at Dottie’s and Dorothy’s in Pittsfield for some jazz and American Songbook. Saturday afternoon, outdoors at Persip Park in Pittsfield, you’ll find the Paul Ostermayer Trio. Saturday night, catch the Peter Einhorn Group at the West Stockbridge Historical Society. Peter is an award-winning composer who has scored dozens of documentary films and videos and has performed and/or recorded with jazz greats, including Ira Sullivan, Joe Lavona, Jimmy Cobb, Steve Swallow, and Eddie Daniels. Sunday midday, catch the Jazz Brunch with Chad McLoughlin at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield. Sunday evening, you can wrap up your week with Michael Junkins and Friends at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge. This week, Michael will feature Aaron Dean on saxophone.
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 Studio 9 Presents: Rees Shad & The Conversations at Studio 9 in North Adams. Wednesday night, we have our first installment of the outdoor concert series at Windsor Lake in North Adams when All Over the Map performs.
Thursday night has four great performances. Singer-songwriter Jesse Harris is at The Egremont Barn. Jesse is perhaps best known for writing the Grammy® Award-winning Song Of The Year for Norah Jones’ breakout hit “Don’t Know Why” from her debut album, Come Away With Me. The album included four of Jesse’s other compositions. Andy Wrba & Friends will perform soul and funk at The Lion’s Den. Andy has a month long residencency at The Den and this week’s guests are Matt Cusson, Ryan Hommel, and Conor Meehan. Up at the Dream Away Lodge, alt-indie band Gracious Calamity performs in the music room. And at the Down County Social Club at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield, you’ll find indie-pop musician Kendra McKinley.
As part of Pittsfield’s First Fridays series, you’ll find Pug and John outdoors at Persip Park, followed by the Happy Together Band on the City Stage in Downtown Pittsfield (they will perform again Saturday at Balderdash Cellars). Stay around for the after-party when Mr. Doubtfire performs rock covers at Dottie’s and Dorothy’s. Elsewhere on Friday, you’ll find the alt-indie project of Julia Haltigan, Moon Radio, at The Lion’s Den – they perform again Saturday night at Dream Away Lodge in Becket. Or catch the Jake Manzi Duo at Antimony Brewing in Lenox or The Rejuvenators with Wanda Houston at The Egremont Barn. Or head up to The Stationery Factory in Dalton to catch Dead Man’s Waltz featuring Mark Mercier of Max Creek, performing the songs of The Grateful Dead, The Allman Brothers Band, and The Band.
Saturday night, listen to the folk-rock music of Namoli Brennet at The Foundry in West Stockbridge or the indie-folk-rock of Bird Streets at The Lion’s Den. At the Guthrie Center in Great Barrington, you’ll find pop artist Seth Glier. At Antimony Brewing in Lenox, Colby Lewis and Steve Ide will perform. Neil Young lovers can head up to the Adams Theater to see Harvest & Rust – A Neil Young Experience (Unplugged). Led Zeppelin tribute band Four Sticks will be rocking the house at The Egremont Barn.
Sunday offers an unusually strong line-up of performances. Starting in the morning, catch Michael Aaron and Katherine Winston at Dottie’s and Dorothy’s in Pittsfield. On the Sunday afternoon “winery and brewery circuit,” you’ll find Jon Berman at Antimony Brewing and Gina Coleman and Benny Kohn at Balderdash Cellars in Richmond. Also in the afternoon, you’ll find the second installment of the Lenox Loves Music outdoor concert series in Lilac Park when Dave Bartley, Susan Dillard, Dan Broad, and Dan McPherson perform music by Joni Mitchell, Eva Cassidy, Ella Fitzgerald, Paul Simon, Annie Lenox, Lady Gaga, and more. Also outdoors, weather permitting is Music On The Moltz Terrace: Basic And Erica Dawn Lyle at The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown.
In the evening, the alt-indie band Pinc Louds performs at The Foundry in West Stockbridge. Rock and Americana artist Leo DiSanto is at Dream Away Lodge. Grammy®-nominated Alt-indie pop musician, visual artist, and actress Sabina Sciubba (pictured above) performs at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield. She played with the band Brazilian Girls, and The New York Times describes her as “nonchalant, elusive, sophisticated and resolutely hedonistic.” Finally, Tom Heyman makes a stop on his national tour at Tourist in North Adams.
Something Else
This week, we have so many great options in our Something Else category. On Monday, catch Paris to Broadway at Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield. Christine Andreas and Martin Silvestri present songs by Piaf, Charles Trenet, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Kern, Porter, Berlin, Bacharach, and others. Friday night, Tiny Glass Tavern performs at the Adams Theatre. They are a cross-genre music ensemble that performs early, folk, romantic, pop, and new music and collaborates with the audience during their performances. On Saturday afternoon, Vocalis Youth Choir: Beautiful, Upbeat and Inspiring takes place at St. James Place in Great Barrington. The free program will present beautiful, upbeat, and inspiring music and poetry from the classical, contemporary, and folk traditions. Donations will be collected, with proceeds going to The People’s Pantry. They will perform again on Sunday afternoon at The Southfield Church.
Also on Saturday, The Becket Arts Center presents Music Brings Communities Together – Criollo Clasico. One of Puerto Rico’s premier musicians, Jose Gonzalez and his Criollo Clasico Trio, will perform Caribbean and Latin music. Lovers and those looking for love might want to head up to Dottie’s and Dorothy’s in Pittsfield on Saturday night, where they can listen to Romantic Violin Duets featuring Rachel Powers and Johna Stanton. Their repertoire draws on classical, baroque, Celtic, and popular duets. And finally (whew!), on Sunday night, you can witness the brilliance of Joshua Henry at the Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield. With over 560K (!) monthly Spotify listeners, Joshua has performed in some of the biggest Broadway shows, including Hamilton, The Scottsboro Boys, and Into the Woods, and also starred and sang in the film adaptation of the musical tick, tick… BOOM! And, in 2021 he released his debut album of his original soul, pop, and R&B music, Grow. If you can’t make it Sunday, Joshua will perform again on Monday night.
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. Featuring Andy Wrba, Conor Meehan, and Benny Kohn.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Paris to Broadway @ Barrington Stage Company, Pittsfield. Broadway, American Songbook. Music of Piaf, Charles Trenet, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Kern, Porter, Berlin, Bacharach and David, Lerner, and Loewe, and Silvestri.
Tuesday
5:30 pm – 8:30 pm Paul Ostermayer and Friends @ Tito’s Mexican Bar and Grill, Pittsfield. Jazz.
7:00 pm Studio 9 Presents: Rees Shad & The Conversations @ Studio 9, North Adams. Jazz, Folk, Americana. 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 All Over the Map @ Windsor Lake, North Adams.
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Michael Junkins Trio @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge. Jazz. Learn more and listen here.
Thursday
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Dan Gringas @ Dalton American Legion, Dalton.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Benny and Wanda @ Dottie’s and Dorothy’s, Pittsfield. Jazz, American Songbook. Learn more and listen to Wanda here.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Andy Wrba & Friends @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge. Soul, Funk. Andy’s guests are Matt Cusson, Ryan Hommel, and Conor Meehan.
7:30 pm – 10:00 pm Jesse Harris @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont. Alt-Indie. Learn more and listen here.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Gracious Calamity @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket. Alt-Indie. Listen here.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm DCSC: Kendra McKinley @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield. Indie-pop. Learn more and listen here.
Friday
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm The Pug and John Show in Persip Park @ Persip Park, Pittsfield.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Tony Lee Thomas @ Bousquet, Pittsfield. Rock. Learn more and listen here.
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm Happy Together Band on the City Stage @ Downtown Pittsfield, Pittsfield.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Moon Radio (Julia Haltigan) @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge. Alt-Indie. Learn more and listen here.
7:00 pm Tiny Glass Tavern @ Adams Theatre, Adams. Classical, Folk, Pop, and New Music. Learn more and listen here.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Jake Manzi Duo @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox. Rock, Pop, Folk. Learn more and listen here.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm After Party w Mr Doubtfire @ Dottie’s and Dorothy’s, Pittsfield. Rock.
7:00 pm – 10:30 pm The Rejuvenators with Wanda Houston @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont. Learn more and listen to Wanda here.
7:30 pm – 10:30 pm Dead Man’s Waltz featuring Mark Mercier of Max Creek @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton. Songs of The Grateful Dead, The Allman Brothers Band, and The Band.
Saturday
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Jazz in Persip Park with the Paul Ostermayer Trio @ Persip Park, Pittsfield.
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Brian Benlien @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
4:00 pm A Baroque Spring Posy @ Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Great Barrington. Performing music by Bach and Handel.
4:00 pm – 5:30 pm Vocalis Youth Choir: Beautiful, Upbeat and Inspiring @ St. James Place, Great Barrington. Classical, Contemporary, and Folk.
4:00 pm Lich Gate Concerts in the Park @ Sheffield Town Park, Sheffield. Classical. Performing works by Handel, Mozart, and Beethoven.
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm Music Brings Communities Together – Criollo Clasico @ Becket Arts Center, Becket. Latin.
6:00 pm – 10:00 pm Happy Together Band @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Romantic Violin Duets featuring Rachel Powers and Johna Stanton @ Dottie’s and Dorothy’s, Pittsfield. Classical, Baroque, Celtic, and Popular.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Colby Lewis with Steve Ide @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox. Learn more and listen to Colby here. See our interview with featured musician Steve Ide here.
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Peter Einhorn Group @ West Stockbridge Historical Society, West Stockbridge. Learn more and listen here.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Bird Streets @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge. Indie, Rock, Folk. Learn more and listen here.
7:30 pm Harvest & Rust – A Neil Young Experience (Unplugged) @ Adams Theatre, Adams.
7:30 pm Namoli Brennet @ The Foundry, West Stockbridge. Folk-Rock. Learn more and listen here.
7:30 pm – 10:30 pm Four Sticks @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont. Led Zeppelin tribute band.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Moon Radio @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket. Alt-Indie. Learn more and listen here.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm An Evening with Seth Glier @ Guthrie Center, Great Barrington. Pop. Learn more and listen here.
Sunday
10:00 am – 12:00 pm Domingo Brunch featuring Michael Aaron Katherine Winston @ Dottie’s and Dorothy’s, Pittsfield. Folk, Pop, Rock. Learn more and listen to Katherine here. Learn more and listen to Michael here.
12:00 pm – 3:00 pm Jazz Brunch with Chad McLoughlin @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield. Jazz. Learn more and listen here.
12:00 pm – 3:00 pm Jon Berman @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox. Rock. Listen more and listen here.
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Gina Coleman and Benny Kohn @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond. Learn more and listen to Gina’s band Misty Blues here. Read our Featured Musician interview with Gina Coleman.
3:00 pm – 5:00 pm Dave Bartley, Susan Dillard, Dan Broad, and Dan McPherson @ Lilac Park, Lenox. Performing music by Joni Mitchell, Eva Cassidy, Ella Fitzgerald, Paul Simon, Annie Lenox, Lady Gaga, and more. Learn more and listen to David here.
4:00 pm Close Encounters with Music: Gala Concert – Great Piano Quintets @ Mahaiwe, Great Barrington. Performance to include Dvořák’s Piano Quintet in A Major and Brahms’s Piano Quintet in F minor, op. 34.
4:00 pm – 7:00 pm Vocalis Youth Choir, under the direction of Julie Bickford @ The Southfield Church, Southfield.
5:00 pm – 6:30 pm Music On The Moltz Terrace: Basic And Erica Dawn Lyle @ The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown. Rock. Listen to Basic here. Learn more and listen to Erica Dawn Lyle here.
5:30 pm – 6:30 pm JoAnne Spies & Doug Tanner @ Bascom Lodge, Adams. Blues, Country, Americana, Jazz. Learn more about JoAnne here.
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Michael Junkins and Friends @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge Jazz. Learn more and listen here.
7:30 pm Pinc Louds @ The Foundry, West Stockbridge. Alt-Indie. Learn more and listen here.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Leo DiSanto @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket. Rock, Americana. Learn more and listen here.
8:00 pm – 11:00 pm Sabina Sciubba @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield.Alt-Indie. Learn more and listen here.
8:00 pm Tom Heyman @ Tourists, North Adams. Rock. Learn more and listen here.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Joshua Henry @ Barrington Stage Company, Pittsfield. American Songbook, Broadway, Soul, R&B, Pop. Learn more here or here.
Please get out and support your local musicians and venues!
— Mark @ Music in the Berkshires