As May draws to a close, we are gearing up for Memorial Day weekend, which marks the beginning of the summer season here in the Berkshires. 52 live music performances are scheduled, featuring national touring bands and local favorites. The music covers various genres, including classical, jazz, rock, pop, folk, and blues, plus a special classical performance for children. Below are a few highlights of the week ahead, followed by our comprehensive show rundown.
Classical and Opera
We have just two classical performances in the county this week, both on Sunday but spaced apart so music lovers can catch both. Berkshire Choral International performs at Tanglewood in the early afternoon. They will “explore creative pairs of works with the same text settings by Tallis, Haydn, Biebl, Lauridsen, Barber, Bloch, and Burleigh, among others.” Later in the afternoon, the West Stockbridge Chamber Players Spring Concert is at the West Stockbridge Historical Society. The program includes two works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — his March in D major, K.237/189c (arr. Hudgins) and his String Quintet No. 1 in B flat major, K. 174 — along with Robert Fuchs’ Quintet for Clarinet in E♭ Major, Op. 102.
Jazz
We have three jazz performances, starting on Friday night with The Lucky 5 at Dottie’s and Dorothy’s in Pittsfield. Sunday midday, catch the Jazz Brunch with Natalia Bernal and Jason Ennis at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield. In the evening, you can catch Michael Junkins and Friends at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge, featuring Will Hudgins on vibes.
Popular (Rock, Pop, Folk, Blues, etc.)
Our calendar is dominated by the popular music category, with over 40 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 Tuesday with Alexander, Wes Buckley, Parashi Show in the Shop at Belltower Records in North Adams. Wednesday night, rock, folk, and Americana band Session Americana return to The Egremont Barn. Firehouse Cafe & Bistro in Adams has re-opened for the season, and they are featuring pop contemporary vocalist Bronte Roman.
Thursday night, we have a trifecta of folk artists with Liz & Seth (Queller and Farber) at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge, while Caity Gallagher is at The Egremont Barn, and Randy Cormier is at Dream Away Lodge in Becket. We have three local favorites performing: Evan Lanoue at Balderdash Cellars in Richmond, Benny and Wanda (Kohn and Houston) at Dottie’s and Dorothy’s in Pittsfield, and Sample The Cat at Firehouse Cafe & Bistro.
Friday night, folk artist Willi Carlisle makes a stop on his national tour at the Adams Theatre. His song “Cheap Cocaine” has nearly 4M streams on Spotify. Sasha K A returns to The Lion’s Den, while psych-rock band Galvanizer is at Dream Away Lodge. Local favorites round out the night with Jordan Weller at Roberto’s Pizza in Sheffield, Chris Merenda of The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow and The Picky Bastards at Bousquet in Pittsfield, Wanda Houston at Firefly Gastropub in Lenox, Hot Sauce at The Egremont Barn, and Evan Lanoue at Knox Trail Inn in East Otis.
We are blessed Saturday night to have three national touring artists representing diverse genres performing in the county. Alternative, electronic, and rock band Son Lux performs at MASS MoCA in North Adams. This band is credited for the soundtrack for the Academy Award-winning film Everything Everywhere All at Once, on which they collaborated with Randy Newman and one of my heroes, David Byrne. Alternative rockers BoDeans are at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington. If you are not sure you know their music, you are probably mistaken – just listen to the opening guitar riff and scream on “Closer to Free,” and you’ll likely recognize it. Renowned folk artist Ellis Paul is at The Guthrie Center in Great Barrington. Local favorites round out the evening, with Music in the Berkshires Featured Musician (pictured above) Jackson Whalan at Dottie’s and Dorothy’s, bluegrass and rock band The Picky Bastards at The Egremont Barn, and Steve Ide & Colby Lewis at The Lion’s Den.
You can start your day on Sunday morning with the Domingo Brunch featuring Lexi Weege at Dottie’s and Dorothy’s. On the Sunday afternoon “winery and brewery circuit,” you find Michael Duffy at Antimony Brewing in Lenox and the Hot Vox Trio at Balderdash Cellars in Richmond. Sunday night has an unusually full line-up with four performances, taking advantage of Monday being the Memorial Day Holiday. Hip-hop and rap artist Jackson Whalan (this week’s featured musician, pictured above) performs with a full band at The Egremont Barn. Folk artist Avi Jacob is back in the region performing at Dream Away Lodge, and the rock and country band The Whiskey City Duo is at Locker Room Sports Pub in Lee. Finally, Nate Martel is at Zinky’s Pub in Dalton.
Something Else
This week, we have five performances in our Something Else category. On Wednesday, Latin guitarist Clara Guatta performs at Dottie’s and Dorothy’s. Thursday night, in the Down County Social Club at Race Brook Lodge, you find a new project of local creative Alex Harvey: The Victrollers, which lampoons and reveres pop music recorded between 1899 and 1919. There is a family-oriented event on Saturday afternoon, with the Aston Magna Family Day at St. James Place in Great Barrington. The free event features interactive children’s activities and a Bach and Vivaldi performance. Saturday night, the Brazilian and Samba band Berkshire Bateria performs at Dream Away Lodge. Sunday afternoon, enjoy the Music of Mancini Performed by Jukebox Saturday Night at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield. The performance “promises a nostalgic journey down memory lane, featuring hits like “The Pink Panther Theme,” “The Days of Wine and Roses,” “Moon River,” “Charade,” “Too Little Time,” “The Sweetheart Tree” and more.”
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
No performances.
Tuesday
76:00 pm – 10:00 pm Alexander, Wes Buckley, Parashi Show in the Shop @ Belltower Records, North Adams. Rock.
Wednesday
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Clara Guatta @ Dottie’s and Dorothy’s, Pittsfield. Latin.
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Bronte Roman @ Firehouse Cafe & Bistro, Adams. Jazz, Pop, Rock. Learn more and listen here.
7:30 pm – 10:00 pm Session Americana @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont. Rock, Folk, Americana. Learn more and listen here.
Thursday
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm Evan Lanoue @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond. Rock, Pop. Learn more and listen here.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Benny and Wanda @ Dottie’s and Dorothy’s, Pittsfield. R&B, Jazz, Soul, American Songbook. Learn more and listen to Wanda here.
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Sample The Cat @ Firehouse Cafe & Bistro, Adams. Rock, Soul. Learn more and listen here.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Liz & Seth @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge. Folk. Learn more and listen to Liz here.
7:30 pm – 10:00 pm Caity Gallagher @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont. Indie-Folk. Learn more and listen here.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Randy Cormier @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket. Folk, Rock. Learn more and listen here.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm DCSC: The Victrollers @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield. Lampoons and reveres pop music recorded between 1899 and 1919.
Friday
5:00 pm Jordan Weller @ Roberto’s Pizza, Sheffield. Rock, Funk, Reggae, Folk. See our Featured Musician story on Jordan here.
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm Hot Shot Duo @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Chris Merenda @ Bousquet, Pittsfield. Bluegrass, Rock.
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm The Lucky 5 @ Dottie’s and Dorothy’s, Pittsfield. Jazz. Learn more and listen here.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Jim Witherell @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Wanda Houston @ Firefly Gastropub, Lenox. R&B, Jazz, Soul, American Songbook. Learn more and listen to Wanda here.
7:00 pm The Joint Chiefs @ Dewey Hall, Sheffield. Rock.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Sasha K A @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge. Learn more and listen here.
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Austin Honig @ Firehouse Cafe & Bistro, Adams.
7:30 pm – 10:30 pm Hot Sauce @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont. Funk, Rock.
7:30 pm Willi Carlisle @ Adams Theatre, Adams. Folk. Learn more and listen here.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Galvanizer @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket. Psychedelic Rock. Learn more and listen here.
8:00 pm Evan Lanoue @ Knox Trail Inn, East Otis. Rock, Pop. Learn more and listen here.
Saturday
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Steve and Tangled Party @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond. Listen here.
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm Aston Magna Family Day @ St. James Place, Great Barrington. Children’s oriented event with performance of Bach and Vivaldi.
5:00 pm – 8:00 pm Kollin K @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm Lupo Citta, Germ House, Creative Writing show at Belltower Records @ Belltower Records, North Adams. Garage Rock. Listen to Lupo Citta here. Listen to Germ House here.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Jackson Whalan @ Dottie’s and Dorothy’s, Pittsfield. Rap, Hip-Hop. Learn more and listen to Jackson here. Read our Featured Musician interview with Jackson here.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Steve Ide & Colby Lewis @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge. Rock, Folk, Pop. Learn more and listen to Colby here. See our interview with featured musician Steve Ide here.
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm The Mikes @ Firehouse Cafe & Bistro, Adams.
7:00 pm Sinking & Arms Like Roses Release Show @ Hot Plate Brewing Co, Pittsfield. Emo, Alt-Rock. Learn more and listen to Sinking here. Learn more and listen to Arms Like Roses here.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Jake Manzi Duo @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox. Rock, Pop, Folk. Learn more and listen here.
7:30 pm – 10:30 pm The Picky Bastards @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont. Bluegrass, Rock. See our Instagram page for videos reels of Picky Bastards.
8:00 pm Son Lux @ MASS MoCA, North Adams. Alternative, Electronic, Rock. Learn more and listen here.
8:00 pm BoDeans @ Mahaiwe, Great Barrington. Alternative Rock. Learn more and listen here.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm An Evening with Ellis Paul @ Guthrie Center, Great Barrington. Folk. Learn more and listen to Ellis here.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Berkshire Bateria @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket. Samba, Brazilian.
8:00 pm Rock 201 @ Knox Trail Inn, East Otis.
Sunday
10:00 am – 12:00 pm Domingo Brunch featuring Lexi Weege @ Dottie’s and Dorothy’s, Pittsfield. Rock, Jazz. Learn more and listen to Lexi here.
12:00 pm – 3:00 pm Michael Duffy @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
12:00 pm – 3:00 pm Jazz Brunch with Natalia Bernal and Jason Ennis @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield. Latin, Jazz. Learn more about Natalia here. Learn more about Jason here.
2:00 pm Music of Mancini Performed by Jukebox Saturday Night @ Colonial Theatre, Pittsfield.
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Hot Vox Trio @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
2:00 pm Berkshire Choral International @ Tanglewood, Lenox. “Explore creative pairs of works with the same text settings by Tallis, Haydn, Biebl, Lauridsen, Barber, Bloch, and Burleigh, among others.”
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm West Stockbridge Chamber Players Spring Concert @ West Stockbridge Historical Society, West Stockbridge. The program includes two works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — his March in D major, K.237/189c (arr. Hudgins) and his String Quintet No. 1 in B flat major, K. 174 — along with Robert Fuchs’ Quintet for Clarinet in E♭ Major, Op. 102.
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Michael Junkins and Friends @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge. Jazz. Learn more and listen here. Featuring Will Hudgins on Vibes.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Whiskey City Duo @ Locker Room Sports Pub, Lee. Rock, Country. Learn more and listen here.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Avi Jacob @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket. Folk. Learn more and listen here.
7:30 pm – 10:00 pm Jackson Whalan @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont. Learn more and listen to Jackson here. Read our Featured Musician interview with Jackson here.
8:00 pm – 11:00 pm Nate Martel @ Zinky’s Pub, Dalton. Rock, Folk. Learn more and listen here.
Please get out and support your local musicians and venues!
— Mark @ Music in the Berkshires