“After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.” — Aldous Huxley.
This week, we honor our veterans, reflect on the recent election cycle, and celebrate all the great musicians in our midst, especially the artists who recently earned much-deserved GRAMMY® nominations, including Tanglewood favorites Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax and jazz musician Nicole Zuraitis, who will perform at Tanglewood this weekend. We have 40 performances in Berkshire County this week, ranging from classical and jazz to rock, pop, folk, hip-hop, gospel, and world music. Below are some highlights for the week ahead, followed by our comprehensive show rundown.
Classical and Opera
We have one classical performance in the county this week: Friday evening’s Concert Choir & Chamber Choir at Williams College. The performance “will feature music that both celebrates and challenges the sphere of political influence, music that celebrates various personal identities and the concept of home, and music that specifically speaks to American patriotism and lineage.” The performance includes Handel’s Zadok the Priest, excerpts from Joel Thompson’s Seven Last Words of the Unarmed, and shorter works by Balfour, Billings, Byrd, Price, Smyth, and others.
Classical music lovers may also enjoy this weekend’s performances of Hope Unfolding: Choral Reflections on Power, Pain, and Perseverance, which is listed under our Something Else category. It includes both classical and popular music sung by the Berkshire Concert Choir – more details below.
Jazz
We have seven jazz performances this week. Tuesday night, you’ll find the Jazz Night with Paul Ostermayer and Friends at Tito’s Mexican Bar and Grill in Pittsfield. Wednesday night, catch the Jen Allen Trio at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge. Thursday, The Lucky 3 plays at the Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn in Lenox. Friday night at Tanglewood, you can enjoy TLI Presents: Nicole Zuraitis – How Love Begins. Zuraitis is a GRAMMY® Award-winning jazz singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, New York-based bandleader, and winner of the prestigious 2021 American Traditions Vocal Competition Gold Medal. She was just nominated for another GRAMMY® for Best Jazz Performance. Also on Friday at Dottie’s in Pittsfield is The Dave Bartley & Friends Supper Club. Sunday at midday, catch the Jazz Brunch with Nick D’Amico at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield. On Sunday night, you’ll find Michael Junkins and Friends at The Lion’s Den. This week, Michael features Charlie Tokarz on saxophone.
Popular (Rock, Pop, Folk, Blues, etc.)
The popular music category dominates our calendar this week, with over 25 performances. We can’t highlight them all, but we will mention a few (see our calendar or show rundown below for all the performances).
The music starts Tuesday with Peter Pashoukos at Methuselah Bar & Lounge in Pittsfield. Wednesday night, local favorites Colby Lewis & Steve Ide are at the Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn. Thursday night, Unfinish’d Bizness comes to The Egremont Barn, bringing their eclectic mix of rock, roots, and garage originals.
Friday night, Music in the Berkshires Featured Musician Jackson Whalan performs hip-hop and rap at Studio 9 in North Adams. Whalan is a fantastic freestyler who delivers incredibly fun performances that will get you out of your seat. Neil Young fans won’t want to miss a two-part tribute to the legend at The Egremont Barn, starting Friday night with The Soundry Presents Billy Keane & The Waking Dream Performing Harvest by Neil Young and continuing on Saturday night with The Soundry & Friends Perform Neil Young’s Harvest Moon.
Also on Friday, The Amy Ryan Band performs at Firefly Gastropub in Lenox. The Wolves, which include members of the band Eavesdrop, are at Hot Plate Brewing in Pittsfield – they will perform again Saturday night at The Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn. Folk-rocker Theo Kandel is at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge; he will perform again there on Saturday night. Neo-folk storyteller Mariee Siou performs at Dream Away Lodge in Becket while Dominic Lavoie & Jeff Beam visit Tourists in North Adams.
Saturday night, catch the 10-piece horn-fueled party band from the Capital Region, The Refrigerators, at The Stationery Factory in Dalton. Simone Stevens is at Dream Away Lodge, and The Liquid Courage Band is at Knox Trail Inn in East Otis.
Sunday morning, catch the Domingo Brunch featuring the Juckets, a bluegrass and Americana band, at Dottie’s Coffee Lounge in Pittsfield. On the Sunday afternoon “winery and brewery circuit,” you’ll find Jack Waldheim at Antimony Brewing in Lenox, Jim Witherell at Balderdash Cellars in Richmond, and Anna May at Hot Plate Brewing in Pittsfield. Up the road in Dalton, you can catch local favorite Melissa Brinton at portaVia.
Sunday evening, you have two incredible options. In the southern part of the county, you’ll find Montreal-based indie-folk duo The Barr Brothers (pictured above) at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield. Check out their dreamy song “Even the Darkness Has Arms,” which has over 110 million streams on Spotify. Up north, you can see critically acclaimed folk singer-songwriter Brooke Annibale at Tourists in North Adams.
Something Else
We have six performances in our Something Else category this week. Wednesday night, you can listen to the contemporary percussion group Talujon as part of the Visiting Artist Series at Williams College. Thursday night, you’ll find Duo al Roo7: Of The Sorrow Songs at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield. The duo comprises Palestinian multi-instrumentalist Zafer Tawil and oud player Rabi Zaki Asher. Saturday afternoon, catch the first of two performances of Hope Unfolding: Choral Reflections on Power, Pain, and Perseverance at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Pittsfield. A chamber orchestra will join the Berkshires Concert Choir to perform J.S. Bach’s Cantata 150, plus other selections, including choral works by Aaron Copland and Randall Thompson and contemporary pieces by U2, Paul Simon, the Wailin’ Jennys, and others. The performances repeats on Sunday afternoon.
Also, on Saturday afternoon, the Williams Gospel Choir performs at Williams College, and on Saturday night, you can see Kasambwe Brothers at MASS MoCA in North Adams. The trio, from Malawi, Africa, uses homemade instruments — a bass guitar crafted from a tree branch and a suitcase drum set made with animal skin — to create infectious grooves using traditional rhythm and soulful harmony.
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. Happy Veterans Day.
Tuesday
5:30 pm – 8:30 pm Jazz Night with Paul Ostermayer and Friends @ Tito’s Mexican Bar and Grill, Pittsfield.
7:00 pm Award winning band Alumn, Peter Pashoukos at Methuselah!! @ Methuselah Bar & Lounge, Pittsfield.
Wednesday
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Jen Allen Trio @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Colby Lewis & Steve Ide @ Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, Lenox.
7:30 pm Talujon – Visiting Artist Series @ Williams College, Williamstown.
Thursday
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm The Lucky Three @ Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, Lenox.
7:30 pm – 10:00 pm UNFINISH’D BIZNESS @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont.
8:00 pm – 11:00 pm Duo al Roo7: Of The Sorrow Songs @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield.
Friday
6:00 pm – 10:00 pm The Dave Bartley & Friends Supper Club @ Dottie’s and Dorothy’s, Pittsfield.
7:00 pm Studio 9 Presents: Jackson Whalan @ Studio 9, North Adams.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Amy Ryan Band @ Firefly Gastropub, Lenox.
7:00 pm TLI Presents: Nicole Zuraitis – How Love Begins @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
7:00 pm – 10:30 pm The Soundry Presents Billy Keane & The Waking Dream Performing Harvest by Neil young @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Pug & John @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
7:00 pm The Wolves @ Hot Plate Brewing Co, Pittsfield.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Theo Kandel @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
7:30 pm Concert Choir & Chamber Choir @ Williams College, Williamstown.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Mariee Siou w/Donnie CoCo @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket.
8:00 pm – 9:30 pm Dominic Lavoie & Jeff Beam @ Tourists, North Adams.
Saturday
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Tony Bernardo @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
3:00 pm Hope Unfolding: Choral Reflections on Power, Pain, and Perseverance @ St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Pittsfield.
4:00 pm Williams Gospel Choir @ Williams College, Williamstown.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Theo Kandel @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Tom Savoy @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
7:00 pm – 10:30 pm The Soundry & Friends Perform Neil Young’s Harvest Moon @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont.
7:30 pm – 10:00 pm The Refrigerators @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Simone Stevens @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket.
8:00 pm Kasambwe Brothers @ MASS MoCA, North Adams.
8:00 pm The Liquid Courage Band @ Knox Trail Inn, East Otis.
8:30 pm – 10:30 pm The Wolves (Members of Eavesdrob Band) @ Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, Lenox.
Sunday
10:00 am – 12:00 pm Domingo Brunch featuring the Juckets @ Dottie’s and Dorothy’s, Pittsfield.
12:00 pm – 3:00 pm Jack Waldheim @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
12:00 pm – 3:00 pm Jazz Brunch with Nick D’Amico @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield.
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm Melissa Brinton @ portaVia, Dalton.
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Jim Witherell @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
3:00 pm ANNA MAY @ Hot Plate Brewing Co, Pittsfield.
3:00 pm Hope Unfolding: Choral Reflections on Power, Pain, and Perseverance @ St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, Pittsfield.
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Michael Junkins and Friends @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
8:00 pm – 11:00 pm The Barr Brothers & La Force @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield.
8:00 pm – 9:30 pm Brooke Annibale @ Tourists, North Adams.
Please get out and support your local musicians and venues!
— Mark @ Music in the Berkshires