“Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness.” — Maya Angelou
We have 37 live music performances in Berkshire County this week, ranging from classical and jazz to rock, pop, Americana, folk, Chinese, and Middle Eastern music, along with the three-day Barbès In The Woods music festival. Below are some highlights for the week ahead, followed by our comprehensive show rundown. 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: Sunday afternoon’s TLI Chamber Concert at the Tanglewood Linde Center. Victor Romanul (violin), Michael Zaretsky (viola), and Xak Bjerken (piano) perform works by John Williams, Mozart, and Shostakovich.
Jazz
We have four jazz performances this week. Wednesday night, catch the Pamela Knowles Trio at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge. Thursday, The Lucky 3 plays at the Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn in Lenox. Sunday at midday, catch the Jazz Brunch with Bobby MacVeety 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 Kris Allen 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 Wednesday with local favorites Colby Lewis & Steve Ide at the Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn. They will perform again Saturday night at Antimony Brewing in Lenox. Thursday night, Americana, indie folk, and southern rock artist Sam Burchfield (pictured above) visits the Egremont Barn. Burchfield’s song “The Last of the Honey Bees” has over 16M streams on Spotify. If you’re a fan of bands like Avett Brothers, Trampled by Turtles, The Lumineers, or Noah Kahan, I think you’ll enjoy Burchfield’s music. Another popular rock band, The Shivers from New York City, plays at Tourist in North Adams, along with Morgan Weidinger.
Friday night is a night of tributes. Start Making Sense performs at The Stationery Factory in Dalton. They are a tribute to Talking Heads, one of my all-time favorite bands. Local diva Chantell is doing a special performance at The Egremont Barn, a Tribute To Aretha Franklin with Chantell and Friends. Over at the Colonial Theatre, you’ll find Tommy: A 55th Anniversary Concert Celebration of the legendary rock opera by The Who. Local favorite Wanda Houston performs at Firefly Gastropub in Lenox, and folk-rocker Theo Kandel is at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge – he’ll be there again Saturday night. Pop artist Lost Film is at Dream Away Lodge in Becket.
Saturday night, Canadian folk trio The Wailin’ Jennys come to the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington for a sold-out show. Up the road at The Stationery Factory, you’ll find The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow 10 Year Anniversary Tour. Read my interview with the band, originally published in the July issue of Berkshire Magazine, in which they reflect on their 10-year journey together. Trae Sheehan performs at the Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn – we saw Trae open for Taylor Ashton at The Egremont Barn a few weeks ago – check out the short videos of both of their performances on our Instagram page. Brookly-based country/folk artist Marley Hale with Red McAdam perform at Dream Away Lodge, and elsewhere in Becket, you can attend Heat up the Becket Arts Center w/ ‘D-Rod and the Uprising’ to raise funds for the Center.
Sunday morning, catch the Domingo Brunch featuring Jake Manzi, a pop, rock, and folk musician, at Dottie’s Coffee Lounge in Pittsfield. On the Sunday afternoon “winery and brewery circuit,” you’ll find Mike Duffy at Antimony Brewing in Lenox and Tom Corrigan at Balderdash Cellars in Richmond. Up the road in Dalton, you can catch Pug & John at portaVia.
Sunday evening, you have two great choices. Acclaimed folk artist Reed Foehl comes to Dream Away Lodge. Or, you can see Amarillo, Texas-based acoustic guitarist and soundscape composer Hayden Pedigo at Tourists in North Adams. You may have first heard about Pedigo when he made a much-publicized run for Amarillo city council after a satirical campaign video went viral.
Something Else
We have four performances in our Something Else category this week, plus a three-day music festival. On Wednesday night, you can enjoy the Chinese Music Ensemble at Williams College, followed by the Middle Eastern Music Ensemble on Thursday night. Also on Thursday night, Esther’s Laboratory, the literary and sonic musings of Brooklyn-based Esther Quansah, performs at the Down County Social Club at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield. Back up at Williams on Friday night is the Williams Percussion Ensemble. Also on Friday night, the three-day festival Barbès In The Woods kicks off at Race Brook Lodge. Friday night features several acts, including Slavic Soul Party, a Balkan brass soul and funk band, and Snacky, which combines tenor, baritone, and bass Taishogotos (a mixture of a typewriter and a zither) along with drum soundscapes.
Barbès In The Woods continues Saturday from 1 pm to 4 am (for the late-night crowd!) with a diverse line-up of 15 performances, including double-bassist Garth Stevenson doing one of his cherished music meditation hikes, Persian folk-rock artist Mehrnam Rastegari, samba, funk and soul artist Rogê, and many more. The festival wraps up on Sunday with another performance by Garth Stevenson, a set by K8A: Kaethe Hostetter, performing Ethiopian traditional music and closing with Son Rompe Pera, a marimba-centered Mexican fusion band, which some of you may have seen give an incredible performance in the rain on the No Depression stage at FreshGrass 2023.
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
No Performances.
Wednesday
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Pamela Knowles 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 Chinese Music Ensemble @ Williams College, Williamstown.
Thursday
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm The Lucky Three @ Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, Lenox.
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Calliope Cafe @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton.
7:30 pm Middle Eastern Music Ensemble @ Williams College, Williamstown.
7:30 pm – 10:00 pm Sam Burchfield @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont.
8:00 pm – 11:00 pm DCSC: Esther’s Laboratory @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield.
8:00 pm THE SHIVERS w/ MORGAN WEIDINGER @ Tourists, North Adams.
Friday
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Wanda Houston @ Firefly Gastropub, Lenox.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Jim Witherell @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Theo Kandel @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Start Making Sense @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Tommy: A 55th Anniversary Concert Celebration @ Colonial Theatre, Pittsfield.
7:30 pm – 10:30 pm Tribute To Aretha Franklin with Chantell and Friends @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont.
7:30 pm Williams Percussion Ensemble @ Williams College, Williamstown.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Lost Film @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket.
8:00 pm – 9:00 am Barbès In The Woods @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield.
Saturday
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm All Ten & John @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Heat up the Becket Arts Center w/ ‘D-Rod and the Uprising’ @ Becket Arts Center, Becket.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Theo Kandel @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
7:00 pm Razztime @ Route 8 Pub, Becket.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Colby Lewis & Steve Ide @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
7:30 pm – 10:00 pm The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow 10 Year Anniversary Tour @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm The Wailin’ Jennys @ Mahaiwe, Great Barrington.
8:00 pm – 10:30 pm Marley Hale with Red McAdam @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket.
8:00 pm – 11:00 pm Rock 201 at The Knox @ Knox Trail Inn, East Otis.
8:30 pm – 10:30 pm Trae Sheehan @ Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, Lenox.
Sunday
10:00 am – 12:00 pm Domingo Brunch featuring Jake Manzi @ Dottie’s and Dorothy’s, Pittsfield.
12:00 pm – 3:00 pm Mike Duffy @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
12:00 pm – 3:00 pm Jazz Brunch with Bobby MacVeety @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield.
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm Pug and John @ portaVia, Dalton.
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Tom Corrigan @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
3:00 pm TLI Chamber Concert @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Michael Junkins and Friends @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Reed Foehl @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket.
8:00 pm – 9:30 pm Hayden Pedigo @ Tourists, North Adams.
Please get out and support your local musicians and venues!
— Mark @ Music in the Berkshires