In the first full week of November, music fans in the Berkshires may be adjusting to the time change, gearing up for Election Day, or looking forward to another stretch of unseasonably warm weather midweek. Amid it all, music offers a steadying presence, and this week doesn’t disappoint, with 41 performances across the county. From classical and jazz to rock, pop, folk, blues, and salsa, there’s something for everyone. Below are some highlights for the week ahead, followed by our comprehensive show rundown.
Classical and Opera
It’s a great week for classical music with six performances in the county, starting Tuesday night with the Balourdet Quartet as part of the Visiting Artist Series at Williams College. They will perform works by Haydn, Bartók, and Smetana. Friday night at Berkshire Community College is a unique event hosted by Berkshire Bach: FILM: CHACONNE (2023). The multi-part event includes a discussion by choreographer and filmmaker Peter Sparling, a live performance of the first four movements of Bach’s BWV 1004 by Berkshire Bach’s Artistic Director Eugene Drucker, and a screening of the film Chaconne. The event repeats Saturday night at the Lenox Community Center.
Also on Saturday night, you can enjoy TLI Presents: Arcis Saxophone Quartet – Quirky Nightclub Chronicles at the Linde Center at Tanglewood. The quartet will perform works by Geiss, Mellits, Erdenebaatar, O’Halloran, and Piazzolla. On Sunday afternoon, you’ll find a special fundraiser for the Stockbridge Public Library: Gil Shaham Benefit Concert at the Linde Center at Tanglewood. The violinist has earned multiple GRAMMY® awards and performs regularly with the Berlin Philharmonic, Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco Symphonies, the Israel Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, and in multi-year residencies with the Orchestras of Montreal, Stuttgart, and Singapore. Also on Sunday afternoon, you’ll find a Faculty Concert: Bach Violin and Harpsichord Sonatas, part 1 at Bard College at Simon’s Rock in Great Barrington, in which three of Bach’s six sonatas for violin and obligato harpsichord will be performed by guest artist Ronald Gorevic and faculty member Larry Wallach.
Jazz
We have nine jazz performances this week. To start the week, First Monday Jazz returns with Mike Junkins Trio at Methuselah Bar & Lounge in Pittsfield. Wednesday night, you’ll find the Michael Junkins Trio at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge. Thursday, The Lucky 3 plays at the Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn in Lenox. Also on Thursday, you’ll find Jazz Nights – Combos at Williams College, followed by Jazz Nights – Williams Jazz Orchestra on Friday night. Saturday night, Lonny Jarrett and Friends perform at Dottie’s and Dorothy’s in Pittsfield. And back at Dottie’s on Sunday morning, you can enjoy the Domingo Brunch featuring Razztime, a duo comprised of Simon Guthrie and Dave Bacon, performing jazz and ragtime music. Sunday at midday, catch the Jazz Brunch with Pamela Knowles 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 “Junk” with Will Hudgins on vibraphone.
Popular (Rock, Pop, Folk, Blues, etc.)
The popular music category dominates our calendar this week, with over 20 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 in Lenox. Thursday night, you’ll find Music in the Manton: Circuit des Yeux, Bill Nace, and kite/wing at The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, co-hosted by Belltower Records. Circuit des Yeux is the project of Haley Fohr, who has a four-octave voice and plays 12-string guitar. Fohr’s music defies genre classification, but folk-experimental may be the best description. Also on Thursday, folk-Americana band Rounder’s Revival performs at The Egremont Barn.
Friday night, Tommy Quayle is back at Methuselah Bar & Lounge in Pittsfield, performing music ranging from rock to folk, country, blues, and punk. Folk-rocker Sam Brown is at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge. Americana and bluegrass band Brookside Project is at Firefly Gastropub in Lenox. Folk singer-songwriter Bernice Lewis is at Studio 9 in North Adams as part of their Railway Concerts series. Local favorites Hot Sauce are back at The Egremont Barn, while folk-rocker Jake Klar is at Dream Away Lodge in Becket.
Saturday night, celebrate a quarter century of great blues at the Misty Blues 25th Anniversary Concert at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield. Joining Misty Blues (pictured above) will be a star-studded group of over 25 local musicians. Just down the street in Pittsfield, you’ll find another Silver Lake Presents show at Hot Plate Brewing, featuring several hard rock bands: Emma’s Secrets, Hardcar, The Pilgrims, and Blackpool. Camellia, featuring local artists Taylor Slonaker and Hannah Bracken, performs at The Lion’s Den. The Jamie McLean Band is back at The Egremont Barn performing their blend of southern rock, blues, and Americana music. Metno, a solo electronics project started by Brooklyn-based sound artist and electronic musician Monte Weber, performs at Dream Away Lodge.
Starting at noon Sunday and continuing into the early evening, you can help those impacted by the recent hurricane damage in North Carolina at ROCK FOR NORTH CAROLINA with Whiskey City & Friends at The Stationery Factory in Dalton. Nine different bands will take the stage, including Whiskey City, Rev Tor, and Misty Blues. On the Sunday afternoon “winery and brewery circuit,” you’ll find Nate Martel at Antimony Brewing in Lenox and Pug & John at Balderdash Cellars in Richmond. Up the road in Dalton, you can catch Dan Gingras at portaVia. Sunday evening, you have two choices. You’ll find indie folk-rocker Al Olender with opener Hannah Bracken at The Egremont Barn and Chicago-based alt-indie duo Finom at Tourists in North Adams.
Something Else
We have three performances in our Something Else category this week. On Friday, The Eagles Band performs at the Colonial Theatre, featuring works by Ralph Vaughan Williams, John Philip Sousa, Leonard Bernstein, and John Williams. Saturday at noon, bring the family back to the Colonial for the Kids Concerts with Terry A La Berry and Friends. And Saturday evening, dance the night away with the all-women salsa band Lulada Club performing salsa, bolero, and cha-cha-cha music at Club B10 at MASS MoCA in North Adams.
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
7:00 pm First Monday Jazz returns with Mike Junkins Trio @ Methuselah Bar & Lounge, Pittsfield.
Tuesday
7:30 pm Balourdet Quartet – Visiting Artist Series @ Williams College, Williamstown.
Wednesday
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Michael Junkins Trio @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm Colby Lewis & Steve Ide @ Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, Lenox.
Thursday
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm Music in the Manton: Circuit des Yeux, Bill Nace, and kite/wing @ The Clark Art Institute, Williamstown.
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm The Lucky 3 @ Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, Lenox.
7:30 pm Jazz Nights – Combos @ Williams College, Williamstown.
7:30 pm – 10:30 pm Rounder’s Revival @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont.
Friday
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm Tommy Quayle: high-energy rock-folk-blues-country-punk mix!! @ Methuselah Bar & Lounge, Pittsfield.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Jon Berman @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Sam Brown @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
7:00 pm FILM: CHACONNE (2023) @ Berkshire Community College, Pittsfield.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Brookside Project @ Firefly Gastropub, Lenox.
7:00 pm The Eagles Band @ Colonial Theatre, Pittsfield.
7:30 pm Jazz Nights – Williams Jazz Orchestra @ Williams College, Williamstown.
7:30 pm Railway Concerts Presents: Bernice Lewis @ Studio 9, North Adams.
7:30 pm – 10:30 pm Hot Sauce @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Jake Klar @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket.
Saturday
12:00 pm Kids Concerts with Terry A La Berry and Friends @ Colonial Theatre, Pittsfield.
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Hot Vox Trio @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
6:00 pm Silver Lake Presents @ Hot Plate Brewing Co, Pittsfield.
6:00 pm – 10:00 pm Lonny Jarrett and Friends @ Dottie’s and Dorothy’s, Pittsfield.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Camellia @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
7:00 pm FILM: CHACONNE (2023) @ Lenox Community Center, Lenox.
7:00 pm TLI Presents: Arcis Saxophone Quartet – Quirky Nightclub Chronicles @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Jordan Franklin @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Misty Blues 25th Anniversary Concert @ Colonial Theatre, Pittsfield.
7:30 pm – 10:30 pm Jamie McLean Band @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Metno @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket.
8:00 pm Lulada Club @ MASS MoCA, North Adams.
Sunday
10:00 am – 12:00 pm Domingo Brunch featuring Razztime @ Dottie’s and Dorothy’s, Pittsfield.
12:00 pm – 3:00 pm Nate Martel @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
12:00 pm – 7:00 pm ROCK FOR NORTH CAROLINA with Whiskey City & Friends @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton.
12:00 pm – 3:00 pm Jazz Brunch with Pamela Knowles @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield.
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm Dan Gingras @ portaVia, Dalton.
2:00 pm Gil Shaham Benefit Concert @ Tanglewood, Lenox.
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Pug & John @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
3:00 pm – 4:30 pm Faculty Concert: Bach Violin and Harpsichord Sonatas, part 1 @ Bard College at Simon’s Rock, Great Barrington.
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Michael Junkins and Friends @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Al Olender with opener Hannah Bracken @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont.
8:00 pm – 9:30 pm Finom @ Tourists, North Adams.
Please get out and support your local musicians and venues!
— Mark @ Music in the Berkshires