The Berkshires are buzzing with Halloween spirit this week as pumpkins, witches, and ghouls adorn the landscape, setting the stage for a weekend packed with festive parties and musical events. With 45 live performances on the calendar, there’s something for everyone—from jazz, rock, and folk to Celtic, country, and even captivating marimba rhythms inspired by the sounds of Zambia and Zimbabwe. Below are some highlights for the week ahead, followed by our comprehensive show rundown.
Classical and Opera
There are no classical performances in the county this week – classical music returns next week with two performances.
Jazz
We have seven jazz performances this week, starting with two on Wednesday night. The Renee Rosnes Quartet comes to Williams College as part of the Visiting Artist Series. Led by Rosnes, the acclaimed jazz pianist and winner of six Juno awards, the quartet includes Steve Nelson on vibraphone, Peter Washington on bass, and Carl Allen on drums. Also on Wednesday, you’ll find the George Schuller Trio at The Lion’s Den in Stockbridge. Thursday night, The Lucky 3 perform at the Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn in Lenox.
Friday night, the Richard Stanmeyer Quintet performs a tribute to Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker at the West Stockbridge Old Town Hall. Before Stanmeyer’s performance, you can hang out at the Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, grab a bite to eat, and listen to Piano with Harris MacDonald.
Sunday midday, you can chill at the Jazz Brunch with Charlie Tokarz 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 35 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 Monday with Parker Millsap (pictured above) & Nat Myers at Tourists as part of their Sing for Your Slumber series. The popular folk and blues duo are touring together across the US before Millsap heads out for a solo European tour. Millsap’s song, “Hades Pleads,” has over 13M streams on Spotify. On Wednesday, local favorites Colby Lewis & Steve Ide are at the Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn in Lenox.
Thursday offers several great shows. You can see the talent of the future at Calliope Cafe at The Stationery Factory in Dalton – read our story on this impressive program for young Berkshire performing artists here. Up at William’s College, get your tuchus moving at the Super Funk Groove Party Explosion, which is the senior capstone project of local prodigy and Williams student Diego Mongue. The performance will be recorded for a live album. Mongue will perform again on Saturday night at the Diego Mongue Band – Road To Memphis Benefit Concert at the Adams Theatre. The fundraiser will raise money to send the band to the International Blues Competition finals in Memphis in January. Americana band Rounder’s Revival performs at The Egremont Barn, while soul and R&B musician Glori Wilder is at Dream Away Lodge, Becket.
Friday night, you’ll find the Misty Blues Band at the October Supper Club at Dottie’s and Dorothy’s in Pittsfield as part of their month-long residency. Just across the street at Methuselah Bar & Lounge, the Celtic band Kilashandra performs. Pioneer Valley rocker Nate Martel performs at Knox Trail Inn in East Otis – he performs again on Saturday night at Dream Away Lodge. If the third installment of Spaghetti Western at the Stationery Factory is anything like the first two, it will likely sell out. Bobby Sweet & The Chaps will perform, followed by a spaghetti dinner buffet and a classic Western movie. Over at the Lion’s Den, rock and pop artist Evan Lanoue performs, while folk and bluegrass favorites The Mammals with Opener Jude Roberts return to The Egremont Barn.
Friday night also kicks off a wave of Halloween performances, which continue through the weekend and then into next week. Rock & Roll Graveyard takes place at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, while Doctor Gasp performs at Dream Away Lodge. On Saturday night, catch Silverlake Presents: Hot Plate Halloween Vol. 2 at Hot Plate Brewing in Pittsfield, featuring four bands: Nice Try Kid, Arms Like Roses, Sinking, and Crimson Lake. In Becket, you’ll find a “Roaring 20’s” Halloween Bash with Rounder’s Revival at Route 8 Pub and a Halloween Party at Papa Bob’s Entertainment Hall, and just up the road in East Otis, you can rock with The 413s at the Knox Trail Inn Halloween Party. For something a bit different, watch and listen to Gary Lucas plays Vampyr at Race Brook Lodge in Sheffield. The former Captain Beefheart guitarist will perform the score to Carl Dreyer’s silent horror classic, VAMPYR.
Outside of the Halloween shows on Saturday, you’ll find the Dalton Country Fest at The Stationery Factory, featuring Hotshot Hillbillies, Whiskey Sour (members of Whiskey City), Kollin Kozlowski, and Square Dancing with Cliff Brodeur & Terry Hall. Diva & The Dirty Boys perform at The Lion’s Den, Moonshine Holler at the Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, and Music in the Berkshires Featured Musician Jordan Weller and The Feathers at The Egremont Barn.
Sunday morning, enjoy the folk-Americana Aimee Van Dyne Trio at the Domingo Brunch at Dottie’s. Van Dyne is a two-time John Lennon Songwriting Contest Finalist in both the Country and Folk categories. Sunday afternoon, on the “winery and brewery circuit,” you’ll find Mike Duffy at Antimony Brewing in Lenox and Livio Gravini at Balderdash Cellars in Richmond. Up the road at portaVia in Dalton, Pug and John perform. Sunday evening, the dark cabaret and gothic polka band Dust Bowl Faeries are at Dream Away Lodge. Finally, you can catch garage-rock troubadour Stephen Clair at Tourists.
Something Else
In our Something Else category this week is the Zambezi Marimba Band – Family Days Concert at Williams College on Saturday night. The band plays danceable and melodious marimba music from Zambia and Zimbabwe.
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
8:00 pm – 9:30 pm Parker Millsap & Nat Myers @ Tourists, North Adams.
Tuesday
No Performances.
Wednesday
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm George Schuller 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 Renee Rosnes Quartet – Visiting Artist Series @ Williams College, Williamstown.
Thursday
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm The Lucky 3 @ Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, Lenox.
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Calliope Cafe @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton.
7:00 pm Super Funk Groove Party Explosion @ Williams College, Williamstown.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Taraka DJ @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
7:30 pm – 10:00 pm Rounder’s Revival @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Glori Wilder @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket.
Friday
4:00 pm – 7:00 pm Piano with Harris MacDonald @ Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, Lenox.
6:00 pm – 10:00 pm Misty Blues Band October Supper Club @ Dottie’s and Dorothy’s, Pittsfield.
6:00 pm Nate Martel @ Knox Trail Inn, East Otis.
6:00 pm – 9:30 pm Spaghetti Western 3 @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Evan Lanoue @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
7:00 pm – 8:30 pm Richard Stanmeyer Quintet @ West Stockbridge Old Town Hall, West Stockbridge.
7:00 pm Kilashandra @ Methuselah Bar & Lounge, Pittsfield.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Jim Witherell @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
7:30 pm – 9:30 pm Rock & Roll Graveyard @ Colonial Theatre, Pittsfield.
7:30 pm – 10:30 pm The Mammals with Opener Jude Roberts @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Doctor Gasp @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Fall Music Series: Jack Waldheim @ Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort, Hancock.
Saturday
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Brian Benlien @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
6:00 pm Silverlake Presents: Hot Plate Halloween Vol. 2 @ Hot Plate Brewing Co, Pittsfield.
6:00 pm – 10:00 pm Dalton Country Fest @ The Stationery Factory, Dalton.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Jordan Franklin @ Antimony Brewing, Lenox.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Diva & The Dirty Boys @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
7:00 pm “Roaring 20’s” Halloween Bash with Rounder’s Revival @ Route 8 Pub, Becket.
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm Diego Mongue Band – Road To Memphis Benefit Concert @ Adams Theatre, Adams.
7:30 pm Zambezi Marimba Band – Family Days Concert @ Williams College, Williamstown.
7:30 pm – 10:30 pm Jordan Weller and The Feathers @ Egremont Barn, South Egremont.
8:00 pm The 413s at the Knox Trail Inn Halloween Party! @ Knox Trail Inn, East Otis.
8:00 pm – 10:00 pm Nate Martel @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket.
8:00 pm – 11:00 pm Gary Lucas plays Vampyr @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield.
8:00 pm – 11:00 pm Fall Music Series – Vapors of Morphine @ Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort, Hancock.
8:30 pm – 10:30 pm Moonshine Holler @ Ostrich Room at Apple Tree Inn, Lenox.
9:00 pm Halloween Party @ Papa Bob’s Entertainment Hall, Becket.
Sunday
10:00 am – 12:00 pm Domingo Brunch featuring the Aimee Van Dyne Trio @ 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 Charlie Tokarz @ Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield.
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm Pug and John @ portaVia, Dalton.
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm Livio Gravini @ Balderdash Cellars, Richmond.
6:30 pm – 9:00 pm Dust Bowl Faeries with special guest LOU CRAFT @ Dream Away Lodge, Becket.
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Michael Junkins and Friends @ The Lion’s Den, Stockbridge.
8:00 pm – 9:30 pm Stephen Clair @ Tourists, North Adams.
Please get out and support your local musicians and venues!
— Mark @ Music in the Berkshires