The third week of September ushers in the sounds of fall with the annual FreshGrass Festival at MASS MoCA, bringing more than 40 performances to North Adams. But that’s just the beginning—across Berkshire County, another 43 live shows fill the week with classical, jazz, rock, folk, Irish, American Songbook, and more. Dive into a few highlights below, and don’t forget to explore the full schedule to plan your next musical adventure.
- Julie Doiron at Tourists on Monday. Doiron’s song “August 10” from Broken Girl gained popularity on TikTok in late 2024, causing it to reach number 12 on the Billboard Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart and accumulate over 135 million streams on Spotify.
- Charming Disaster at Dream Away Lodge on Thursday. Check out this goth-folk musical duo from Brooklyn, NY, inspired by the dark humor of Edward Gorey and Tim Burton, the murder ballads of Americana, and the theatrical style of cabaret. They create playfully dark songs that tell stories about myth, magic, science, and the occult.
- Parker Barrow at The Stationery Factory on Thursday. This blues-infused Southern rock band draws inspiration from The Black Crowes, The Allman Brothers Band, Tedeschi Trucks Band, and Whiskey Myers.
- FreshGrass North Adams at MASS MoCA on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Enjoy three days of roots music at this annual festival, featuring over 40 performances, including headliners such as Old Crow Medicine Show (pictured above), Sierra Hull, Greensky Bluegrass, and more. Plus, you can see some of your favorite local artists, including Andy Wrba, Hannah Bracken, 5 Pound Horse, and Ciarra Fragale.
- Illuminating Bach with Coleman Itzkoff at Adams Theatre on Friday. The talented Itzkoff leads a program that highlights three of J.S. Bach’s timeless Cello Suites—works that have influenced the solo cello repertoire for centuries.
- A Taste of Ireland: The Irish Music and Dance Sensation at Colonial Theatre on Friday. The Irish music and dance sensation returns to the U.S. for a limited run – see them at The Colonial.
- The Berkshire Bach Harpsichord Festival: Kenneth Weiss at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on Saturday. Weiss, a Professor of Chamber Music at the Paris Conservatory and a regular performer with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, performs Bach’s “Goldberg” Variations, complete, in his first solo recital for BBS.
- The Laura Anglade Quartet at New Marlborough Meeting House on Saturday. Anglade, a Toronto-based jazz vocalist, will perform an afternoon of the Great American Songbook and more.
- Rock the Pantry at The Colonial Theatre on Saturday. Don’t miss this special benefit concert for Pittsfield’s South Community Food Pantry! Billy Keane is back in town for the event, which will include performances by the Wanda Houston Band, Natalia Bernal and Jason Ennis, and Jackson DuCharme, a 14-year-old who performs an Elvis tribute.
- Old No. 1 at 50 – Celebrating the Spirit of Guy Clark at The Guthrie Center on Saturday. If you love Guy Clark’s music, don’t miss this special show celebrating the 50th anniversary of Clark’s debut album, Old No. 1, which has inspired generations of American songwriters, troubadours, and music fans.
- Dover String Quartet at South Mountain Concert Hall on Sunday. Nominated for two Grammy Awards and named by BBC Music Magazine as one of the greatest string quartets of the last 100 years, the quartet will perform works by Haydn, Dvořák, and Mendelssohn.
And don’t miss the incredible local musicians performing around the county this week, including Colby Lewis & Steve Ide, Hot Sauce w/ Juliet Hawkins & Emma Jo, Wanda Houston & Robert Putnum, The Lucky Five, 5 Pound Horse, Rounders Revival, and Katherine Winston.
You can learn more about all of these performances in our day-by-day show rundown below, or jump right to our music calendar. Use the subscribe button below to receive this free weekly rundown of upcoming performances in your inbox each Monday.
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No Performances.Please get out and support your local musicians and venues!
— Mark @ Music in the Berkshires