NEPM's Smart and Funny People
Jad Abumrad: Words Fail Me
Academy of Music, Northampton
Saturday, Feb. 6, 2027 at 7:30 p.m.
Priority Booking open now with promo code NEPMLOVE
Just announced! Jad Abumrad, creator and former host of Radiolab is coming to Northampton in February. His show, Words Fail Me, is a deeply personal meditation on what it feels like to live inside information overload — and what we can learn from the last few times humanity went through this. Order your tickets now with promo code NEPMLOVE to get some great seats before they go on sale to the general public on Friday, Aug. 14 at 10 a.m.
NEPM's Smart & Funny People
Hidden Brain: On Stage with Shankar Vedantam
Academy of Music, Northampton
Friday, Aug. 21 at 7 p.m.
Are there parts of our minds that are hidden from us? This question launched the Hidden Brain podcast ten years ago. Since then, Hidden Brain has helped millions of listeners accomplish their goals, improve their relationships, and develop a deeper understanding of their emotions. Now, host and creator Shankar Vedantam brings seven key insights from the first decade of Hidden Brain to the stage. Whether you’re new to the show or a longtime listener, this evening of science and storytelling will change how you think about yourself.
Tumble Science Podcast for Kids and NEPM Present
Dino Map Adventure Live!
7 stops from Gill to Chicopee
Sunday, Aug. 23 – Saturday, Sept. 26
Join Tumble Science Podcast for Kids and NEPM for a series of events at each of the local stops on the Dino Map Adventure! Each site will feature a meet and greet, scientist Q&A, and a guided presentation of the amazing fossils you can find all over the Pioneer Valley. Tumble will also be giving out passport books and stamps at each event! Tumble Science co-hosts and co-founders Marshall Escamilla and Lindsay Patterson will be present at each date along with a guest scientist.
Jacob’s Pillow Week 8
Jacob’s Pillow, Becket
Wednesday, Aug. 12 – Sunday, Aug. 16
Community Day Friday, Aug. 14 at 2:30 p.m.
The Martha Graham Dance Company returns to the Ted Shawn Theatre during its centennial year with a program spanning Graham classics and newer works. As of this writing, a very limited number of tickets are available. At the Doris Duke Theatre, tap dancer, choreographer and vocalist Brinae Ali presents Baby Laurence Legacy Project. Friday’s free Community Day includes movement classes, dance-themed activities for kids, tours and a 5:30 p.m. performance on the outdoor stage by Artists of the Berkshires.
Hamlet
Shakespeare & Company, Lenox
Thursday, Aug. 13 – Sunday, Aug. 30
Hamlet is Shakespeare’s most searching play — a gripping story of grief, conscience, and the cost of action. Haunted by his father’s ghost, a young prince must navigate a world of secrets, power, and betrayal, where nothing is as it appears. By turns thrilling, darkly funny, and deeply human, this production brings Shakespeare’s language to life with clarity, physicality, and immediacy.
Fly Fishing 101
Great Falls Discovery Center, Turners Falls
Thursday, Aug. 13 from 5 – 8 p.m.
Join MassWildlife to get started with a wonderful pastime. Learn about fly fishing gear, how to rig, and cast a fly rod, as well as tips on how to fly fish. This class is designed for beginner fly anglers (ages 15+). Bring your own fly-fishing gear or borrow from the Discovery Center. Preregistration is required.
Middlefield Fair
7 Bell Road, Middlefield
Friday, Aug. 14 – Sunday, Aug. 16
Let the country fair season begin! Tucked away in the southwest corner of Hampshire County, just off the Skyline Trail and not far from Glendale Falls, you’ll find the Middlefield Fair. Expect oxen, horse, truck and tractor pulls, a cattle show and petting zoo, line dancing, fiddlers, plenty of kids’ activities, and lots of yummy fair food to indulge in. Plus, some of those only-at-a-country-fair contests: pie eating, skillet tossing, and chainsaw throwing. I’m guessing that the drive there will be gorgeous. A bit of advice: download an offline map to your phone ahead of time that covers your route to Middlefield, just in case you lose cell service along the way.
Chester Theatre: Dear Alien
Chester Town Hall Theatre, Chester
Friday, Aug. 14 – Sunday, Aug. 23
In Liz Duffy-Adams’ cheeky existential comedy, a reclusive advice columnist known as “Dear Alien” is trying to finish a book, answer readers, help the lovelorn, enlighten the confused, dodge online trolls, avoid financial ruin and — no small thing — explain the nature of human existence. All under a deadline. Michelle Ong Hendrick directs. This is the final production of Chester's 2026 summer season.
Berkshires StorySLAM
Adams Theater on Saturday, Aug. 15 at 7:30 p.m.
’62 Center for Theatre and Dance on Sunday, Aug. 16 at 3 p.m.
Come out and cheer for your neighbors as local storytellers from all walks of life take the stage to share raw, hilarious, and deeply moving stories. Following a very successful debut last year, this production is now expanding to two venues — The Adams Theater in Adams and '62 Center for Theatre & Dance at Williams College in Williamstown. Both performances feature the same storyteller lineup performing the same stories, so choose the night and location that fits your schedule best.
Bhangra Liberation Orchestra
Iron Horse, Florence
Sunday, Aug. 16 at 7 p.m.
Based in New York City, the Bhangra Liberation Orchestra makes rebellious and joyful music to fortify hearts on and off the dance floor. Rooted in the genres of bhangra, qawwali, Afrobeat, and jazz, BLO draws from Punjabi ancestral wisdom with a heavy dose of musical improvisation to deliver a clear message of love, unity, and liberation. Anthemic brassy melodies intersect with angular guitar lines, energetic dhol beats, and ecstatic vocals in Punjabi, English, and Spanish.
Pedro Pastor y Los Locos Descalzos
De la Luz Soundstage, Holyoke
Sunday, Aug. 16 at 7 p.m.
Madrid-born Pedro Pastor comes from a powerful Spanish musical lineage, but what he’s building is his own. His latest album, Escorpiano, deepens his voice as an artist — layering poetic lyricism with rhythms that pull from cumbia, rumba, folk, and beyond. The result is music that speaks to identity, migration, belonging, and the beauty of collective experience.
Plainfield Concerts at 7: The Lysander Piano Trio
Plainfield Congregational Church, Plainfield
Monday, Aug. 17 at 7 p.m.
The Lysander Piano Trio will perform a wide-ranging program of Haydn, Granados, Jennifer Higdon and Schoenberg in the acoustically splendid Plainfield Congregational Church. The trio has spent over a decade performing around the US with more than 100 appearances at venues including The Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, The Mostly Mozart Festival and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. We’re so fortunate to have the chance to hear them at a concert where admission is free, with donations gratefully accepted. Two more concerts at 7 follow: the Borromeo String Quartet on Aug. 24 and a high caliber 13-member wind ensemble performing Mozart’s glorious “Gran Partita” on Aug. 31.
Transformance 36: Moonage Daydream
Pines Theater, Look Park, Florence
Tuesday, Aug. 18 from 3 – 9:30 p.m.
The Northampton Arts Council proudly presents the 36th annual summer celebration of music, culture, and community. Formerly known as Transperformance, this single-day festival brings regional musicians and performers together to interpret legendary repertoire, with all proceeds funding municipal arts grants and local youth enrichment programs. This year’s theme, Moonage Daydream, honors our unique home in the cosmos with performances inspired by intergalactic superstars, cosmic innovators, and astral travelers. The 18-band lineup includes Rival Galaxies taking on LCD Soundsystem; Gundy + Magic Carpet Band performing a Dark Side of the Moon medley; and Soul Magnets — featuring vocalist Kaliis Smith from The Fabulous 413 — channeling Parliament-Funkadelic.
Richard Russo in Person
Odyssey Bookshop, South Hadley
Wednesday, Aug. 19 at 7 p.m.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Empire Falls returns with a new novel, Under the Falls. It’s about a crime in a small town that exposes long-held secrets and betrayals among a group of lifelong friends. He will be in conversation with Martha Ackmann, a local journalist and author who writes about women who’ve changed America. Her latest biography is of Dolly Parton.
Barrington Stage Company: Dead Girl's Quinceañera
St. Germain Stage, Pittsfield
Through Sunday, Aug. 29
Dead Girl’s Quinceañera is a darkly hilarious take on true-crime obsession, teenage bravado, and what happens when girls decide to stop waiting for answers. When Maria goes missing from her quinceañera, three best friends race to solve the mystery — interrogating suspects, inventing theories, and roasting each other along the way.
NAB TICKETS NOW
Kimaya Diggs Album Release Show
Academy of Music, Northampton
Saturday, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m.
Western Mass-based artist Kimaya Diggs is releasing her third studio album, Green. It’s a love note to the New England landscape with twelve tracks of glittering, genre-bending indie pop, carried by Diggs’ powerful, honeyed vocals, and honest, attentive lyricism. Backed by a band of longtime Western Mass artists including members of LuxDeluxe, Cloudbelly, and others, the Green release show will be a celebration of the local music scene, boundless creativity, and collaboration.
Samantha Bee: How to Survive Menopause
The Mahaiwe, Great Barrington
Friday, Nov. 13 at 8 p.m.
Whenever she comes to the 413, Samantha Bee shows sell out fast. In How To Survive Menopause, Bee comically shares everything she has learned through the process in an intimate one-woman show. This is a show for anyone who is going through it, has gone through it, will be going through it, or knows someone currently going through it — basically the entire population.
COMING SOON
Cynthia Erivo with the Boston Pops
Tanglewood, Lenox
Friday, Aug. 21 at 8 p.m.
Just about everybody knows this Grammy, Emmy and Tony Award winner as Elphaba in the film adaptation of Wicked. (Her rendition of “I’m Not That Girl” brings me to tears, and don’t get me started on “For Good.”) Now Cynthia Erivo is making her Tanglewood debut with a program spanning a range of genres and composers. Conductor Anthony Parnther leads the Pops, and Erivo’s music director, Mark G. Meadows will join her for the evening. The Shed is sold out; Lawn tickets are available.
Berkshire Opera Festival: Lucia di Lammermoor
The Mahaiwe, Great Barrington
Saturday, Aug. 22 at 1 p.m.
Tuesday, Aug. 25 and Friday, Aug. 28 at 7:30 p.m.
"Lucia di Lammermoor" is a jewel of bel canto opera. Set amid the foggy moors and ancient castles of Scotland, Donizetti’s masterpiece tells the tragic story of Lucia, whose forbidden love for her family’s sworn enemy drives her to the brink of madness. When her brother forces her into a loveless marriage, Lucia’s heart and mind shatter in one of opera’s most unforgettable scenes.
Arcadia Folk Festival
Mass Audubon’s Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary, Easthampton
Saturday, Aug. 29 from 10 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Northampton’s Signature Sounds and Mass Audubon team up for the eighth annual Arcadia Folk Festival, bringing a full day of folk and roots music to the meadows and woods of the Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary. This year’s lineup features Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Allison Russell, The Milk Carton Kids, John Craigie, Fantastic Cat, Caitlin Canty, and others. Plus, the festival is solar powered, zero waste, carbon neutral, and provides bike valet service!
Springfield Public Forum
Jill Lepore: The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State
Springfield Symphony Hall
Thursday, Sept. 10 at 6 p.m.
Building on an essay in The New Yorker in 2024, Jill Lepore traces our increasing dependence on and strangulation by data. Political campaigns, awash in an avalanche of fake bots, have been reduced to attention-mining algorithms, while multinational media corporations dictate public discourse, and the era of the liberal nation-state seems to be coming to a rapid end, replaced by billionaire technocrats reliant on autocracy and the tools of AI. As always, this Springfield Public Forum event is free and open to the public.
Miles for Music: Walk or Run
Downtown Amherst to downtown Northampton
Sunday, Sept. 13 at 10 a.m.
Here’s a race with a rhythm all its own. The inaugural Miles for Music is an 8.1-mile run, walk and relay linking The Drake in Amherst with The Iron Horse in Northampton. Live music performances along the course and the finish at Taste of Northampton make it part race and part music festival, while raising funds to support and strengthen two phenomenal local music venues that you read about often here in Culture to Do!