Mycoterra Farm Tour
75 Stillwater Road, South Deerfield
Thursday, Oct. 26 from 5 – 6:30 p.m.
Do you have a passion for locally grown mushrooms? Here’s your chance to learn about the incredible process for growing and cultivating mushrooms at Mycoterra Farm. Julia Coffey, owner of Mycoterra Farm, will share insights about running a mushroom farm that produces 3,000 pounds of mushrooms every year.
The Keep it Fresh Quartet
The Westfield Athenaeum
Thursday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m.
The Keep it Fresh Quartet is a group from the Springfield Chamber Players, formerly known as MOSSO: Musicians of the Springfield Symphony Orchestra. They are opening a new chamber music series at the Westfield Atheneum this week. Violinist Beth Welty, violist Dani Rimoni, cellist Joel Wolfe, and flutist Jill Dreeben, will perform a program of works by Mozart, Dvorak, Gordon Jacob and Kathleen Hoover.
Phantoms by Firelight
Old Sturbridge Village
Friday, Oct. 27 – Sunday, Oct. 29
Step into the firelit shadows of history and uncover its eerie tales. Learn about the history of Halloween traditions, play games, find treats, and listen to ghost stories by the bonfire. Plus, be entertained by the spectacle of mesmerizing performances including fire breathing and flame spinning, as well as acrobats flying high over the Village with their vampire-like ways. From specters to secrets, explore history’s haunted mysteries.
Livingston Taylor
Bombyx, Florence
Friday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m.
Described as "equal parts Mark Twain, college professor, and musical icon,” Livingston Taylor is an airplane-flying, motorcycle-riding, singing storyteller who has been delighting audiences with his charm for over 50 years. Livingston has written hits for his brother James Taylor and has appeared live with Joni Mitchell, Linda Ronstadt, Fleetwood Mac, and Jimmy Buffet.
Louie Phipps and Friends Album Release Party with Jim Armenti
The Parlor Room, Northampton
Friday, Oct. 27 at 7:30 p.m.
Louie Phipps is a twelve-year-old singer-songwriter from Northampton. In 2021 he released an album of original music, "Louie Phipps & Friends: We Are Together," with 18 adult professionals — including Chris Thile, Chris "Critter" Eldridge, Sierra Hull, Anand Nayak, The Suitcase Junket, Corey Laitman, & J.J. O'Connell. Louie’s music has been featured by The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, Morning Edition and Live From Here.
Music @ Amherst: Simone Dinnerstein, piano
Buckley Recital Hall, Amherst College
Friday, Oct. 27 at 7:30 p.m.
American pianist Simone Dinnerstein first came to wider public attention in 2007 through her recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, reflecting an aesthetic that was both deeply rooted in the score and profoundly idiosyncratic. She is, wrote The New York Times, “a unique voice in the forest of Bach interpretation.” Her program includes works by Couperin, Schumann, Schubert, and Phillip Glass.
Alan Cumming & Ari Shapiro: Och & Oy! A Considered Cabaret
The Mahaiwe, Great Barrington
Friday, Oct. 27 at 8 p.m.
Alan Cumming and NPR’s Ari Shapiro both transport audiences to other worlds through their stories. Now, they’re joining forces in song. In a statement, Cumming said, “I’ve got to know Ari over the last few years, both socially and when he interviewed me for a couple of events. The last time was an evening in D.C., and by the end of it I realized our chemistry and the unusual combo of us, as well as the fact that Ari has an amazing voice, would make for a really great cabaret show. And kapow! We’re doing it!”
Spooky Safari
The Zoo in Forest Park, Springfield
Saturday, Oct. 28 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
This is one of the Zoo’s most popular events with a variety of family-friendly activities, including a trick-or-treat trail, music from DJ Jonny Taylor, Halloween-themed on-site crafts and activities, and encounters with special animal friends. Kids and adults are invited to come in costume and participate in a virtual costume contest via The Zoo’s Facebook page. Important: registration is required and closes Oct 26.
Eekappella! A Halloween A Capella Concert
Historic Northampton, 66 Bridge Street
Saturday, Oct. 28 at 3 p.m.
Bring your lawn chairs for a festive outdoor musical celebration to benefit the Friends of Hampshire County Homeless Individuals. The lineup features Northampton High School’s Northamptones and NHS’s The Green Street Brew; Smith College's Celebrations Dance Company, Chamber Singers, POCappella/Blackappella, Groove, Smiffenpoofs, Smithereens, Vibes, and Noteables; The Mount Holyoke Nice Shoes; and UMass S#arp Attitude.
Seth Glier
Hawks and Reed, Greenfield
Saturday, Oct. 28 at 7:30 p.m.
An acclaimed singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, Seth Glier is the winner of five Independent Music Awards. His music has taken him around the world, including to China where he participated in a U.S. State Department-sponsored cultural diplomacy tour as international ambassador. He’s doing a residency at Hawk’s and Reed. You can purchase season tickets to 3 performances — this one, plus November and December concerts.
Lightning Bolt
The Drake, Amherst
Saturday, Oct. 28 at 8 p.m.
If you like your music loud, this is for you. Over the course of its two-decade existence, Lightning Bolt has revolutionized underground rock in immeasurable ways. The duo broke the barrier between stage and audience by setting themselves up on the floor in the midst of the crowd. The band’s recordings have always been chaotic, roaring, blown out documents that sound like they could destroy even the toughest set of speakers. Fred Cracklin opens.
Illuminati Vocal Arts Presents: Martin Mass, Bach Singet dem Herrn, and works by Alice Parker
Grace Episcopal Church, Amherst
Sunday, Oct. 29 at 4 p.m.
Join Illuminati Vocal Arts Ensemble, under the direction of guest conductor E. Wayne Abercrombie, for a performance of Frank Martin's Mass, J.S. Bach's Singet dem Herrn, and works by Alice Parker. Abercrombie considers Martin’s Mass to be, “one of the choral masterpieces of the 20th (or any) century.” The final movement of Bach’s Singet dem Herrn is a fugue that could serve as an example of best practice in any essay on fugues. Alice Parker, now 97 and living in Charlemont, began her compositional career writing arrangements — at first with Robert Shaw, and then on her own — for the early incarnation of the Robert Shaw Chorale.
Like Magic
MASS MoCA, North Adams
Opens Sunday, Oct. 29
In times of uncertainty, people often turn towards technologies of magic for solace and strength. These technologies are not the props used for stage magic (rabbits in hats, scarves hidden up sleeves) but rather are tools (devices, talismans, rituals, incantations) created by humans to help them survive and thrive in a chaotic world. Like Magic brings together artists who employ technologies of magic to resist systems that attempt to surveil and control people’s lives and stories, often because of their race, ability, sexuality, gender identity, indigeneity, or immigration status.
Trick or Treat, Rag Shag Parade & Costume Contest
Downtown Greenfield
Tuesday, Oct 31 from 4 – 7:30 p.m.
This fun Halloween event is produced by Greenfield’s Recreation Department. Pick up a free reflective bag on the Greenfield Common, then go trick or treating at participating businesses. At 5 p.m. head to the Garden Cinema for a screening of “It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” The Rag Shag Parade starts at Mohawk Mall at 5:30 pm. and ends at Energy Park, where the Costume Contest will be held.
Tiny Glass Tavern: Let us Dance, Let us Sing
Edwards Church, Northampton
Wednesday, Nov. 1 at 7.30 p.m.
Tiny Glass Tavern is a cross-genre music ensemble that offers tastes of different styles of music to curious audiences in an intimate concert setting. An eclectic constellation of musicians brings their different expertise to perform early, folk, romantic, pop, and new music. At this concert, you’ll hear some 17th century hornpipes, jazz manouche, art song inspired by American and Spanish popular music, Brazilian sambas, French chansons, Klezmer, originals by Adam Simon and Paul Morton and more.