Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! with Special Guest Paul Giamatti
Koussevitzky Music Shed, Tanglewood
Thursday, Aug. 28 at 8 p.m.
Two summers ago, a bunch of NEPM staff went to the Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! taping at Tanglewood. That year, the guest was Karen Allen of Raiders of the Lost Ark fame. It was a blast! This year’s guest is Paul Giamatti, a highly promising choice. The most fun part? To tune in to 88.5 NEPM Saturday at 11 a.m. to hear the edited show. You’ll enjoy rehearing the bits that made it into the show and feel like an insider knowing what was cut.
The Three County Fair
3 County Fairgrounds, Northampton
Friday, Aug. 29 – Monday, Sept. 1
With agricultural exhibits, demos, draft horse wagon rides, a motorcycle thrill show, the Wee Wee Wee Racing Pigs, and a big midway, there’s always tons to do, see and eat at the Three County Fair. Music includes Sweet Daddy Cool Breeze at 7 p.m. on Friday, the Frank Manzi Band at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Moose & The High Tops at 7 p.m. on Sunday, and much more.
Heather Maloney
Black Birch Vineyard, Hatfield
Friday, Aug. 29 and Saturday, Aug. 30 from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Thanks to Signature Sounds for giving us a perfect opportunity to visit Black Birch Vineyard and enjoy some fabulous live music! Massachusetts-based “writer song-singer” Heather Maloney found music in the midst of three years at a meditation center, honing reverence for storytellers like Joni Mitchell, Rainer Maria Rilke, Ken Burns, and the anonymous authors of Zen parables. While she eventually traded the quiet life of a yogi for the life of a touring musician, the core of her songwriting has remained centered around the same curiosity about our inner world.
Lucas Huang Amory, piano
Adams Theater, Adams
Friday August 29 at 7:30 p.m.
A first prize winner at the 2024 PianoArts North American Competition, pianist and conductor Lucas Huang Amory is in his second year of graduate studies at Juilliard. Lucas has performed at prestigious venues including Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and the 92nd Street Y. Lucas will bring works by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Brahms, and Mozart to The Adams Theater. Plus, as a complement to the show, local artist, Adams Theater board member, and culinary expert Joe Wheaton will cater a family style dinner including a Thai soup they say will “change your life.”
Mother Play
Shakespeare & Company, Lenox
Friday, Aug. 29 – Sunday, Oct. 5
Mother Play follows Phyllis, a hardheaded matriarch, and her children, Martha and Carl, through five apartments and through many hardships, including cockroach infestations and painful conflicts. Phyllis wants her children to follow a certain path, but they each forge their own way.
Berkshire Woodworkers Guild 25th Annual Fine Woodwork Show & Silent Auction
Berkshire Botanical Garden, Stockbridge
Saturday, Aug. 30 and Sunday, Aug. 31 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Head to the Berkshire Botanical Garden for fine woodwork show and sale featuring designs by 32 professional woodworkers from the Berkshires and neighboring counties in New York and Connecticut. Throughout the weekend, Guild members will demonstrate various woodworking techniques. Great Cape Baking Company will be onsite offering a full breakfast and lunch menu, and their famous handmade donuts; Pleasant & Main will offer coffee drinks and savory crepes. If you go, stop by the Leonhardt Galleries for a gorgeous photography exhibit. And of course, stroll around the gardens.
End of Summer Reading Party with Zikina
Forbes Library Lawn, Northampton
Saturday, Aug. 30 from 1 – 3:30 p.m.
Kids who have been participating in the summer reading program at Forbes Library can pick up prizes and enter raffles. Everyone can enjoy fun crafts and lawn games. Starting at 2 p.m., move and groove with the upbeat music of Zikina. It's a fusion band that combines jazz and improvisation with traditional Ugandan music. This is an all-ages event that is free and open to everyone. You don’t need to have participated in the Forbes Summer Reading Program to enjoy the party and tunes.
Kinan Azmeh & Cityband
Antenna Cloud Farm, Gill
Saturday, Aug. 30
Grounds open at 4:30 p.m.; concert begins at 6 p.m.
Formed in 2006 in New York City, the Kinan Azmeh CityBand quickly gained recognition for their virtuosic and high energy performances. With this ensemble, Azmeh strives to reach a balance between classical music, jazz, and the music of his homeland, Syria. Azmeh’s expressive clarinet meets Kyle Sanna’s rustic guitar, soaring at times over the dynamic and volatile backdrop of John Hadfield’s percussion and Josh Myers’ double bass. The quartet has toured the US, France, England, Germany, Holland, Egypt, Lebanon, and Turkey.
The Chestina Thrower Quartet
The Blue Room at CitySpace, Easthampton
Saturday, Aug. 30 at 7:30 p.m.
Chestina Thrower is a vibrant and soulful jazz vocalist who was raised in Springfield. Known for a voice that holds deep warmth and resonance, Thrower is quickly gaining recognition in the jazz scene for their distinctive tone and presence. Blending original arrangements and timeless standards, the performance at CitySpace will honor Black musical traditions while celebrating the vibrancy of live storytelling through sound. Plan to arrive at 7 for beats by Springfield producer, Delisio.
The Valtchev-Tchekoratova Duo
Memorial Hall Museum’s Music Room, Deerfield
Sunday, Aug. 31 at 3 p.m.
Performing together as violin and piano duo since 1996, Valtchev and Tchekoratova made their debut at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall with a concert series titled Musical Treasures from Bulgaria. Their adventurous programming has inspired them to create platforms for cultural exchange between the United States and other countries. The duo often presents the works of American composers in Bulgaria and brings music from Balkans to the Western stages.
Mohawk Trail Concerts: Thank-you Concert
Charlemont Federated Church
Sunday, Aug. 31 at 3 p.m.
With gratitude for all of their patrons, Mohawk Trail Concerts closes their summer series with a lovely free concert. Performers will include Masako Yanagita, violin, Estela Olevsky, piano, Jerry Noble, piano, Tinky Weisblat, soprano, and Mark Fraser, cello. The short concert will be followed by delicious food and drink, provided by the board of directors of Mohawk Trail Concerts.
Bonnie Raitt with special guests Jimmie Vaughan & The Tilt-A-Whirl Band
Koussevitzky Music Shed, Tanglewood
Sunday, Aug. 31 at 7 p.m.
Here’s something to talk about! The inimitable Bonnie Raitt returns to Tanglewood, this time with Jimmie Vaughan (older brother of the late Stevie Ray Vaughan) and his horn-heavy Tilt-A-Whirl Band. If you want to have a good cry, grab a box of tissues and listen to Bonnie’s Just Like That. It won the Grammy for best song of the year in 2023. I sure do hope she plays it at Tanglewood.
Thinking Through Drawing
Smith College Museum of Art
Closes Sunday Aug. 31, 2025
When we look at a finished piece of art, we often feel a deep appreciation for that special moment when it transforms from an idea into a completed work. This change is usually shown through sketches and drawings that the artist creates along the way. As a teaching museum, SCMA has always focused on collecting studies and sketches, as they serve as excellent educational tools. The installation features works by Alberto Giacometti, Edgar Degas, Vincent van Gogh, and Diego Rivera, and many others. There are just a few days left to see this exhibit. The museum is open daily 11 a.m. – 4 p.m., closed on Mondays, free for all.
Hampshire Young People's Chorus: Open Rehearsal
South Congregational Church, Amherst
Tuesday, Sept. 2
Concert Choir (grades 3-5) from 4 – 5 p.m.
Chamber Singers (grades 6-12) from 5:30 – 7 p.m.
Oh, how I wish there had been a choir like this in my neighborhood when I was a child! The award-winning Hampshire Young People’s Chorus (YPC) provides a joyful and welcoming musical home for children in the Pioneer Valley. Healthy vocal technique and fundamental music skills are taught through singing a wide range of music from many styles and traditions. Young singers are invited to visit one of these open rehearsals and see if they'd like to join!