Yearnings: Music that Moves Beyond Borders
Bombyx, Florence
Thursday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m.
Yearnings is a one-of-a-kind concert that brings together incredible singers from Black, Hindu, Jewish, Native American, and Sufi traditions—each sharing music rooted in their heritage and spirit. Backed by an all-star band of local musicians, these singers will explore how songs from such different places can carry the same deep message: we are all connected.
The Brandee Younger Trio
Bowker Auditorium, UMass
Thursday, Nov. 13 at 7:30 p.m.
Brandee Younger picks up where jazz harp legends Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane left off. But Younger’s own distinctively innovative approach to her instrument is unmistakable, whether she’s cutting across genres as a side player with performers ranging from Ravi Coltrane, and Makaya McCraven to John Legend and Lauryn Hill, or blending the sounds of R&B and hip-hop into her expansive vision of jazz. Check out her Tiny Desk concert.
Williams College Theatre Dept: Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods
‘62 Center for Theatre & Dance, Williams College
Thursday, Nov. 13 – Sunday, Nov. 16 at 7 p.m.
Venture into an enchanted forest where fairy tales collide in Stephen Sondheim’s spellbinding Into the Woods. Beloved characters — Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack, and others — chase wishes, face wolves, and discover that every choice has a consequence in this landmark musical work. All with Sondheim’s dazzling score lighting the way.
Arturo Sandoval
HOPE Center for the Arts, Springfield
Friday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m.
A protégé of Dizzy Gillespie and a true virtuoso of the trumpet, Arturo Sandoval has thrilled audiences around the world with a sound that is both technically dazzling and deeply expressive. Fusing bebop, Afro-Cuban rhythms, and his own boundless imagination, he has built a career that spans decades and has earned him multiple Grammy Awards, an Emmy, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Plus! The concert opens with The Springfield Conservatory of the Arts Concert Band, comprised of the school’s most advanced instrumental students in grades 7–12. So in keeping with the HOPE Center’s mission!
Pothole Pictures: Far Out: Life On & After the Commune
Memorial Hall, Shelburne Falls
Friday, Nov. 14 and Saturday, Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m.
Heres’ a chance to see an award-winning documentary about two nearby communal farms — Packer Corners in Guilford and Montague Farm. In the summer of 1968 a band of radical journalists fled New York City for the country. The film traces fifty years in the lives of these writers, activists and artists who became local pioneers of organic farming and anti-nuclear activism. The event starts with a short concert by Patty Carpenter and Verandah Porsche. After the film, stay for a Q&A with director Charlie Light and others.
Lyracle: Escape to the Stage
First Churches, Northampton
Friday, Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m.
Join me in welcoming a new musical “power couple” who have left eastern Mass. to be part our vibrant arts scene. Mezzo-soprano Ashley Mulcahy and viol player James Perretta founded Lyracle in 2018. It’s a historical music ensemble that explores the role that music has played in people’s lives and communities. For their 413 debut, Escape to the Stage, Lyracle delves into a 1760 concert series that British socialite and talented musician Ann Ford launched to raise funds for her own independence from her father and an unsavory suitor. Despite her father’s attempt to have her arrested for performing in public, Ann's concerts were a huge success. Hear some of the music that Ann sang and played interspersed with narrated excerpts from surviving letters and articles by and about Ann. Doesn’t this sound interesting?
Arcadia Players: Vicente Lusitano and his Circle
Wistariahurst Museum, Holyoke
Saturday Nov. 15 at 2 p.m.
Lusitano, a 16th-century Portuguese cleric, is considered to be the first classical composer of African ancestry ever to be published. But his beautiful vocal music has only recently become known to modern performers and audiences. This program includes motets for male voices by Lusitano and other influential composers of his time — Gombert, Willaert, and Clemens non Papa — sung a cappella by a spectacular ensemble of six early music specialists in the lovely Wistariahurst music room.
Pioneer Valley Symphony & Chorus: American Hope
Abbey Chapel, Mount Holyoke College
Saturday Nov. 15 at 7 p.m.
Celebrate the spirit of resilience, joy, and unity with a concert showcasing seminal voices that have shaped American music. The evening opens with Scott Joplin’s Overture to “Treemonisha”, a vibrant and rarely heard orchestral gem. George Gershwin’s An American in Paris follows, brimming with jazz-infused energy. Florence Price’s Song of Hope offers a poignant expression of perseverance, while Margaret Bonds’ powerful work “The Ballad of the Brown King” brings the program to a stirring close.
Tiny Glass Tavern: Carte Blanche
Edwards Church, Northampton
Saturday Nov. 15 at 7 p.m.
Tiny Glass Tavern is a joyful celebration of musical variety, texture. The Carte Blanche show features the incredible Zara Bode, Stefan Amidon, Eva Salina, Gideon Crevoshay, Adam Simon and Sophie Michaux. They have performed with each other in various forms through groups like Starry Mountain Singers or Northern Harmony, so it will be like a reunion show! We’ll hear early music and Balkan repertoire, Roma folk songs, French chansons, 3-part harmony American ballads, songs by Ivor Cutler, folk songs from around the world, and pop music performed in delightfully unexpected arrangements.
Dan Tyminski Band
Mahaiwe, Great Barrington
Saturday, Nov. 15 at 8 p.m.
Throughout his 30+ year career, bluegrass artist Dan Tyminski has left his mark in every corner of modern music. His voice famously accompanies George Clooney’s performance of the Stanley Brothers’ classic song, “I Am A Man of Constant Sorrow,” in the film, Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? and his vocal collaboration with Swedish DJ Avicii on the song “Hey Brother” was a global smash, having been streamed more than a billion times to date. His diverse solo projects and years of work with Alison Krauss and Union Station have yielded troves of award-winning music.
Artspace Open House
15 Mill Street, Greenfield
Sunday, Nov. 16 from 1 – 5 p.m.
Artspace is Greenfield's home for accessible arts education, art shows, free community events, and more. After a successful fundraising campaign, they opened their new clay studio in September. Go to the open house to take a tour of the new clay classroom, see a new art classroom on the second floor, enjoy a fun scavenger hunt, see the current gallery exhibit, and meet Artspace staff and faculty.
Valley Classical Concerts
Winds of the Boston Symphony Orchestra with Jiayan Sun, piano
Sweeney Hall, Smith College
Sunday, Nov. 16 at 3 p.m.
This program features Smith College’s star pianist Jiayan Sun and a veritable “dream team” of wind soloists drawn from the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Elizabeth Klein is a flutist who plays with exquisite refinement. Oboist John Ferrillo is unparalleled for his beauty of tone. Clarinet player Christopher Elchico brings a glorious, moving sense of mastery and poetry. Rachel Childers has the “chops” and keen sensibilities required of a French horn player. Samuel Watson is prized for his eloquence on the bassoon. They will be joined by Richard Ranti, recently retired BSO Associate Principal Bassoon. They're playing works by Beethoven, Hindemith, Reinecke, and Martinů.
Democracy at the Microphone: A Conversation with Lulu Garcia-Navarro
Goodell Hall, UMass
Tuesday Nov. 18 at 12 p.m.
Award-winning journalist Lulu Garcia-Navarro joins Alex Theodoridis, associate professor of political science and co-director of the UMass Poll. They will discuss what Garcia-Navarro’s career at NPR and The New York Times's "The Interview" has taught her about conversations across political differences, public trust, democratic values, and why plural stories matter to democratic society.
Changing Main Street with Stan Sherer and Dylan Gaffney
Forbes Library, Northampton
Wednesday, Nov. 19 at 6:30 p.m.
This event features a screening of Stan Sherer's "The Gilded Cage: Northampton's Last Water Powered Elevator," followed by an Illustrated talk by Dylan Gaffney. In the late 1800s, Northampton's Freemasons borrowed $110,000 to construct the Masonic Block on Lower Main Street (25 Main Street). The building featured an elevator powered by Northampton city water pressure. The walls and ceiling were made of oak and featured ornately carved panels, with stained glass windows at the top. Until it was decommissioned in 2017, the operator-run elevator was in service Monday through Friday. This event is free and open to the public.
COMING SOON
¡Guitarra! Peter Clemente
Bezanson Recital Hall, UMass
Saturday, Nov. 22 at 7:30 p.m.
New England native Clemente is an alumnus of The Hartt School at the University of Hartford and the New England Conservatory in Boston. Clemente teaches at both Assumption University in Worcester and The Hartt School. Clemente’s performance career began with first prize awards in the Guitar Foundation of America International Solo Competition in 1986 and the Ovation Classical Guitar Competition in 1981. He has since performed in solo and chamber music settings throughout New England and beyond.
The Lemonheads: Love Chant World Tour
The Drake, Amherst
Tuesday, Nov. 25 at 7 p.m.
The Lemonheads return with Love Chant, their first studio album in nearly two decades — a bold reaffirmation of Evan Dando’s singular songwriting voice. Written across continents and recorded primarily in São Paulo, Brazil, where Dando now resides, Love Chant finds the frontman reconnecting with longtime collaborators while introducing new creative voices. It’s a record of fresh starts and familiar sounds — emotionally raw, melodically rich, and unmistakably Lemonheads.
Winterlights
Naumkeag, Stockbridge
Open multiple dates from Friday, Nov. 28 through Saturday, Jan. 3
Naumkeag is a public garden and historic home in Stockbridge. Every winter, the grounds offer a magical outdoor experience at Naumkeag as it sparkles with thousands of shimmering and artfully designed holiday lights.
Bella's Bartok with special guests Cloudbelly
The Shea, Turners Falls
Saturday, Nov. 29 at 8 p.m.
The one and only Bella's Bartok are returning to the Shea and bringing Cloudbelly on as Bella’s Bartok is a glam rock band known for raucous theatrical performances and an outspoken political message of finding hope in a world beset by cruel uncertainty. They seamlessly blend a rich cacophony of sound and soul into their music with utter joy.
Roomful of Blues
Iron Horse, Northampton
Sunday, Nov. 30 at 7 p.m.
Roomful of Blues, the world-renowned, horn-powered, house rocking blues band, has been delighting audiences for over 55 years. On record and on stage, Roomful of Blues — led by master guitarist Chris Vachon for the past 25 years — continues to deliver its bone-shaking mix of original songs and carefully chosen covers ranging from jump, swing and rock ‘n’ roll to funky, contemporary blues.
Watermelon Wednesdays: Mr. Sun
Whately Town Hall
Wednesday, Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m.
Mr. Sun is the cheerful name for an American Roots quartet of fine musicians. Legendary fiddler Darol Anger is a member of the original "nuclear" generation of pickers who extended Bluegrass, Jazz, and Classical music to find common ground. Joe K. Walsh is one of the foremost contemporary mandolinists, with 4 award-winning years in the Gibson Brothers, 3 solo recordings, and a Berklee professorship. Grant Gordy is a standout in the crowded field of Acoustic Guitar Wunderkinds. The group recently added the masterful bassist Aidan O'Donnell, a Brooklyn (by way of Scotland) jazz veteran. They will be playing Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite as rearranged by Duke Ellington, as re-rearranged by Mr. Sun.