413 Day
Progression Brewing Company, Northampton
Monday, April 13 from 5:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Join NEPM for the best local hangout of the year. Test your knowledge of local legends, landmarks, and lore in our 413-themed trivia showdown hosted by Monte and Kaliis of The Fabulous 413, enjoy live music from stellar local bands, and meet other public media fans from all over western Mass.
The Fiberistas: Bits & Pieces
Forbes Library, Northampton
On view now through Wednesday, April 29
Reception Saturday, April 18 from 1 – 4 p.m.
The Fiberistas, also known as the Fiber Artists of Western MA, is a group of nine women who all love to work in fiber. For this show, they gathered their stashes of bits and pieces, long forgotten materials, and treasures. The resulting media includes quilting, sewing, felting, crochet, soft sculpture, collage, fabric discharge and printing, cyanotype and photo silk screen, mixed media, and more.
Nick Hempton: A Night of Soul Jazz From NYC
Studio E, Linde Center for Music and Learning, Tanglewood
Friday, April 10 at 7 p.m.
From the legendary organ rooms of Harlem and Greenwich Village, “soul-sax sensation” Nick Hempton is bringing his free-blowing blend of “barroom excitement and modern jazz finesse” to Tanglewood. Fronting a classic Hammond organ band, Hempton will present tunes from his acclaimed original albums, as well as classics of the organ jazz repertoire.
Tony Vacca and Fusion Nomads with Massamba Diop
Shea Theater, Turners Falls
Friday, April 10 at 7:30 p.m.
Massamba Diop, one the most renowned masters of the tama, a talking drum from Senegal, performed as the tama soloist for the Grammy- and Oscar-winning score for the film Black Panther. He and dynamic local percussion master Tony Vacca are co-founders the Senegal-America project, a grass-roots cultural exchange program which has sponsored various educational, health care, and artistic initiatives in Senegal.
Tony Vacca and Massamba Diop: Rhythm Griots
First Congregational Church of Westfield
Sunday, April 12 at 2 p.m.
This is the Tuesday Morning Music Club’s annual fund-raising concert. Internationally acclaimed percussionists Tony Vacca and Massamba Diop will present an afternoon of music making to benefit Open Pantry Community Services of Springfield. The concert will also feature solo performances by selected members of the Junior Extension of the Tuesday Morning Music Club. This concert is free and open to the public. The suggested donation of $10 will go to Open Pantry.
Festival of Languages and Dialects
Thompson Hall and Machmer Hall, UMass
Saturday, April 11 from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Parade to Amherst Town Common Saturday at 4 p.m.
Sunday, April 12 from 9 a.m. – 2:45 p.m.
The UMass Department of Anthropology, Department of Linguistics present a mini-convention and carnival to celebrate our rainbow of languages with live music, dance, puppetry, talks, workshops, and a parade. Most of all, we are excited for members of different language communities to meet and learn how to support each other. Free and open to the public. This event pairs nicely with the Amherst Global Village Festival.
Amherst Global Village Festival
Amherst-Pelham Regional High School
Saturday, April 11 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
This annual event is dedicated to celebrating cultural diversity and promoting inclusivity within the community. The festival will feature a vibrant array of activities, including international food trucks offering cuisine from various cultures, live performances showcasing traditional music and dance, and local vendors representing diverse crafts and products.
Making Way for Wildlife: Reconnecting Nature Across Our Landscapes
Berkshire Community College, Pittsfield
Saturday, April 11 from 9:30 a.m. – 12 p.m.
From frogs and turtles to bears and bobcats, more than a million animals are killed on roads every day in the U.S. alone. Creatures from antelope to salmon are losing their ability to migrate.Join Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT) for an engaging event exploring road ecology and wildlife connectivity, featuring two nationally recognized leaders in the field: Dr. Patricia Cramer and Ben Goldfarb. Free admission, register in advance.
Amherst Lit Walk
Saturday, April 11 from 11 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
The Massachusetts Center for the Book and the Amherst Business Improvement District are partnering with downtown businesses and organizations to provide a day of author readings, poetry, and more in celebration of Amherst's rich literary community. It will feature readings from local authors and workshops and readings in partnership with the Emily Dickinson Museum, Amherst Historical Society, the UMass MFA Program, The Common, UMass Downtown, and local literary magazines and publishers.
Springfield Symphony Orchestra
Gloria! From Vivaldi to Gershwin
Springfield Symphony Hall
Saturday, April 11 at 3 p.m.
The concert opens with Vivaldi’s Concerto for Two Cellos in G minor, where Baroque’s intensity meets lyrical dialogue. Next, the Springfield Symphony Chorus will collaborate with the UMass Chorale on Poulenc’s Gloria, a radiant work that shifts effortlessly between sacred devotion and playful irreverence. Ravel’s Bolero follows, unfolding with hypnotic inevitability as a single idea swells into orchestral ecstasy. The concert concludes with Gershwin’s An American in Paris, a dazzling collision of jazz, romance, and cosmopolitan flair.
Berkshire Bach: J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion
First Congregational Church, Great Barrington
Saturday, April 11 at 3 p.m.
BBS choral director James Bagwell leads soloists, chorus, and orchestra in the dramatic St. John Passion, Bach’s earliest surviving work in the genre and predecessor to his powerful St. Matthew Passion. These are Berkshire Bach’s first performances of St. John Passion since 1995 and promise to be major choral events in our region. With tenor Gene Stenger as The Evangelist.
Stepping Into the Unknown: Films from the Bob Dylan Center
Amherst Cinema
Saturday, April 11 at 4 p.m.
Spanning decades and musical styles, this far-ranging one-hour program of short films and videos from the Bob Dylan Archive features rare and previously unreleased clips of Dylan on stage and in the studio. Bob Dylan Center Director Steven Jenkins will present the program and engage in a post-screening discussion and audience Q&A about the films and the mission and activities of the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Bob Dylan Center. Frozen Corn, an Americana trio from Amherst, will round out the event with a performance of Dylan covers.
The Arts at Amherst Showcase: In the Moment
Buckley Recital, Amherst College
Saturday, April 11, at 7 p.m.
The Amherst College Music Department, in collaboration with the Arts at Amherst Initiative presents an evening of new and collaborative work by Amherst College Artists — instrumental, vocal, and digital music; poetry, film, dance; and a meeting point of theater with scholarly investigation. The performances will encompass a range of approaches to improvisation and dialogue between artists, as well as works that, while fully composed, feel spontaneous. Free and open to the public.
Mattie & Debbie
The Parlor Room, Northampton
Saturday, April 11, at 7:30 p.m.
Mattie & Debbie is a duo comprised of two of the most unique talents to come out of the acoustic music scene — drummer/singer Sean Trischka and Bluegrass guitarist/singer Stash Wyslouch. Their debut album, Satan’s Junction (releasing this month) weaves luscious harmonies with bluegrass picking, top-40 hooks, and a slew of powerful anthems. Sean and Stash will be on Friday’s Fabulous 413. I’m hoping they’ll tell us why their duo is called Mattie & Debbie.
School for Contemporary Dance & Thought: HUT performance X3
Northampton Center for the Arts at 33 Hawley
Saturday, April 11 at 8 p.m.
HUT X3 is the School for Contemporary Dance & Thought’s interdisciplinary series that brings together artists working across movement, poetry, and experimental sound. HUT refers to the creative space in which they collaborate and perform; X3 references the three artists in which the HUT is shared. This HUT is a collaboration with poet Mark Wunderlich, dancer Cameron Childs, and cellist Rebecca Schrader.
Ensemble Télémaque: Sounds, Tears and Skins
Bombyx, Florence
Sunday, April 12 at 2 p.m.
In 2018, Marseilles-based Ensemble Télémaque created the October Lab, an international platform for musical creation that aims to produce and disseminate new works that transcend styles and trends. American composers David Dominique, Yu-Hui Chang, John Aylward, and Kate Soper have developed new musical works based on French and American texts that were written in, or left a significant imprint on, both Marseille, and the United States. Plus! Kate Soper and John Aylwar appeared on yesterday’s (Tuesday’s) Fabulous 413.
Berkshire Opera Festival: Once Upon an Opera
Indigo Room, Great Barrington
Sunday, April 12 at 2 p.m.
Berkshire Opera Festival’s Free Family Concert returns with a high-energy mix of opera’s best-loved classics, packed with soaring melodies you’ll instantly recognize. This fun, hour-long interactive performance invites kids and adults alike to get involved and experience the excitement of live opera up close. It's free and open to all ages, but you’ll want to reserve your seats as seating is limited.
Civil Disobedience
Iron Horse, Northampton
Sunday, April 12 at 7 p.m.
The Northampton Jazz Festival has expanded its live jazz offerings beyond its signature two-day September festival to include one-night-only concerts throughout the year. This is one of them. Civil Disobedience, created by NY bassist David Ambrosio, is a project that showcases the compositions of progressive jazz maestros from the late 60s Blue Note Era.
COMING SOON
NEPM's Smart & Funny People: An Evening with Fran Lebowitz
Academy of Music, Northampton
Saturday, April 18, at 8 p.m.
In a cultural landscape filled with endless pundits and talking heads, Fran Lebowitz stands out as one of our most insightful social commentators. Lebowitz's essays and interviews offer her acerbic views on current events and the media — as well as pet peeves including tourists, baggage-claim areas, after-shave lotion, adults who roller skate, children who speak French, or anyone who is unduly tan.
Soles of Duende: Can We Dance Here?
Jacob’s Pillow, Becket
Friday, April 24 – Sunday, April 26
Formed in East Harlem in 2016, the multicultural trio Soles of Duende are bonded by a deep love of music and percussive dance. Following their Jacob’s Pillow debut on the outdoor stage in 2022 and their appearance in the 2024 Season Opening Gala, the group returns for a one-weekend-only run in the Doris Duke Theatre.
John Violinist
Hope Center for the Arts, Springfield
Saturday, April 25 at 7 p.m.
“John Violinist” brings the violin into a vividly modern frame, where classical technique meets cinematic atmosphere and intimate storytelling. His performances unfold less like a recital and more like a living soundscape, blending original compositions with reimagined traditions. Each piece is shaped with care and restraint, inviting listeners into a world that feels personal, expansive, and quietly transporting.
Wooly Wonders – Heritage Breed Sheep Weekend
Historic Deerfield
Saturday, May 2 and Sunday, May 3 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Celebrate New England’s rare and historic heritage sheep with two days of hands-on fun and fascinating demonstrations. Meet sheep and lambs up close, watch skilled sheepdogs at work, and see shearing, spinning, weaving, and more. Visitors of all ages can get involved by washing, carding, dyeing, and weaving wool—or enjoy games, crafts, and a family-friendly scavenger hunt.
Pioneer Valley Ballet: Cinderella…With A Twist
Academy of Music, Northampton
Saturday, May 9 at 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Performed by professional dancers alongside hundreds of Pioneer Valley Ballet students and community performers from across western Mass., Cinderella… With A Twist offers a playful new interpretation of the familiar story. Set to Sergei Prokofiev’s score, the production features whimsical costumes, beautiful scenery, and intricate choreography.
Illumine Vocal Arts Ensemble: Sergei Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil
St. Brigid's Parish, Amherst
Sunday, May 17 at 4 p.m.
Sometimes referred to as the Rachmaninoff Vespers, this work is actually a compilation of texts from three canonical hours of the Eastern Orthodox church service: Vespers, Matins, and the First Hour. It does not last all night. Its fifteen movements soar for a bit over an hour. Illumine will be joined by Grammy-award-winning basso profundo Glenn Miller, who has performed and recorded the All-Night Vigil with leading professional choral ensembles throughout the United States and Europe.
NEPM's Smart & Funny People presents Ear Hustle Live!
Iron Horse, Northampton
Saturday, May 30 at 7 p.m.
Ear Hustle was the first podcast created and produced in prison — featuring stories of the daily realities of life inside California’s San Quentin State Prison, shared by those living it. Co-hosts Nigel Poor and Earlonne Woods launched the podcast when Woods was incarcerated at San Quentin. In 2018, Wood's sentence was commuted and he was released; he received a pardon in 2024. They’re coming to the Iron Horse to share stories from inside and outside prison, accompanied by musical performances and never-before-seen visuals.
NAB TICKETS NOW
Adam Ezra Group
Iron Horse, Northampton
Saturday, May 16 at 5 p.m.
For more than two decades, Adam Ezra Group has been building something that feels increasingly rare in modern music: a career rooted in human connection. Led by songwriter Adam Ezra, and joined by Corinna Smith on fiddle, Poche Ponce on bass, and Alex Martin on drums, they blend folk/Americana soul, rock ’n’ roll energy, and the kind of emotional openness that turns concert rooms into communities. Their 8 p.m. show at the Horse is sold out. Get your tickets for the 5 p.m. show now!
Valley Players: The Tempest
Black Birch Vineyard, Hatfield
Thursday, June 11 – Sunday, June 21
With Renaissance costuming, music, and dance, Valley Players' production is set in 1611, when William Shakespeare’s The Tempest was performed before King James. The audience can relax in a bucolic setting with a picnic and wine and imagine being at London's open-air Globe playhouse as the players bring to life Shakespeare's beautiful words and vision at sunset in the Vineyard. Half of net ticket sales are being donated to the Center for New Americans.