Sunset Thursdays
The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Amherst
Thursdays, July 2 – Aug. 27 from 4 – 8 p.m.
On Thursdays in July and August, the Eric Carle Museum stays open late for Sunset Thursdays. As the sun begins to set, the grounds come alive with live outdoor jazz performed by local musicians co-presented with Northampton Jazz Festival, along with hands-on art activities, local food vendors, and more. Guitarist Bob Ferrier and pianist Stephen Page provide the music for opening night. The event is included with museum admission and is free for members. The evening programming begins at 5 p.m.
Mohawk Trail Concerts: Caelan Cardello Trio
Charlemont Federated Church, Charlemont
Saturday, July 4 at 5 p.m.
Mohawk Trail Concerts’ free Fourth of July jazz concert began as a thank-you to the people of Charlemont, whose support helped the chamber music series flourish after it was founded in 1970. Originally held along the banks of the Deerfield River, it has become a beloved holiday tradition. This year’s concert features the Caelan Cardello Trio, led by a rising New York jazz pianist praised for his warmth, imagination, and deep feeling for the music. Cardello studied with Bill Charlap and Harold Mabern and has performed at leading jazz venues including Dizzy’s Club and Mezzrow. The concert is free.
Twelfth Night
Shakespeare & Company, Lenox
Saturday, July 4 – Sunday, July 26
Shipwrecks, disguises, and mistaken identities spark the joyful chaos of Twelfth Night, Shakespeare’s most playful romantic comedy. Love runs amok and nothing is quite what it seems in this sun-soaked tale of music and mischief. Performed outdoors July 4–26 at one of Newsweek’s Top 10 Outdoor Theater Venues in the U.S., this summer production invites audiences to relax, laugh, and revel in Shakespeare under the open sky.
Young@Heart Brass Bash
The Sanctuary at Look Park, Florence
Tuesday, July 7 at 7 p.m.
Just days after America's 250th, Young@Heart Chorus and the Bombyx Brass Collective take the stage at the Sanctuary in Look Park to perform songs from the American songbook with a nuanced look at our country's past. This is the first collaboration between the two groups — and you can expect to dance the night away under the stars. Bring your picnics and lawn chairs.
Yidstock: The Festival of New Yiddish Music
Yiddish Book Center, Amherst
Thursday, July 9 – Sunday, July 12
This four-day festival will include musicians and performers at the forefront of the Yiddish music scene. In addition to seven concerts, the lineup also includes workshops, talks, and special tours, all in celebration of Yiddish music, language, and culture.
An Exquisite Eye: Introducing the Aso O. Tavitian Collection
The Clark, Williamstown
On view through Saturday, Feb. 21
This exhibition offers a first look at one of the most important gifts in the Clark’s history: the Aso O. Tavitian Collection, a major trove of European paintings, sculpture, drawings, and decorative arts. The full collection will eventually be housed in the Clark’s new Aso O. Tavitian Wing, scheduled to open in 2028. This preview exhibit includes works by Jan van Eyck, Andrea della Robbia, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Peter Paul Rubens, Jean-Antoine Watteau, and Jacques-Louis David.
AMERICA AT 250
Berkshire Theatre Group: 1776
The Colonial Theatre, Pittsfield
Thursday, July 2 – Thursday, July 16
Just in time for the nation’s 250th anniversary, Berkshire Theatre Group brings more than 50 local artists together for the Tony Award-winning musical 1776. With wit, humor and a celebrated score, the show follows John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and the sharply divided Continental Congress as they argue and compromise their way toward the Declaration of Independence. Directed by David Adkins, this community-centered production marks the return of a large-scale community musical to the Colonial stage for the first time since 2019.
The American Five
The Unicorn Theatre, Stockbridge
Through Saturday, July 11
Written by Chess Jakobs, The American Five explores pivotal moments in the lives of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott King, Bayard Rustin, Stanley Levison and Clarence B. Jones during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. Set in the tense days leading up to the March on Washington, the play examines the strategy, collaboration and moral conviction behind one of the most consequential events in American history.
Hold These Truths: Lara Downes and Friends
MASS MoCA, North AdamsSaturday, July 8 at 7 p.m.
Pianist Lara Downes presents a nuanced exploration through the American musical landscape. From traditional songs that pre-date the nation’s founding to new works that define the sound of the American future, this music traces our roots, connects us at our crossroads, and centers us on common ground. This concert features work generated via Downes’ The Declaration Project, which has been in residence at MASS MoCA as part of a national year-long journey engaging with people of all ages in urban and rural communities to reflect on our collective vision and intention for the American future.
A Stake in the Ground
Historic Deerfield
Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, July 10 – Aug 16
In the summer of 1774, seeds of revolution begin to germinate in Deerfield when a Liberty Pole is brought to town. The characters in three new one-act plays explore the political divisions, tangled family relations, and the complexities of enslavement from all sides. The plays will be performed outdoors at the locations near where the characters lived in the past, including outside the Ashley House, the Allen House, and the Stebbins House. Plus! While you’re there, be sure to check out three new Revolution-themed exhibitions at Historic Deerfield’s Flynt Center of Early New England.
The Web They Wove: Women & Their Wardrobes During New England’s Revolution
Bidwell House Museum, Monterey
Saturday, July 18 at 1 p.m.
Set in a restored 18th-century parsonage surrounded by gardens, forests and hiking trails, the Bidwell House Museum offers a fitting setting for this look at women’s clothing and textile work during the Revolutionary War. Historians from the Dirty Blue Shirts will explore how women’s choices about fashion, fabric production and consumption helped shape the Revolution.
Independence Forever
Old Sturbridge Village
Summer, 2026
Named after a toast by John Adams, Independence Forever explores the lives of farmers, families, artisans, and tradespeople who made difficult choices, took significant risks, and helped define the early United States. With live musical performances, parades, a new exhibit, family-friendly interactive experiences, immersive programs, and more, OSV examines the nation’s first fifty years, exploring how Americans transitioned from war to the work of building a republic.
Declaration of Innovation: Springfield’s Revolutionary Ideas
Wood Museum of Springfield History, Springfield Museums
On view through Sept. 27
This exhibit examines Springfield’s enduring role as a center for creativity, invention, and progress. It begins in the 1770s, immersing visitors in the experiences and perspectives of colonists grappling with independence from British rule. Through interactive elements, guests engage with the everyday realities of the period, including the impact of the Stamp Act taxing everyday goods. The exhibition highlights Springfield’s contribution to the American language through its association with Merriam-Webster. Dictionaries from 1777 and 1879 illustrate how definitions and national identity have shifted over time. The exhibition also explores Springfield’s emergence as a center of industrial innovation.
Brewing Massachusetts: How Beer Shaped the Bay State
Indian House Memorial, Deerfield
Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Sunday, Oct. 11
The Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association is very excited about this, their most ambitious exhibit ever. Presented in a rebuilt Revolutionary era tavern, it will tell the story of Massachusetts brewers from the Pilgrims to the present through rare artifacts, photographs, and documents.
American Stories: Revolution to Rockwell
Norman Rockwell Museum, Stockbridge
On view through Monday, Oct. 26
This sweeping exhibition explores how artists — from the Revolutionary era to today — have made visible the evolving story of America. Featuring nearly 100 powerful works across themed sections, American Stories reveals how illustrations have reflected and shaped what it means to be American. From iconic masterpieces to everyday media, these works chart the nation’s ambitions, struggles, and enduring pursuit of freedom.
Slavery and Freedom in Northampton, 1654 – 1783
Historic Northampton
On view through Friday, Dec. 11
For at least 129 years, slavery was part of the fabric of everyday life in Northampton. At least 50 enslaved individuals lived here from the town’s English settlement in 1654 until 1783 when slavery was abolished in Massachusetts. The installation features 34 life-sized silhouettes of men, women, and children who were enslaved. On each silhouette are details about individual lives based upon information gleaned from historic documents. Their histories reveal aspects of enslavement and examples of freedom, and resistance to oppression.
COMING SOON
Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 with Seong-Jin Cho and Swan Lake
Tanglewood, Lenox
Friday, July 10 at 8 p.m.
Tanglewood’s core classical season officially gets underway as Andris Nelsons opens the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s 89th summer in the Berkshires with an all-Tchaikovsky program. Acclaimed pianist Seong-Jin Cho performs the soaring, instantly recognizable Piano Concerto No. 1. Then principal dancers Viktorina Kapitonova and Patrick Yocum of Boston Ballet join the orchestra for excerpts from Swan Lake.
Etchings Festival
Friday, July 10 and Saturday, July 11 at 7 p.m. at the Sanctuary at Look Park, Florence
Sunday, July 12 at 3 p.m. at Bombyx, Florence
Now in its 17th summer, the Etchings Festival celebrates adventurous contemporary. Ecce Ensemble opens Friday under the pines at Look Park with King Klavé Trio, whose music blends Afro-Cuban rhythms, jazz, hip-hop, funk, soul and electronics. On Saturday, Ecce is joined by the Boston-based jazz sextet Surface of Sphere The festival concludes Sunday afternoon at Bombyx with Sonic Translations, featuring works by some of today’s compelling contemporary composers.
Dino Trail Week: Evolution Revolution
Locations throughout the Connecticut River Valley
Saturday, July 11 – Sunday, July 19
The Connecticut River Valley is where the world’s first scientific study of fossilized dinosaur footprints took place. Dino Trail Week celebrates that remarkable local history with nine days of walks, talks, performances, art projects and hands-on activities for all ages. Follow the tracks at Barton Cove and the Holyoke Dinosaur Footprints site, explore the Beneski Museum’s renowned collection, join dinosaur-themed activities at the Springfield Museums, or catch Piti Theatre’s Story Wizards and the Great Greenfield DinoFest. The week finishes with family fun at Wistariahurst — including a chance to dance with a dino.
Sevenars 58th Summer Concert Series Opener: Family and Friends
Sevenars Academy, South Worthington
Sunday, July 12 at 4 p.m.
Sevenars Concerts was founded in 1968 by internationally known pianist Robert Schrade and his celebrated composer/songwriter/pianist wife Rolande Young Schrade. It all began with family concerts that included their five young pianist children, Robelyn, Rhonda Lee, Rolisa, Randolph, and Rorianne. Hence the name “Sevenars” as all seven performers had names starting with the letter R. Family members have played the opening concert for all of the Sevenars Festival’s 58 years. Concerts are held every Sunday through Aug. 16.