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. Better order tickets now!
An Evening in Blue
Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton
Friday, July 10 from 4 – 8 p.m.
Spend an evening investigating the dynamic color blue. From 4 – 7 p.m. create your own abstract painting inspired by Amanda Williams' painting "Typographical Lapse in Territorial Judgement," while experimenting with natural pigments. At 5:30 p.m., join SCMA Curator Danielle Carrabino for a gallery talk about the fascinating history of blue in Western art. Danielle will uncover the reasons artists selected certain types of blue pigment along with the associations the color carries. Free and open to all.
Amherst Summer Concert Series
Amherst Town Common
Fridays, July 10, 17, 24 and 31 from 5 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Summer concerts are back on the Amherst Town Common, with free live music every Friday in July. The series opens July 10 with HWY91’s swinging take on southwestern music, plus Downtown Amherst Contra Dance. Coming weeks include The Berkshires and Muswell Hillbillies on July 17, a Jazz in July All Star Concert featuring faculty and students from the UMass Jazz in July program on July 24, and The GemsTones with The Hendersons Blues Band on July 31. Plus! Kimaya Diggs will perform at the Emily Dickinson Homestead on Friday, Aug. 7.
Etchings Festival
Friday, July 10 and Saturday, July 11 at 7 p.m. at The Sanctuary at Look Park
Sunday, July 12 at 3 p.m. at Bombyx, Florence
Now in its 17th summer, the Etchings Festival, brings together guest composers, contemporary chamber musicians and adventurous performers for a weekend of cutting-edge music across genres. On Friday, the festival opens with Ecce Ensemble and Amaury Acosta’s King Klavé Trio, blending new chamber music, Afro-Cuban rhythms, jazz, hip-hop, funk, soul and electronic sounds. On Saturday, Ecce Ensemble returns followed by Surface of Sphere, a Boston-based jazz sextet. On Sunday, the festival closes at Bombyx with Sonic Translations, featuring some of classical concert music's most compelling new voices.
Springfield Jazz & Roots
Court Square, Springfield
Friday, July 10 from 5:30 – 10 p.m.
Saturday, July 11 from 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.
The annual Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival is a family-friendly, free outdoor festival that brings people of all ages together in the heart of Springfield for jazz, blues, gospel, funk, Afro-Cuban jazz, salsa and more. Friday’s lineup features Dan Gabel’s Jazz Ultimate, Malado!, and David Rivera y La Bámbula. On Saturday, performers include Zaccai Curtis Cubop Lives!, Omar Sosa Quarteto Americanos, and the New Orleans-based Dumpstaphunk.
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.
Holyoke Garden Tour
Saturday, July 11 from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
The Holyoke Historical Society’s 2026 Holyoke Garden Tour is a self-guided look at green spaces across the Paper City, with an inspiring mix of home gardens, community spaces, urban agriculture, and historic sites. Stops include Laurel Park’s new pollinator garden; La Finca, the 30-acre urban farm operated by Nuestras Raíces; The Cubit Garden and Armour Yard; and honeybee presentations with Dr. Kim Skyrm, Chief Apiary Inspector at the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources.
Quarterfinal Soccer Watch Party: Norway vs. England
The Landing at MassMutual Center, Springfield
Saturday, July 11 at 5 p.m.
The MassMutual Center and the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority are hosting a free, all-ages outdoor watch party for the 5 p.m. quarterfinal match between Norway and England in this summer’s World Cup tournament. The Landing is a new open-air event space near the Convention Center in downtown Springfield, designed as a summer hub for concerts, markets, festivals, fitness events and community gatherings. Watch the game on a big screen, and enjoy themed food trucks, specialty drinks, music and lawn games. Bring lawn chairs. Psst! The championship watch party will be Sunday, July 19 at 3 p.m.
Mohawk Trail Concerts: Matt Haimovitz, cello, and Jerry Noble, piano
Charlemont Federated Church, Charlemont
Saturday, July 11 at 5 p.m.
Mohawk Trail Concerts continues its summer season with a program built around the idea of threes. Cellist Matt Haimovitz and pianist Jerry Noble will perform works that each feature three of something, including Schumann’s Three Fantasy Pieces, Nadia Boulanger’s Trois Pièces, Arthur Foote’s Three Pieces and Anton Webern’s Drei Stücke.
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.
The Van Gogh Shogh
CitySpace, Easthampton
Sunday, July 12 at 7:30 p.m.
What would Vincent van Gogh make of today’s 360-degree spectacles devoted to his work? This internationally acclaimed solo clown show by Donna Oblongata combines comedy, audience participation, and some smart commentary amplified by a subversively inventive twist at the end. Four protégées, plucked from the audience, reproduce one of his most famous works under his tutelage, live on stage. Plus! an opening performance by Dame Judi Dentures and Friends.
Shelburne Falls Porch Music Festival
Throughout Shelburne Falls
Sunday, July 12 from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
The Shelburne Falls Porch Music Festival returns for its sixth year, filling porches, patios, lawns and other gathering places throughout the village with live performances. Stroll from one location to another to hear musicians representing a wide range of genres, along with comedians, storytellers and other performers. The festival is free.
Community Day: Eye On Art!
The Clark, Williamstown
Sunday, July 12 from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Join the festivities at the Clark’s annual free Community Day! Head into the galleries for free, then bring artwork to life through hands-on activities, live performances, and special food vendors — all inspired by the Clarks’ summer exhibitions, including An Exquisite Eye: Introducing the Aso O. Tavitian Collection, Giorgio Griffa: Paths in the Forest, and CoastLines: American Prints and Drawings.
Daniel Mason in Person
Odyssey Bookshop, South Hadley
Monday, July 13 at 7 p.m.
NEPM Book Club participants will remember North Woods by Daniel Mason. His new novel, Country People, is enjoying a lot of buzz. Here’s how it starts: Miles Krzelewski is a devoted husband, a doting father beloved for his outlandish bedtime stories, and the proud owner of a truffle-hunting dog in a land with no truffles. He is also a bit lost, twelve years late with his PhD on Russian folktales and increasingly haunted by a sense that he’s become a disappointment to his family. So, when his wife accepts a visiting professorship at a prestigious college in the faraway forests of Vermont, he decides that this will be the year to finally move forward with his life.
A Chorus Line
Barrington Stage Company, Pittsfield
Wednesday, July 15 – Saturday, Aug. 8
17 dancers audition for a coveted spot in the next hot Broadway show. To make it, they must prove they have more than just talent — this will take grit. In a major BSC production, Alan Paul directs the Pulitzer and Tony Award-winning musical that eclipsed all others when it shot to fame 50 years ago. Limited tickets available. Nab your tickets now.
Silverthorne Theater: Deep Blue Sound by Abe Koogler
Hampshire College Theater, Amherst
Thursday, July 16 – Sunday, July 26
An environmental crisis brings an island community together to take action, but personal connections — from deep friendships to a sense of obligation to the local pharmacist — are the heartbeat of the play. Deep Blue Sound is a moving, joyful exploration of interwoven friendships, passions and losses, with a surprising and uplifting ending that leaves us with hope and inspiration.
Capybara Encounter
Forest Park Zoo, Springfield
Daily through Monday, Aug. 31 at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
So cute! Meet the Forest Park Zoo’s seven-month-old capybaras during a 30-minute encounter. You’ll learn about the species before entering their enclosure for an up-close meet-and-greet. Participants receive food to feed the capybaras. Each time slot is limited to 8 participants.
COMING SOON
Mount Holyoke College Summer Theatre: The 39 Steps
Kendall Sports & Dance Complex, Mount Holyoke College
Friday, July 17 – Saturday, July 25
After a hiatus of 25 years, the curtain is rising on a new chapter of summer theatre at Mount Holyoke College. More than a summer stock company, this initiative is designed as a professional launching pad that bridges the gap between academic theatre training and the theater industry. In The 39 Steps, ordinary man Richard Hannay becomes entangled in an international espionage plot. Featuring a handful of actors playing dozens of characters, it’s a wildly inventive theatrical experience that combines Hitchcock suspense with hilarious physical comedy.
National Craft Open Studios Weekend
The Mill at Shelburne Falls, Buckland
Saturday, July 18 and Sunday, July 19 from 12 – 5 p.m.
Presented by the American Craft Council, National Craft Open Studios Weekend is a new nationwide celebration that invites the public into the creative spaces of craft artists across the country offering guests a rare glimpse into the processes, tools and inspiration that shape how handmade works are made. The Mill at Shelburne Falls is sited on the banks of the Deerfield River. The sustainable energy gained from the river supports a unique collection of makers working in glass, ceramics, wood and fiber arts.
Berkshires Jazz Summer Showcase
Westside Riverway Park, Pittsfield
Saturday, July 18 at 5:30 p.m.; prelude music starts at 4 p.m.
Berkshires Jazz Summer Showcase moves to the Westside Riverway Park this year, with a free outdoor concert celebrating local jazz talent: The Flatbed Jazz Band, Joe Finn with Jack Dinicola and Friends, and The Wanda Houston Band, with prelude music by Death Lizard Biscuit, a group formed by Pittsfield High School jazz students. Presented by Berkshires Jazz in collaboration with Westside Legends, the evening will also include food trucks and a beer garden. Bring blankets or chairs.
Lovesong
Unicorn Theatre, Stockbridge
Wednesday, July 22 – Sunday, Aug. 29
Lovesong is a tender and quietly powerful play by Abi Morgan that traces a marriage across decades, revealing how love evolves, deepens and endures over time. Moving fluidly between youth and later years, the play places two versions of a couple side by side, allowing past and present to unfold simultaneously on stage. The cast includes Karen Allen, a longtime BTG performer and Berkshire resident known internationally for Raiders of the Lost Ark and Starman.
21st Annual Harvest Supper
Court Square, Greenfield Town Common
Saturday, Aug. 22 from 4:30– 7:30 p.m.
Every August, the Franklin County community comes together to share the bountiful summer harvest. Farmers, local producers, and chefs all donate their time, talent, and products to create an amazing meal with 100% locally sourced ingredients. Enjoy a nourishing, chef-prepared meal made with ingredients donated by more than 50 local farms and producers from across the Pioneer Valley. This supper is made for neighbors, by neighbors! In addition to the farm-table feast, there’s face painting, art making and live music.