NEPM Open House & Art Opening
NEPM Studios, 44 Hampden St., Springfield
Tuesday, Sept. 29 from 5 – 7 p.m.
Join NEPM for a free community open house celebrating the unveiling of our new public art collection. Meet the artists and curators behind the collection, take a behind-the-scenes tour of our studios, and help create a collaborative community artwork. Featuring work by 10 local artists, NEPM’s collection reflects the creativity, culture, and many perspectives that shape our communities, and transforms our Springfield headquarters into a space that feels even more connected to the people, places, and stories of western Mass. A DJ set by Kaliis Smith, co-host of The Fabulous 413, complimentary mocktail bar, and snacks by West Springfield’s Graze Craze round out the celebratory evening. Registration is encouraged.
Northampton Jazz Festival
Downtown Northampton
Friday, Sept. 25 and Saturday, Sept. 26
The Northampton Jazz Festival marks its 15th year with 80 musicians and 26 live performances at 17 downtown venues. The free Jazz Strut gets things started Friday afternoon in Pulaski Park, followed by music in restaurants, breweries and bars around downtown all evening long and finishing with a late-night jam session. Free performances continue Saturday — aka Jazz Fest Day — in various Noho performance spots. The festival culminates in the 7:30 p.m. ticketed concert at the Academy of Music by six-time Grammy-nominated alto saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin.
Fun Sized: A Tiny Public Art Festival
Starting Point at Thornes Marketplace, Northampton
Saturday, Sept. 26 and Sunday, Sept. 27
Fun Sized is a tiny public art festival that focuses on small, site-specific artworks designed to reward attention. Visitors follow clues on a printed or digital map to discover 15 miniature public artworks hidden throughout downtown Northampton, each with a numbered and lettered cryptogram puzzle piece. Crack the code to reveal the location of the final installation. Printed maps, artist talks, swag bags, tiny treats, demos, and more will all be available this weekend. After the opening weekend, the works will stay on view throughout October.
Fall Reception: Composing Color
Smith College Museum of Art
Friday, Sept. 25 from 5 – 7 p.m.
Each fall, the Smith College Museum of Art welcomes the community to the museum for a celebration of art, connection, refreshments and belonging. It’s one of their biggest events of the season. This year, it will feature Composing Color: Paintings by Alma Thomas from the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Melissa Ho, Curator of Contemporary Art at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, will be on campus for this special event. Free and open to all.
Los Lonely Boys
Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, Great Barrington
Friday, Sept. 25 at 8 p.m.
Brothers Henry, Jojo and Ringo Garza of Los Lonely Boys bring their bluesy “Texican rock & roll” to the Mahaiwe. The band broke through with its 2003 debut album, Los Lonely Boys, featuring the No. 1 hit “Heaven,” which earned the group a Grammy. Their 2024 album, Resurrection, blends their signature sound with elements of soul and roots music. Lisa Morales opens.
The Carpenters Songbook
Tillis Performance Hall, UMass
Friday, Sept. 25 at 7:30 p.m.
The sibling duo of Karen and Richard Carpenter defined soft rock in the 1970s and continue to hold a place among America’s all-time most beloved pop acts. Featuring a full band and paired with heartfelt storytelling, The Carpenters Songbook is a touching tribute that invites audiences to sing along to favorites of favorites including “We’ve Only Just Begun,” “Close to You,” and “Rainy Days and Mondays.”
North Quabbin Garlic & Arts Festival
Forster Farm, Orange
Saturday, Sept. 26 and Sunday, Sept. 27 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Affectionately known as “the festival that stinks,” the North Quabbin Garlic & Arts Festival returns for its 28th year, bringing together regional artists, farmers, food makers, performers and community organizations on a historic farm amid the fall foliage. Browse art and farm products, sample garlic-inspired foods, catch music, performances and spoken word, and take part in workshops, chef demonstrations and garlic games. There’s also a free art-making tent for kids and plenty of activities for all ages.
45th Lenox Apple Squeeze
Downtown Lenox
Saturday, Sept. 26 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
The Apple Squeeze returns for its 45th year, filling downtown Lenox with more than 100 artisan and food vendors, live music and family activities. Musical performances take place throughout downtown, and there’s a kids’ carnival as part of the festivities. Indulge in classic fall treats including warm apple cider donuts, freshly popped kettle corn, local maple treats, hot cider slushies, pumpkin baked goods, and more. Admission is free.
RADIANT: STCC Fine Arts Faculty Exhibition
Amy H. Carberry Fine Arts Gallery, Springfield Technical Community College, Springfield
Public reception: Saturday, Sept. 26 from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
STCC’s first fine arts graduates walked at commencement in 1988. Today, 11 faculty members support 76 fine arts majors, with more than 500 students enrolled in fine arts courses across the college this fall. RADIANT offers a rare look at work by members of the college’s fine arts faculty, who teach painting, drawing, photography, printmaking, 2D and 3D design, and art history. The show is on view through Friday, Oct. 16.
Festival Latino of the Berkshires
Great Barrington Town Hall and Saint James Place, Great Barrington
Saturday, Sept. 26 from 12 – 6 p.m.
Take a journey through Latin America's colors, flavors and traditions. This annual gathering celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month through vibrant music, folkloric dance, artisan arts and crafts and traditional foods. The festival takes place behind Great Barrington Town Hall and at Saint James Place on Main Street. Admission is free.
Golden Hour Sounds
Park Hill Orchard, Easthampton
Saturday, Sept. 26 from 4 – 6 p.m.
Easthampton City Arts is presenting a concert at one of the best places in our region to enjoy a fall afternoon/evening. Golden Hour Sounds will feature performances by Pamela Means Band and Winterpills, surrounded by the immersive seasonal beauty and dynamic outdoor art exhibit of Easthampton's beloved Park Hill Orchard. Buy some delicious juicy crisp apples while your there.
A Passion for the Planet
Bombyx: Florence
Saturday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m.
At a time when the daily news can feel overwhelming, Geoffrey Hudson's sweeping oratorio offers something different: a vision of collective possibility. Blending scientific prose, poetry, and sacred texts, A Passion for the Planet gives voice to those who are already doing the difficult work of protecting watersheds, restoring ecosystems, preserving habitats, educating communities, advocating for change, and building a vibrant future. Connecticut-based CONCORA performs with local singers on the first stop of a four-state New England tour.
Choro Noho 2026
Bombyx, Florence
Workshop Sunday, Sept. 27 at 10 a.m.; Concert at 4 p.m.
The musical genre choro began to take shape in mid-19th century Rio de Janeiro, where the music of the Portuguese court met that of Afro-Brazilians. As part of their Choro Camp New England, Rio-based, Água de Moringa will conduct a workshop that is suitable for players of stringed instruments (plucked and bowed, fretted and non-fretted), winds, percussionists and keyboard/accordionists. Their concert with vocalist Mariana Baltar will complete a super interesting day.
Inaugural Local Love Arts Festival
The Common, Pittsfield
Sunday, Sept. 27 from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Downtown Pittsfield launches a new festival celebrating Berkshire County artists with more than 20 artisan vendors, live jazz from the Berkshires Jazz Summer Showcase, interactive art activities, and more. The day also includes food, a family activity area, sidewalk chalk art, face painting, balloon twisting and a family-friendly magic show.
Montague Soapbox Races
Unity Park Hill, Turners Falls
Sunday, Sept. 27 at 12 p.m.
The Montague Soapbox Races return for their eighth year, sending homemade, gravity-powered carts down the hill at Unity Park. Racers compete in three age brackets — ages 8–12, 13–19 and 20+ — with carts required to have at least three wheels, one rider and no motors or other propulsion. The event is a fundraiser for the Montague Parks & Recreation Department.
Bandtoberfest
Amherst Town Common
Sunday, Sept. 27 from 2–5 p.m.
Celebrate the arrival of fall with an afternoon of music on the Amherst Common. The UMass Wind Ensemble and Symphony Band will perform movie music, marches, polkas and other classics of the wind repertoire, led by conductors Matthew Westgate and Lindsay Bronnenkant. This family-friendly event is free and open to the public, with food available from nearby restaurants and food trucks.
NAB TICKETS NOW
Audra McDonald: Audra Goes to Hollywood
Tillis Performance Hall, UMass
Thursday, April 29, 2027 at 7:30 p.m.
UMass is closing their 2026-2027 Fine Arts Center Presentations season with Broadway’s all-time most decorated performer, Audra McDonald. And yes, tickets are already going fast! The Juilliard-trained soprano has won a record six Tony Awards — for her roles in Carousel, Master Class, Ragtime, A Raisin in the Sun, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, and Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill. She’s been nominated for a record eleven Tonys in total. She’s also won two Grammys and an Emmy. She was included in the Time 100 list of the world’s most influential people of 2015. And in 2016, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama. Nab your tickets now for a program of beloved songs from the silver screen.
COMING SOON
The Incredible Naumkeag Pumpkin Show
Naumkeag, Stockbridge
Thursday, Oct. 1 – Saturday, Oct. 31
Cauldrons, cobwebs, fairy houses, volcanoes, thousands of hand-carved jack-o'-lanterns, mums, pumpkins, and gourds transform Naumkeag into an autumnal haven. Every year there are new and expanded displays embracing October's mysterious magic for visitors of all ages to discover. Happening Wednesdays through Sundays. Tickets are on sale now. Advance ticket sales only. No tickets are sold on site.
NEPM’s Smart and Funny People
Ira Glass: Stories for a Saturday Night
Academy of Music, Northampton
Saturday, Oct. 3 at 8 p.m.
This American Life host Ira Glass brings a night of storytelling in the style he pioneered on his hit radio show: funny stories with feelings. Heard each week by over three million listeners, This American Life has shaped the way millions of us experience stories since 1995. His work has earned nine Peabody Awards, the first-ever Pulitzer Prize for audio journalism, and a spot in the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry. Order tickets to a preshow meet and greet reception here.
Phantoms by Firelight: Frankenstein Encounter
Old Sturbridge Village
Opens Saturday, Oct. 3
Old Sturbridge Village will be transformed into a shadowy world of dense fog, chilling music, crackling electricity — with one of literature’s most iconic and misunderstood creatures lurking somewhere in the darkness. History will be woven throughout, with interpreters exploring what frightened New Englanders more than 200 years ago when the Frankenstein was first published. There will be coffin-making, gravestone carving, spooky 1800's insights, ghost stories by the fire, experiments with electricity, theatrical performers, games and trick-or-treat for kids, and more.
Deerfield After Dark: Ghosts of the Revolution
Historic Deerfield
Friday, Oct. 9 – Saturday, Oct. 24 from 6:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Have you ever wanted to talk to the ghost of a Tory tavern keeper? Or have a conversation with two friends who were on different sides during the Revolution? This October, Hall Tavern will be filled with ghosts of the Revolution. Enjoy hot mulled cider, hear ghost stories, and follow a guide outside into the darkness to meet ghosts from the Stebbins and Williams families. Short guided walks begin at 7 p.m. and depart every half hour until 9 p.m.
Berkshire Botanical Garden Harvest Festival
Berkshire Botanical Garden, Stockbridge
Saturday, Oct. 10 and Sunday, Oct. 11 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Berkshire Botanical Garden’s annual Harvest Festival celebrates the season with family activities, live music, regional food, artisan vendors and gardening programs across the Garden’s 24 acres. Activities include pony rides, a haunted house, hay maze and hay jump, face painting, hayrides, a petting zoo and square dancing. More than 90 vendors will offer food and beverages, crafts, art, jewelry, farm products, plants and more, and the weekend also includes gardening demonstrations, workshops, a plant sale and the Scarecrow Walk and Design Contest.
K and E Theater Group: The Rocky Horror Show
Northampton Center for the Arts at 33 Hawley
Friday, Oct. 16 – Saturday, Oct. 24
The Rocky Horror Show follows newly engaged Brad and Janet after a flat tire leads them to the mysterious home of Dr. Frank N. Furter. What follows is a wildly theatrical journey filled with rock and roll, outrageous characters, sexual liberation, and a celebration of individuality and self expression. Note: no outside props including rice, toast, confetti, water guns, toilet paper, etc. Tickets to any K and E Theater production sell out fast, so nab your tickets now.