BASIC Berkshires

ARKAI
2025-12-06 20:00 - 22:00 (America/New_York) | Indigo Room, 20 Castle Street, Great Barrington, 01230
ARKAI is an award-winning electro-acoustic duo that has captivated audiences around the world with their creative imagination and cutting-edge string music. Transforming the beautiful tones of the violin and cello into epic soundscapes that resemble a rock band backed by a cinematic orchestra, ARKAI’s signature sound has led them to hundreds of performances around the world including Grammys On The Hill and Carnegie Hall, opening for Grammy- and Oscar-winning musician Jon Batiste, and NBA playoff shows for the LA Lakers. They’ve also collaborated with celebrity photographer David LaChapelle for Milan Design Week, toured with superstar violinist Lindsey Stirling, and released viral hits with piano sensation Tony Ann.

Tinker Tots
2025-12-09 10:00 - 11:00, 2025-12-16 10:00 - 11:00, 2025-12-23 10:00 - 11:00, 2025-12-30 10:00 - 11:00, 2026-01-06 10:00 - 11:00, 2026-01-13 10:00 - 11:00, 2026-01-20 10:00 - 11:00, 2026-01-27 10:00 - 11:00 and 9 more dates | Berkshire Athenaeum, 1 Wendell Avenue, Pittsfield, MA, 012201
Come tinker and explore with the library and Pittsfield’s CFCE!
Each week children ages 0-2 (siblings welcome) and their caregivers engage in child-centered play, art, music, storytime, and sensory activities to encourage social, fine and gross motor, and pre-literacy skills.
¡Venga a jugar y explorar con la biblioteca y el CFCE de Pittsfield! Cada semana, los niños y sus cuidadores participan en juegos, arte, música, lectura de cuentos y actividades sensoriales centradas en los niños.
Children under the age of 10 must be accompanied by an adult 18+ at all times.
For more information call the Children’s Library: 413-499-9480, ext. 5.
Sponsored by the Friends of the Berkshire Athenaeum.
Attendance at library programs constitutes consent to be photographed; photos may be used in print or electronic publicity for the Berkshire Athenaeum.

Indigo Comedy Night with Ariel Elias
2025-12-12 20:00 - 21:30 | Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, 14 Castle Street, Great Barrington, MA, 01230
With host Thomas Attila Lewis and featured support from Hoodo Hersi.
Ariel Elias is a comedian living in New York City. Growing up, this Kentucky Jew made everyone laugh at her bat mitzvah, and the rest is history. Today, her comedy is a fun mesh of unique, personal stories mixed with witty and wry observations.
Described as “a sly young comic from Kentucky” by ‘The New York Times,’ Ariel has also been featured in ‘Rolling Stone,’ ‘The Washington Post,’’ and on Good Morning America.’ She was named as ‘Paste Magazine’s’ Best Comedians of 2022.
After catching Jimmy Kimmel’s attention with a viral stand-up clip that displayed her cool, calm, and hilarious composure, he invited Ariel to make her late night television debut on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ In 2024, she followed it up with an appearance on ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.’

Met Opera Live in HD: Giordano’s “Andrea Chénier”
2025-12-13 13:00 - 16:00 | Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, 14 Castle Street, Great Barrington, MA, 01230
Giordano’s passionate tragedy stars tenor Piotr Beczała as the virtuous poet who falls victim to the intrigue and violence of the French Revolution. Following their celebrated recent partnership in Giordano’s Fedora in the 2022–23 Live in HD season, Beczała reunites with soprano Sonya Yoncheva as Chénier’s aristocratic lover, Maddalena di Coigny, with baritone Igor Golovatenko as Carlo Gérard, the agent of the Reign of Terror who seals their fates. Met Principal Guest Conductor Daniele Rustioni takes the podium to lead Nicolas Joël’s gripping staging, which will be transmitted live from the Met stage to cinemas on December 13. This live cinema transmission is part of the Met’s award-winning Live in HD series, bringing opera to movie theaters across the globe.

“Mickey’s Christmas Carol” (1983)
2025-12-13 13:00 - 16:00 | Indigo Room, 20 Castle Street, Great Barrington, 01230
Animated family favorite “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” will play on loop for free at the Mahaiwe’s new Indigo Room during Great Barrington’s Holiday Shop, Sip, and Stroll. Familiar Disney characters retell Charles Dickens’ timeless story of holiday spirit. (Rated G, 26min.)

Free screening of “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946)
2025-12-19 19:00 - 21:30 | Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, 14 Castle Street, Great Barrington, MA, 01230
The Mahaiwe presents a free screening of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ per annual tradition. Frank Capra directs James Stewart and Donna Reed in this classic holiday favorite about community, love, and hope. (Rated PG, 2h 10min.)

Berkshire Opera Festival's Community Sing-Along
2026-01-10 14:00 - 16:00 | St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 67 East Street, Pittsfield, 01201
Berkshire Opera Festival is excited to invite you to our third annual Community Sing-Along!
​This free, fun-filled event brings everyone together to sing beloved opera choruses by composers like Mozart, Verdi, and Wagner—alongside BOF choristers and members of our wider Berkshire singing community.
​Singers of all experience levels are encouraged to join in. Whether you’re a seasoned vocalist or just love to sing for fun, you’ll fit right in. For ages 13+.
The event is free, but registration is required. We’ll send you the music and helpful details ahead of time—no preparation needed, just come ready to sing and enjoy a joyful afternoon of music-making.

Met Opera Live in HD: Bellini’s “I Puritani”
2026-01-11 13:00 - 16:00 | Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, 14 Castle Street, Great Barrington, MA, 01230
For gorgeous melody, spellbinding coloratura, and virtuoso vocal fireworks, ‘I Puritani’ has few equals. The first new Met production of Bellini’s final masterpiece in nearly 50 years is a striking staging by Charles Edwards, who makes his company directorial debut after many successes as a set designer. The Met has assembled a world-beating quartet of stars, conducted by Marco Armiliato, for the demanding principal roles. Soprano Lisette Oropesa and tenor Lawrence Brownlee are Elvira and Arturo, brought together by love and torn apart by the political rifts of the English Civil War, with baritone Artur Ruciński as Riccardo, betrothed to Elvira against her will, and bass-baritone Christian Van Horn as Elvira’s sympathetic uncle, Giorgio.

Indigo Comedy Night with David Drake
2026-01-17 20:00 - 21:30 | Indigo Room, 20 Castle Street, Great Barrington, 01230
With host Thomas Attila Lewis and featured support
David Drake is a comedian. He is a very funny comedian. He has been featured on Comedy Central, HBO, Sirius XM, Cracked, Don’t Tell, and Fox. He was named one of Complex Magazine’s ‘Comics to Watch Under 30,’ although is now 38, and one of New York Comedy Festival’s ‘Comics to Watch,’ but they did not specify any age boundaries. He is a producer of the long-standing New York showcase Comedians You Should Know NYC and a regular at the world-famous Comedy Cellar. With six stand-up albums and three specials under his belt, including the critically acclaimed Big Break, David delivers comedy that’s “smart and engaging” (‘The New York Times’) and “endlessly watchable” (‘Humorism’). In addition to stand-up, he is a five-time reoccurring guest on the popular storytelling podcast ‘Risk!’ and a producer of the traveling outdoor storytelling series ‘Campfire.’ David currently performs nationwide while working out a niche in New York’s legendary comedy scene and sometimes he’ll eat fries off your plate. He feels bad about that. He’s sorry… I’m sorry. I’m David Drake. This was me the whole time.

Chrissi Poland – Forever Muscle Shoals
2026-02-21 20:00 - 22:00 | Indigo Room, 20 Castle Street, Great Barrington, 01230
With special guest Matt Cusson
Acclaimed vocalist and songwriter Chrissi Poland brings Forever Muscle Shoals to the Indigo Room! Forever Muscle Shoals celebrates the songs and sounds recorded in Muscle Shoals, AL, in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, where soul, blues, rock and country converged to create some of the most important recordings in American music. Deeply inspired by sharing the stage with Muscle Shoals icons like Mavis Staples, Ronnie Wood and more, Chrissi Poland is bringing her vocal power, interpretation and stories to songs from Aretha Franklin, Etta James, Wilson Pickett, Cher, Bob Dylan, and beyond. With the album due out in March 2026, don’t miss the chance to witness Chrissi Poland and this soul-stirring catalogue of music.

Black Violin
2026-02-27 20:00 - 22:00 | Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, 14 Castle Street, Great Barrington, MA, 01230
Step into Black Violin’s Full Circle Tour, where Grammy-nominated duo Wil Baptiste and Kev Marcus redefine the possibilities of music by merging classical depth with hip-hop’s pulse. This tour captures the essence of returning to where it all began—transformed and reimagined. Each powerful performance invites audiences to reflect on their own journeys, discovering that even as we evolve, we’re often drawn back to our roots with renewed purpose.

Berkshire Opera Festival's Winterreise
2026-03-07 08:00 - 17:00, 2026-03-07 14:00 - 15:30 | Studio E, Linde Center for Music and Learning, Tanglewood, 3 West Hawthorne Road, Lenox, MA, 01240
A rejected lover. A frozen landscape. A profound loneliness. Hailed as the greatest song cycle ever written, Schubert’s Winterreise follows a wandering protagonist on his quest for comfort on a winter’s night. But this is not merely a trek through snow and ice—it is an intimate odyssey into the depths of the soul. Join internationally acclaimed baritone Jarrett Porter and Artistic Director Brian Garman as they take you on this deeply moving and cathartic journey.
For information on discounted tickets, contact Sarah Prouty at sprouty@berkshireoperafestival.org.
This program is funded in part by a grant from the Lenox Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.
Discounted tickets to BOF’s production of Winterreise are generously sponsored by Adrian & Christine Slywotzky.

Better Than Ezra
2026-03-27 19:30 - 21:00 | Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, 14 Castle Street, Great Barrington, MA, 01230
Songs, albums, live performances — some are simply timeless. From their early roots, circa 1988, playing house parties at Louisiana State University, Better Than Ezra have made their mark on the music world in a major way. Yes, the New Orleans quartet, founded by Kevin Griffin (lead vocals, guitar, piano) and Tom Drummond (bass, backing vocals), who unleash hummable melodies, unshakable guitar riffs, and confessional lyrics, have stood the test of time — from 1995’s number one hit “Good” all the way to Taylor Swift’s famous 2010 cover of the Better Than Ezra classic “Breathless.” And they’re still going strong: in May 2024, the band released their long-anticipated tenth studio album “Super Magick” via Round Hill Records. Named one of the “100 Greatest Alternative Artists of All Time” by “Billboard,” with a legacy that includes inspiring a classic “Saturday Night Live” skit, Better Than Ezra spent 2024 on the road touring their headline “Live a Little Tour” in the spring and continuing through the year, recently wrapping their “Legends of the Fall: Tokyo Drift Tour.”
