The Adams Theater presents an evening with folk singer Willi Carlisle
Adams— On Friday, May 24th at 7:30 p.m., The Adams Theater presents an evening with folk singer Willi Carlisle.
Carlisle believes singing is healing, and that by singing together we can begin to reckon with the inevitability of human suffering and grow in love.
Rooted in the eclectic and collective world of his live shows, Carlisle’s third album, “Critterland” is a menagerie and letting loose the weirdos he gathered together. The album is a wild romp through the backwaters of his mind and America, lingering in the odd corners of human nature to visit obscure oddballs, dark secrets, and complicated truths about the beauty and pain of life and love.
The performance is on Friday, May 24th at 7:30 p.m. at The Adams Theater at 27 Park Street in Adams. Tickets are $25 to $50. Tickets and more information can be found online.
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Race Brook Lodge presents The Victrollers
Sheffield— On Thursday, May 23rd from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., Race Brook Lodge presents The Victrollers.
The Victrollers is a new project from Logan Carithers and Alex Harvey that lampoons and reveres pop music recorded between 1899 and 1919. You’re invited to “come down for some old weird America!”
The performance is on Thursday, May 23rd from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the Down County Social Club at Race Brook Lodge on 864 South Undermountain Road in Sheffield. Tickets and $10. Tickets and more information can be found online.
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The Guthrie Center presents an evening with Ellis Paul
Great Barrington— On Saturday, May 25th at 8 p.m., The Guthrie Center presents an evening with Ellis Paul.
Ellis Paul is a songwriter, author, illustrator, and teacher. He has been a constant presence on the American folk circuit for over thirty years. In that time, he has released twenty-two albums of original music and performed over 5,000 shows. His songs have made their way into big screen features including blockbuster films such as “Me, Myself & Irene,” “Shallow Hal,” and “Hall Pass,” as well as having been recorded by Grammy award winning country artists.
Paul’s stage performance is a combination of humor, improv, and poignant story songs. His work has been described as descriptive narratives of people at a crossroads in their lives. Despite the nature of these stories, the humanity in the writing makes them about all of us.
He has performed on stages at the Newport Folk Festival, Carnegie Hall, clubs and coffeehouses all over the world, and was awarded an Honorary Degree from the University of Maine and inducted into the Maine Music Hall of Fame. He has received numerous awards including fifteen Boston Music Awards and the prestigious Kerrville New Folk Award. His album released in 2019, “The Storyteller’s Suitcase,” was named NERFA album of the year and he was named IAMA International Acoustic Artist of the Year. His most recent album “55”, further deepens his reputation as one of folk music’s finest touring artists.
The performance is on Saturday, May 25th at 8 p.m. at The Guthrie Center at 2 Van Deusenville Road in Great Barrington. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $30 in advance and $35 at the door; members receive 10% off. Beer, wine, dessert, and snacks will be available for purchase. Tickets and more information can be found online.
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The Clark Art Institute presents ‘Invisible Empires,’ contemporary works by Kathia St. Hilaire
Williamstown— Open now through September 22nd, The Clark Art Institute presents “Invisible Empires” by Kathia St. Hilaire.
Haitian-American artist Kathia St. Hilaire’s latest contemporary exhibition features nearly twenty new and recent works that combine printmaking, painting, collage, and weaving.
Informed by her experience growing up in Caribbean and African American neighborhoods in South Florida, St. Hilaire seeks to memorialize the communities that she has been a part of through her innovative printmaking techniques. Her work draws inspiration from Haitian Vodou flags, which are used to tell stories of the country’s history and honor ancestral spirits. Using nontraditional materials such as beauty products, industrial metal, fabric, and tires, she creates complex works that seek to honor Haitian history and Vodou religious traditions.
“Kathia St. Hilaire makes works that are richly layered, densely detailed, and ingeniously crafted,” said Robert Wiesenberger, the Clark’s curator of contemporary projects and co-curator of the exhibition. “They abound with narrative throughlines that span Haiti’s proud past and tumultuous present, exposing, in surprising and lyrical ways, a history of destabilizing foreign interventions that continues to this day.”
The exhibit runs through September 22nd in the galleries of the Lunder Center at Stone Hill at The Clark Art Institute on South Street in Williamstown. More information can be found online.
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Barrington Stage Company presents the Berkshire Comedy Festival
Pittsfield— From May 23rd through May 25th, Barrington Stage Company presents the Berkshire Comedy Festival.
Now in its 6th season, the Berkshire Comedy Festival celebrates the art of live stand-up comedy. Each show features a line-up of comedians from the New England area, the New York City comedy scene, and beyond. You’ve seen many of these comedians on late night television, Comedy Central and top venues around the country.
On Thursday, May 23rd at 8 p.m., kick-off the festival in the intimate and up-close setting of Mr. Finn’s Cabaret, where Pittsfield’s own Eryca Nolan will headline a line-up of hilarious comedians. On Friday, May 24th at 8 p.m., a second night of fantastic comics will light up the St. Germain Stage featuring national headliner Vinnie Mark and an entire line-up of top comedians. On Saturday, May 25th at 8 p.m., don’t miss major comedy acts on the Boyd-Quinson Stage where national headliner Chris Roach will lead an all-star line-up including “Coach” Tom Whitely and Kevin Bartini.
The festival runs from May 23rd through May 25th at Barrington Stage Company in downtown Pittsfield. Tickets and more information can be found online.
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West Stockbridge Library presents Ed the Wizard and his Alchemy Magic Program
West Stockbridge— On Saturday May 25th at 11 a.m., the West Stockbridge Library presents Ed the Wizard and his Alchemy Magic Program.
At Ed the Wizard’s lab, “Harry Potter meets real science.” Families are invited to bring a picnic lunch to enjoy outdoors after the program. Dessert and drinks will be provided by the Friends of the West Stockbridge Library.
The free event is on Saturday May 25th at 11 a.m. at the West Stockbridge Library at 21 State Line Road in West Stockbridge. No registration is required.
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‘Second Chances Job and Resource Fair’ at Berkshire Innovation Center
Pittsfield— On Wednesday, May 22nd from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., Berkshire Community College (BCC), in collaboration with Second Street Second Chances, Berkshire County Jail and House of Correction, Berkshire District Attorney’s Office, MassHire Berkshire Career Center and Berkshire Innovation Center, will hold the Second Chances Job and Resource Fair.
Formerly incarcerated individuals, including those who may have been justice involved and/or who have a Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) file, are particularly encouraged to attend.
The job fair is free and open to the public. It is located at Berkshire Innovation Center at 45 Woodlawn Avenue in Pittsfield. Walk-ins are welcome, and no registration is required.
For those in need of transportation, roundtrip shuttle service will be provided to the job fair. Pickup at 3:30 pm is available at the following locations:
- Joseph Scelsi Intermodal Transportation Center, 1 Columbus Avenue, Pittsfield
- Rural Recovery Resources, 67 State Road, Great Barrington
- Main Street Bus Stop, 70 Main Street, North Adams
