CLASSICAL MUSIC
ASTON MAGNA MUSIC FESTIVAL It’s also a big anniversary summer for Aston Magna, the country’s oldest early music festival, which celebrates 40 seasons with a wide range of concerts in Great Barrington. Through July 7. 800-875-7156, www.astonmagna.org
SOUTH MOUNTAIN CONCERTS Even older than Tanglewood, the venerable South Mountain Concerts return in late summer, offering a wealth of chamber music options right after the BSO summer season has ended. This year’s roster includes appearances by the American, Emerson, Brentano, and St. Lawrence string quartets.
Sept. 2-Oct. 7, Pittsfield. 413-442-2106, www.southmountain
concerts.org
BANG ON A CAN The new music collective returns to the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art with its annual July music festival
featuring a slew of student programs in galleries and a pair of ambitious concerts: the “Field Recordings” project on July 21 and the Bang on a Can Marathon on July 28 with Steve Reich as special guest. Mass MoCA, North Adams. 413-662-2111, www.mass
moca.org
MOHAWK TRAIL CONCERTS These intimate chamber concerts take place in the Federated Church in Charlemont, including an annual appearance by composer William Bolcom, performing on piano with his wife, mezzo-soprano Joan Morris. June 29-July 28, Charlemont. 413-625-9511, www.mo
hawktrailconcerts.org
MARLBORO MUSIC Pianists Richard Goode and Mitsuko Uchida return as artistic directors of this venerable chamber music retreat. William Bolcom and Lera Auerbach are this summer’s composers-in-residence. Weekly concert programs are not announced with much lead time, but it’s safe to just choose a weekend and go. July 14-Aug. 12, Marlboro, Vt. 802-254-2394, www.marlboro
music.org
POP & ROCK
DIANA KRALL Swinging and swellegant, Krall’s music is made for nights under the stars at Tanglewood. The jazz singer and pianist’s last album, 2009’s “Quiet Nights,” was an homage to bossa nova, but she’ll no doubt draw on nearly 20 years of setting hearts aflutter.
June 23, 7 p.m. Tanglewood Shed, Lenox. 888-266-1200, www.bostonpops.org
THE CHRIS ROBINSON BROTHERHOOD With the Black Crowes, his regular band, on hiatus, Robinson has started a new project that feels right at home with his ruminative take on cosmic country blues. Husband-and-wife folk-rock duo Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion will open. June 26,
7:30 p.m. Colonial Theatre, Pittsfield. 413-997-4444, www
.berkshiretheatregroup.org
JAMES TAYLOR He’s seen fire. He’s seen rain. And he almost always sees sold-out crowds in his three-night run at Tanglewood. Apart from a June 24 show in Portland, Maine, the Tanglewood performances are as close to Boston as Taylor gets this summer. July 2-4, 7 p.m. Tanglewood Shed, Lenox. 888-266-1200, www.bostonpops.org
GRUPO FANTASMA & DEBO BAND Cheaper than a cross-continental plane ticket, this smart pairing is musical fusion at its most exhilarating. From Austin, Texas, Grupo Fantasma blurs the line between funk and various Latin rhythms (cumbia, salsa, merengue). And Jamaica Plain’s own Debo Band resurrects the spirit of Ethiopian pop, with a focus on the 1970s. July 12, 7 p.m. Iron Horse Music Hall, Northampton. 413-586-8686, www.iheg.com
GREEN RIVER FESTIVAL This two-day outdoor festival is basically a master class in American roots music, from folk (Arlo Guthrie & the Guthrie Family Reunion) and soul (Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires) to zydeco (C.J. Chenier & the Red Hot Louisiana Band) and Chicano rock (Los Lobos). With British folk-rock legend Richard Thompson, too. July 14-15. Greenfield Community College, Greenfield. 413-773-5463, www.greenriverfestival.com
THEATER
THE PUPPETMASTER OF LODZ It’s 1950 in Berlin, five years after World War II, but a Jewish man, long escaped from a concentration camp, stays in hiding. Refusing to believe the war is over and unwilling to venture outside his small apartment for fear he’ll be imprisoned again, he builds a fantasy world with puppets and marionettes.
June 21-July 7; Sept. 13-Oct. 7. Berkshire Theatre Group. At Unicorn Theatre, Stockbridge. 413-997-4444, www.berkshire
theatregroup.org
THE NORTH POOL The East Coast premiere of a drama by Rajiv Joseph (“Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo,’’ “Gruesome Playground Injuries’’) built on a tense game of cat-and-mouse between a Syrian-born transfer student and the vice principal at a large suburban high school. July 26-Aug. 11. Barrington Stage Company, St. Germain Stage, Pittsfield. 413-236-8888, www.barringtonstageco.org
RUNNING A first-time competitor in the New York City Marathon faces unexpected complications when his wife’s ex-roommate suddenly shows up at their apartment on the night before the race. By Arlene Hutton, author of “The Nibroc Trilogy.’’ Aug. 1-12. Chester Theatre Company. At Chester Town Hall, Chester. 800-595-4849, www.chestertheatre.org
A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY Ivan Turgenev’s play about a young woman, restless in her marriage, who is drawn to her son’s 21-year-old tutor. A new translation by Richard Pevear, Larissa Volokhonsky, and playwright Richard Nelson, who also directs. Aug. 1-19. Williams-town Theatre Festival, Main Stage, Williamstown. 413-597-3400, www.wtfestival.org
SATCHMO AT THE WALDORF John Douglas Thompson (“The Life and Death of King Richard III,’’ “Othello’’) stars as Louis Armstrong in a solo show written by Wall Street Journal drama critic Terry Teachout and directed by Gordon Edelstein. Backstage at the Waldorf Astoria in 1971, just a few months before his death, Armstrong prepares for what proves to be his final performance while ruminating about his life, his career, and his complex relationship with his white manager. Aug. 22-Sept. 16. Shakespeare
& Company, Founders’ Theatre, Lenox. 413-637-3353, www
.shakespeare.org
DANCE
JACOB’S PILLOW DANCE FESTIVAL: Something Old, Something New The Pillow continues its tradition of presenting true masters of the trade as well as newer kids on the block. Among this year’s veterans are Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company (July 25-29), Royal Winnipeg Ballet (Aug. 1-5), and Joffrey Ballet (Aug. 22-26). Up-and-comers include Kidd Pivot Frankfurt RM (June 27-July 1), Jonah Bokaer & David Hallberg (Aug. 1-5), and Trey McIntyre Project (Aug. 8-12). “The Men Dancers: From the Horse’s Mouth” will honor Pillow founder Ted Shawn’s revolutionary all-male company with performances by a giddy array of well-known dancers and choreographers (July 11-15). $22-$70. Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Becket. 413-243-0745, www.jacobspillow.org
MARK MORRIS DANCE GROUP The joining of Tanglewood with Mark Morris Dance Group, whose eponymous director is hailed as one of the most musical choreographers since George Balanchine, is like peanut butter and jelly: deliciously complementary. This year the company will perform three works to — of course! — live music, played by fellows of the Tanglewood Music Center.
June 28-29. $19-$63. Tanglewood Music Center, Lee. 888-266-1200, www.tanglewood.org
MAHAIWE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER On July 6 and 7, illusory imagery and physical tomfoolery unite in Momix’s “Botanica,” the group’s sensual and vibrant paean to nature. Think Georgia O’Keeffe meets Busby Berkeley. In two separate programs July 26-28, the Paul Taylor Dance Company will present Taylor classics old and new. $22-$72. Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, Great Barrington. 413-528-0100, www.mahaiwe
.org
NORA CHIPAUMIRE Though the Zimbabwean-born choreographer has traveled to and performed in the farthest reaches of the world, she is a familiar face in Williamstown and the neighboring former mill town of North Adams, home to Mass MoCA. Chipaumire will present her work in progress, “Miriam,” based in part on the late South African artist and activist Miriam Makeba. Aug. 25. $10-$15. Mass MoCA, North Adams. 413-662-2111, www.massmoca.org
JACOB’S PILLOW DANCE FESTIVAL: Something Borrowed, Something Red, White, and Blue The festival is like the dance world’s Olympics. Of its ticketed performances, 12 companies and/or choreographers are American-based, including Morphoses (June 27-July 1), Luna Negra Dance Theater (July 18-22), and Doug Elkins and Friends (Aug. 22-26). The rest of the planet lends us their best and brightest, including Finland’s Tero Saarinen (July 11-15), Hong Kong Ballet (July 18-22), and Compagnie Käfig (Aug. 15-19). $22-$70. Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Becket. 413-243-0745, www.jacobs
pillow.org
ART
OH, CANADA! An ambitious, large-scale survey of the best of contemporary art from Canada. Through April 1. Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams. 413-662-2111, www.massmoca.org
HOWARD PYLE: AMERICAN MASTER REDISCOVERED A retrospective of the work of Pyle, who died in 1911 and has been described as the grandfather of American illustration. Through Oct. 28. Norman Rockwell
Museum, Stockbridge. 413-298-4100, www.nrm.org
UNEARTHED: RECENT ARCHEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES FROM NORTHERN CHINA Just like the title says. Commemorates museum founder Sterling Clark’s scientific expedition to China in 1908. One of three major shows revolving around China at the Clark this summer. Through Oct. 21. Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williams-town. 413-458-2303, www
.clarkart.edu
CURIOSITY A new installation of this great museum’s marvelous Kidspace, featuring 10 international contemporary artists piquing children’s curiosity with work in various media about cowboys, dinosaurs, superheroes, ninjas, monsters – the works! Opens June 23. Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams. 413-662-2111, www.massmoca.org
LAYLAH ALI: THE GREENHEADS SERIES More than 40 paintings in gouache chronicling the development of this compelling contemporary artist’s cast of indelible characters. Aug. 18-
Nov. 25. Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown. 413-597-2429, wcma.williams
.edu