Mamma’s Marmalade started in a UMass dorm room when Sexton (fiddle) and Mitch Bordage (mandolin) bonded over bluegrass. In 2016, the pair were participating at an open mic when a tall young man named Sean Davis asked to join them on stage for a tune. Davis’s tenacious flatpicking caught their attention immediately.
“The guitar is an incredibly integral part of any band, but within bluegrass, a guitarist has to fill so many roles,” says Sexton. “They have to be rhythmic magicians, and sometimes you get lucky with the rare player who can take leads as well.”
“I was in school for mathematics when I met them, but I was miserable with it,” says Davis. “I wanted to be a musician, I just didn’t know it completely. They helped me recognize my true calling and I quickly adopted the mindset that I had to do music full-time.” He joined later that year and the band released their debut album Goodbye, Black Velvet, the following summer. In 2019 the band released their sophomore LP Rockabee Fields.
With songs as sweet and biting as the nectar and venom in her voice, Rachel Sumner has been captivating audiences throughout the northeast with her exciting new band Traveling Light.
While their instrumentation and textures show roots deep in bluegrass and traditional folk music, Sumner’s lyric-forward writing and penchant for snaking chord progressions demand something beyond folk conventions, highlighting the acrobatic range of her brilliant bandmates Kat Wallace (fiddle/harmonies) and Mike Siegel (upright bass). Sumner is no stranger to the stage.
She spent her early career on the bluegrass circuit, singing and writing with the genre-bending Boston group Twisted Pine. Since setting out on her own, Sumner’s songs have been critically acclaimed, winning the Lennon Award in the folk category of the 2021 John Lennon Songwriting Contest for her song “Radium Girls (Curie Eleison);” earning her a spot in the Kerrville New Folk Competition; and being chosen three consecutive years by WBUR/NPR as one of the top Massachusetts entries in the Tiny Desk Competition .
Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light released their debut LP in the summer of 2022 to acclaim; Americana Highways says, “Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light shine bright on new album.”
They will perform at the Egremeont Barn, a performance venue in a tavern atmosphere with a wood fire and comfortable chairs around the stage and a pub menu for dinner.
By the Way Berkshires is a digital magazine exploring creative life and community — art and performance, food and the outdoors — and I’m writing it for you, with local voices, because I’ve gotten to know this rich part of the world as a writer and journalist, and I want to share it with you.
If you’d like to see the website grow, you can join me for a few dollars a month, enough for a cup of coffee and a cider doughnut. Members get access to extra stories and multimedia, itineraries a bookmark tool. Let me know what you're looking for, and we’ll explore together.
Hancock Shaker Village welcomes visitors to meet their newest farm babies – lambs, piglets, calves, chicks and kid goats, and enjoy events and activities throughout the Village.
Hancock Shaker Village welcomes visitors to meet their newest farm babies – lambs, piglets, calves, chicks and kid goats, and enjoy events and activities throughout the Village.
Igor Simões (State University of Rio Grande do Sul / Clark Fellow) explores the absence of Black Brazilian artists in the international debate on art and the history of Afro-Diasporic art.
Hancock Shaker Village welcomes visitors to meet their newest farm babies – lambs, piglets, calves, chicks and kid goats, and enjoy events and activities throughout the Village.
Naumkeag's annual Spring Celebration returns for its 5th year, as the eight acres of gardens bloom with bulbs to celebrate spring in the Berkshires.
Families with children up to 6 years old are invited to join Mass MoCA museum educators for a storytime and related exploration in the galleries.
Hancock Shaker Village welcomes visitors to meet their newest farm babies – lambs, piglets, calves, chicks and kid goats, and enjoy events and activities throughout the Village.
In this two-part class, botanist Ted Elliman will focus on the wildflowers that grow in Berkshire County’s spring woods.
The Clark screens classic films — Manhatta, inspired by Walt Whitman, and Rien que les heures, showing the life of Paris from dawn to dusk.
Naumkeag's annual Spring Celebration returns for its 5th year, as the eight acres of gardens bloom with bulbs to celebrate spring in the Berkshires.
Hancock Shaker Village welcomes visitors to meet their newest farm babies – lambs, piglets, calves, chicks and kid goats, and enjoy events and activities throughout the Village.
May’s First Friday comes to North Adams with Flower Power — with live music, food trucks and vendors, openings and events focused on starting fresh.
First Fridays @ Five brings a new festival to downtown Pittsfield, with fire dancing with Opal Raven Cirque at Persip Park, a makers market and beer garden, live ceramics and more.
Founded by singer-guitarist Sean Walsh, The National Reserve blend R&B, Laurel Canyon lyricism, New Orleans funk, late night soul, and bluesy rock ‘n’ roll.
Tom Ingersoll and Melissa LeVangie-Ingersoll look at trees in the Spring season and witness their unique characteristics with and without leaves.
This four-part class will revisit trees through the seasons and witness their unique characteristics with and without leaves.
Naumkeag's annual Spring Celebration returns for its 5th year, as the eight acres of gardens bloom with bulbs to celebrate spring in the Berkshires.
Berkshire Botanical Garden will hold a workshop in creating and using herbal infused oils — lip balms, skin salves, and roll-on perfume/bug repellent.
Milne Public Library celebrates books and the people who read them, with two staged readings of The Book Club Play, a comedy by Karen Zacarias — held at Sweetwood.
Berkshire Botanical Garden’s 90th outdoor season opens with the their annual community celebration steeped in history and tradition.
Every first Sunday of the month, Pete Toigo and Dave Bartley bring a morning of music — soulful jazz and blues with Pete on bass and Dave piano and vocals.
Naumkeag's annual Spring Celebration returns for its 5th year, as the eight acres of gardens bloom with bulbs to celebrate spring in the Berkshires.
Hancock Shaker Village welcomes visitors to meet their newest farm babies – lambs, piglets, calves, chicks and kid goats, and enjoy events and activities throughout the Village.
Inspired by May's First Sunday Free theme, 'Giddy Up!' , the Clark offers a free display of works on paper in the Manton Study Center for Works on Paper.
In this Research and Academic Program lecture, Michael Gaudio (University of Minnesota / Clark Professor 2023–2024) explores Native burial mounds.
On the day of each new moon — believed by many to be a time of rebirth — visitors to Like Magic at Mass MoCA are invited into Grace Clark’s 'In a new light (Healing Dirt).'
Inspired by the open jams from the formative era of jazz, Band leader Luke Franco and host Brian Kantor will hold a monthly evening of music.
Naumkeag's annual Spring Celebration returns for its 5th year, as the eight acres of gardens bloom with bulbs to celebrate spring in the Berkshires.
Each supper at Hancock Shaker Village offers authentic Shaker recipes prepared by a local chef and served communal style followed by a Shaker focused program.
Naumkeag's annual Spring Celebration returns for its 5th year, as the eight acres of gardens bloom with bulbs to celebrate spring in the Berkshires.
Works on Paper invites artists of all experience and skill levels to work closely with thematic selections of drawings from the Clark’s collection.
Come join Tipsy Carol AKA McBoozle in her third fabulous singalong at The Foundry and add your gloriousness to her songs about spring, new beginnings and flings ...
The Berkshire Botanical Garden holds their 47th Annual Plants-and-Answers Plant Sale on May 10 and 11, curated by BBG’s horticulture staff.
Locally roasted coffee, native plants or gently herbed hand cream ... the regular Pittsfield Farmers Market welcomes in farmers and artisans together.
The market returns with fruits and greens and cheeses, locally roasted coffee and brewed cider — popsicles, mushrooms, Berkshire Mountain Bakery sourdough bread, fresh berries ...
Naumkeag's annual Spring Celebration returns for its 5th year, as the eight acres of gardens bloom with bulbs to celebrate spring in the Berkshires.
Learn basic blacksmithing skills at Hancock Shaker Village’s coal-fired forge with instructor Rick Ryer, one of the Village’s experienced blacksmiths.
Naumkeag's annual Spring Celebration returns for its 5th year, as the eight acres of gardens bloom with bulbs to celebrate spring in the Berkshires.
Working with the BBG’s vegetable garden, chef and farmer Miriam Rubin will harvest from the garden, then head into the kitchen to make a multiple-course meal.
Decorate a token of appreciation for the mothers and maternal figures in your life at the Clark’s card-making station, listen to a free chamber music concert and more.
This year's Lenett Fellows, Ricardo Mercado Ruiz and Destini Ross (Williams College M.A. Class of 2024), present the work they have produced during their fellowship.
The Clark invites visitors to look contemplatively as a way to engage with works of art from the museum’s collection.
Dewey Hall holds storytelling events with a group discussion exploring themes, similarities and contrasts within the stories as a whole
Jean Vigo’s film exposes the seedier side of life on the French Riviera, contrasting the labor of low-paid workers with the idle tourists as the city prepares for carnival.
Elizabeth and the Catapult, Autumn Nicholas and Monica Giraldo offer an intimate evening of songs and stories unbounded by tradition, pre-conceptions and expectations.
Locally roasted coffee, native plants or gently herbed hand cream ... the regular Pittsfield Farmers Market welcomes in farmers and artisans together.
The market returns with fruits and greens and cheeses, locally roasted coffee and brewed cider — popsicles, mushrooms, Berkshire Mountain Bakery sourdough bread, fresh berries ...
Chocolate peanut butter cookies, fresh flowers, jams and pickles and cheeses ... the North Adams Farmers Market returns weekly with more than a dozen farmers and makers.
Farmers, food producers, artists and artisans will gather in the expanded parking lot at the end of Spring Street every Saturday in summer and fall.
Families with children up to 6 years old are invited to join Mass MoCA museum educators for a storytime and related exploration in the galleries.
A Clark educator leads a thematic tour of highlights of the Clark’s Impressionist art collection by artists like Renoir, Monet, Pissarro and Cassa.
Clark educators lead a free program with slow engagement with nature and art — a mindful walk in the woods to engage your senses and an experience with art in the galleries.
Conceived by performer, composer and American Modern Opera Company (AMOC*) member Keir GoGwilt, Zarabanda Variations bring together a group of visionary composers, improvisers and performers.
People living with dementia and their care-partners can join the museum on select Mondays for open-ended conversations about art.
The West Stockbridge Farmers Market offers fresh produce — fruits and vegetables in season, eggs, meats and cheeses, breads and baked goods, fudge and jams and more.
David-Jeremiah, the artist of I Drive Thee, this year’s public spaces installation at the Clark, celebrates the launch of the exhibition publication.
The Lenox Farmers Market returns on Friday afternoons with organic produce, sweets, fresh-baked breads and more.
The Sheffield Farmers Market returns outdoors with some 20 vendors — from pickles, seasonings and garlic, to Naji’s Mediterranean Cuisine, baked fresh wheat-free breads, local meats, honey and maple syrup and more.
Farmers, food producers, artists and artisans will gather in the expanded parking lot at the end of Spring Street every Saturday in summer and fall.
Chocolate peanut butter cookies, fresh flowers, jams and pickles and cheeses ... the North Adams Farmers Market returns weekly with more than a dozen farmers and makers.
The market returns with fruits and greens and cheeses, locally roasted coffee and brewed cider — popsicles, mushrooms, Berkshire Mountain Bakery sourdough bread, fresh berries ...
Locally roasted coffee, native plants or gently herbed hand cream ... the regular Pittsfield Farmers Market welcomes in farmers and artisans together.
A Clark educator will lead a tour of the permanent collection galleries to talk about the Institute's history and work.
Of Words and Music explores creative pairs of works with the same text settings by Tallis, Haydn, Biebl, Lauridsen, Barber, Bloch, and Burleigh, among others.
Naturalist and wild edibles enthusiast Arianna Alexsandra Collins from the Hoosic River Watershed Association and Offerings for Community Building leads a foraging walk
The West Stockbridge Farmers Market offers fresh produce — fruits and vegetables in season, eggs, meats and cheeses, breads and baked goods, fudge and jams and more.
The Lenox Farmers Market returns on Friday afternoons with organic produce, sweets, fresh-baked breads and more.
The Sheffield Farmers Market returns outdoors with some 20 vendors — from pickles, seasonings and garlic, to Naji’s Mediterranean Cuisine, baked fresh wheat-free breads, local meats, honey and maple syrup and more.
The market returns with fruits and greens and cheeses, locally roasted coffee and brewed cider — popsicles, mushrooms, Berkshire Mountain Bakery sourdough bread, fresh berries ...
Locally roasted coffee, native plants or gently herbed hand cream ... the regular Pittsfield Farmers Market welcomes in farmers and artisans together.
Chocolate peanut butter cookies, fresh flowers, jams and pickles and cheeses ... the North Adams Farmers Market returns weekly with more than a dozen farmers and makers.
Farmers, food producers, artists and artisans will gather in the expanded parking lot at the end of Spring Street every Saturday in summer and fall.
Hancock Shaker Village offers an outdoor yoga class ... with goats. Goats roam freely as you strike your poses with a certified yoga instructor.
Every first Sunday of the month, Pete Toigo and Dave Bartley bring a morning of music — soulful jazz and blues with Pete on bass and Dave piano and vocals.
