FreshGrass | North Adams 2024 Tickets On Sale Now!

“[A] wonderland of traditional and cutting-edge roots music.” – New England Public Media

Set against the foothills of the beautiful Berkshire mountains FreshGrass is a family-friendly festival with the best in bluegrass and roots music filling the fields, courtyards, and galleries of MASS MoCA — the largest contemporary art museum in the country (gallery admission included with all tickets!). Along with world premieres, emerging artist competitions, farm-fresh food, local brews, and pop-up jam sessions, this is three days of festival magic produced in partnership by MASS MoCA, the FreshGrass Foundation, and No Depression.

FreshGround is a tent-camping field within easy walking distance (.7 miles; 12 minutes) of the festival, convenient to downtown merchants, bars, and restaurants. A shuttle bus runs continuously to the festival from the campsite. Camping is on sale now.

By purchasing a ticket to FreshGrass (and all events on our campus), you agree to join MASS MoCA’s visitors, staff, and artists in following our Courtesy Code, detailed here.

About FreshGrass | North Adams
Music starts early in the museum courtyards, moves to our spacious (and grassy!) urban concert meadow, and then continues until past your bedtime with wild and woolly late-night barn dances in the Hunter Center on Friday and Saturday nights. Concerts held rain or shine. The lineup is jam-packed with guitar gods and banjo gurus, traditionalists, and trailblazers — artists you already know and love interspersed with FreshGrass discoveries. Taken together, it’s an expansive group of performers who both draw on the past and look to the future. We like to think of it as “great music uprooted.” The FreshGrass Awards celebrates new talent, with cash prizes to the contest winners. Finalists in the band, banjo, fiddle, and guitar categories perform for a panel of industry professionals on Saturday and Sunday of the festival, with winners announced on Sunday afternoon. Open to all festival-goers, the contest showcases the future of bluegrass and roots music when the bands play original and traditional tunes. With prizes totaling $20,000, grand prize winners receive a performance spot at the next year’s festival, recording sessions at Compass Records, and handcrafted instruments from festival sponsors.

Pearl Palooza After Party with Robert Delong (DJ Set)
7pm Doors
8pm Show
9:30pm Robert Delong DJ set
18$ presale

The California Honeydrops…evoke the greasy rumble of Booker T and channel the spiritual ecstasy of Sly and the Family Stone.” -Rolling Stone

Formed in the subway systems of Oakland, retro-soul outfit The California Honeydrops are an electrifying group that defy convention at every turn. They’ve become a mainstay at festivals including Byron Bay Bluesfest (Australia), Outside Lands, Monterey Jazz, Lightning In A Bottle, and touring with B.B. King, Dr. John, Bonnie Raitt, Buddy Guy, and Allen Toussaint. Led by the enigmatic and energetic frontman, Lech Wierzynski, and drummer Benjamin Malament, each member of the band is a virtuoso in their own rite — Yanos “Johnny Bones” Lustig on saxophone, Lorenzo Loera on keyboards/guitar, Beaumont Beaullieu on bass, and regularly accompanied by Scott Messersmith on percussion, Oliver Tuttle on trombone, Leon Cotter on saxophone/clarinet, and Miles Lyons on trombone/sousaphone — navigating through a vast repertoire of original songs and timeless classics every night. But what truly sets them apart is their unwavering commitment to the art of improvisation – a skill so finely honed that they have completely

abandoned the use of set lists and no two shows are ever the same. Off stage, their music has been streamed more than 200 million times, and placed in a variety of TV and films, including “Dead To Me,” “Alaska Daily,” “Black-ish” and more. They are currently touring North America in support of their new deluxe album, ‘Soft Spot’.

Head to Empire Live in downtown Albany on Saturday, February 8th for a show with Hippo Campus, along with special guests, Mei Semones.

Catch a show with RAEL as they pay tribute to the music of Genesis and Peter Gabriel at The Strand Theatre in Hudson Falls, New York on Saturday, September 28th.

Gin Blossoms and Toad The Wet Sprocket make their way to the Champlain Valley Fair in Essex Junction, Vermont for a co-headlining show on Saturday, August 24th.

Catch an evening of music with Haley Heynderickx, along with special guest LéPonds, at the Higher Ground Ballroom in South Burlington, Vermont on Thursday, September 5th.

Come celebrate the first annual 820 Music and Arts Fest with us on Ellsworth Jones Place in front of the city center! WEQX will be there doing a live broadcast!

The fest will feature local artists and craftspeople, glassblowing, and phenomenal music by Vinnie Amico’s All Star Dub Band at 8:40pm, Sophistafunk at 7:00pm, Annie in the Water at 5:40pm, Foster Planet at 4:40pm and the one of our best local singer songwriters, Richie Ortiz kicks things off at 3:30pm!

This event is 21+ and FREE

Gates open at 3pm
Jeff will be broadcasting live from 3:30-5:30pm

Catch Best Friend’s Girl as they pay tribute to the music of The Cars on Saturday, September 7th at The Strand Theatre in Hudson Falls, New York.

Former member of Trapeze, Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath, Glenn Hughes stops by The Strand Theatre in Hudson Falls, New York on Saturday, September 14th.

Get to The Strand Theatre in Hudson Falls, New York for an evening of music with blues musician Walter Trout on Saturday, August 24th.

Catch a show with Antelope as they pay tribute to the music of Phish on Friday, August 30th at The Strand Theatre in Hudson Falls, New York.

Draw The Line bring their offically endorsed tribute to the music of Aerosmith into The Strand Theatre in Hudson Falls, New York on Friday, September 6th.

Eastbound Jesus’ Eastbound Throwdown returns to the Irwin Farm in Salem, New York for the second of two days on Friday, September 7th. Tell your friends & get your passes soon!

This is a family friendly event. Children 15 and under are FREE! Anyone 17 or younger must be accompanied by an adult.

Saturday’s Lineup Includes: Dan Johnson, Ida Mae Specker, Kristian Montgomery & The Winterkill Band, Space Trash, Driftwood, Boy Golden, Eastbound Jesus, and Moonboot Lover

– 2 Day passes include tent camping (passenger van size campers are OK).
– If you are coming with a camper/RV larger than a passenger van, or any size tow behind camper (pop ups included) you must buy the additional RV/Camper pass.
– Saturday only passes do not include camping, only 300 will be available starting when we announce the daily lineup.

For the full lineup, more rules & info, visit the full festival website.

Eastbound Jesus’ Eastbound Throwdown returns to the Irwin Farm in Salem, New York for the first of two days on Friday, September 6th. Tell your friends & get your passes soon!

This is a family friendly event. Children 15 and under are FREE! Anyone 17 or younger must be accompanied by an adult.

Friday’s Lineup Features: The Wormdogs, Damn Tall Buildings, Dirty Blanket, Eastbound Jesus, Turf n Turf, and The Mallett Brothers Band.

– 2 Day passes include tent camping (passenger van size campers are OK).
– If you are coming with a camper/RV larger than a passenger van, or any size tow behind camper (pop ups included) you must buy the additional RV/Camper pass.

For the full lineup, more rules & info, visit the full festival website.

We can’t think of a better way to kickoff PearlPalooza weekend
than with a show from Say She She at Lark Hall!  

Say She She, the soulful female-led trio, stand rock solid on their disco-delic duty with their boundary-breaking sophomore album Silver (released September 29 on Colemine/Karma Chief Records). The strong voices of Piya Malik (El Michels Affair, Chicano Batman), Sabrina Mileo Cunningham and Nya Gazelle Brown front the band. Following the NYC siren song, the trio was pulled from their respective cities — Piya from London, Nya from DC, and Sabrina from NYC — to Manhattan’s downtown dance floors, through the Lower East Side floorboards, and up to the rooftops of Harlem, where their friendship was formed on one momentous, kismet evening.

Silver was written and recorded live to tape at Killion Sound studio in North Hollywood in early 2023, and produced by Sergio Rios (Orgone, Neal Francis, Alicia Keys). While these analog recording techniques help root Say She She’s sound in a bedrock of tonal warmth that only tape can achieve, it is also their process of cutting the track in the moment and capturing the magic of communal creativity that have critics reeling. 

Musical inspirations include Rotary Connection, Asha Puthli, Liquid Liquid, Grace Jones, and Tom Tom Club.

Described as “a glorious overload of joyful elation and spiritual elevation” (MOJO) and “infused with the wonky post-disco spirit of early 80s NYC” (The Guardian), the band consistently tops the radio charts of tastemaker stations EQX, KCRW and KEXP, as well as BBC’s Radio 6 Music. Sold out shows from London to Los Angeles and televised appearances on CBS Saturday and Later…with Jools Holland are a testament to a rapidly growing fan base. Say She She has toured with the likes of Thee Sacred Souls, and have already played iconic festivals like Glastonbury, Central Park Summerstage, and more. 

Ultimately, Silver oozes with quirk and adventure and embraces the multifaceted nature of what it means to be a modern femme. Say She She fully embrace their role as beauticians, actively reminding people of the inherent beauty in the world. They skillfully employ double entendres and humor to encourage open dialogue and fearlessly address important matters that demand attention.