Music fans, get ready to fill your calendars. Summer is here, and with it comes a lineup of exciting music events. It all begins Thursday night, May 28, when the Coop Concerts launch their 2026 season at the Energy Park in Greenfield. The music runs from 6 to 8 p.m. and, as with most of their shows, will feature three different acts. This first show of the season will be a mix of folk, bluegrass, old-time and swing music, featuring Coopsters Katie Clarke and Larry LeBlanc, R & D (Rob Adams and Dennis Avery), and Small Change.
This is the Coop Concerts’ 22nd year, so you know the drill by now. Pack a picnic, grab a chair or blanket, head to Energy Park and soak up the sweet sounds of some of the area’s finest players — and it is all free! You can view the entire schedule at coop concerts.org.
On Saturday, May 30, it’s the return of “Good Music Makes Good Neighbors,” the mini music festival held in Montague that is a celebration of local music. The festival will take place from noon to 5 p.m. and will feature 15 local acts performing in five different locations in Montague Center, all within walking distance of each other. Locations include the Montague Common Hall, the Congregational Church and three private outdoor spaces all located near the Montague Common. (Note: the Montague Common Hall is not wheelchair accessible.)
Now in its eighth year, the festival was founded and is organized by Matthew Duncan and Nicole Nemec, who upon moving to the area, discovered that they were surrounded by musical talent right in their own backyard and wanted to celebrate and share this music with others. Modeled after the popular nationwide “porch festival” concept, they launched the inaugural event in 2015.
Duncan, who is also the director of the 1794 Meetinghouse, is excited about the lineup, which features all types of music — everything from classical to Latin jazz to funk.
“A few of the acts will be performing at the Meetinghouse this summer: The Klines, Louise Coombe and the Valley Arabic Music Ensemble. Others are near-local legends: Chris Devine, Michael Nix and Mark Fraser,” he said. Vimana, John Lentz and Nectar are also part of the lineup.
He added that they haven’t made a lot of changes in the format this year.
“We have added two dance sections this year — Balkan dancing and a contradance,” Duncan said. “There are also a couple of new groups: Connect Four and the Shovel-Ready String Band. Otherwise, it works pretty much the same way it has in years past.”
The dances are scheduled for the end of the festival and are open to dancers of all levels and even to those who would prefer to watch.
Good Music Makes Good Neighbors is about more than the music; it’s about building community and connecting with neighbors so don’t miss out. The entire schedule is available at MontagueMusic.org.
The event is free, but a donation of $15 to $20 is strongly encouraged. Those who make a donation will be able to proudly wear an “I Support Montague Music” sticker.
Summer Stage Series at Tree House Brewing Company opens
Ryan Bingham and his band, The Texas Gentlemen, kick off the summer stage series at Tree House Brewing in South Deerfield on Monday, June 1 at 7 p.m.
You may know country artist Bingham from the Oscar- and Grammy-winning song “The Weary Kind ” that he co-wrote with T-Bone Burnett for the 2009 film “Crazy Heart.” Or maybe you know him as “Walker,” the role he played in the popular television show “Yellowstone.” Now, he’s back with an excellent new album, “They Call Us the Lucky Ones,” and a new band consisting of ace Texas musicians. There’s no opening act for this one, so get there early. Doors open at 5 p.m.
It will be a busy week at Tree House with Little Feat bringing their farewell tour to the venue on Tuesday, June 2 and pop musician Jason Mraz playing a sold-out show on Wednesday, June 3. More country music with Dylan Scott is on for Thursday, June 4 — and this is only the first week of June! Tree House will host 25 shows this summer, so get your tickets now at DSPshows.com.
Cory Pesaturo and Leah Zeger open the summer season at Watermelon Wednesdays
The Watermelon Wednesdays summer schedule will also begin the first week of June with a show featuring three-time accordion world champion Cory Pesaturo and violinist and vocalist Leah Zeger.
The pair will perform on Wednesday, June 3 at 7:30 p.m. at the West Whately Chapel.
Watermelon Wednesdays, now in its 27th year, has hosted a few shows throughout the year, but those have all been held at the Whately Town Hall. This is the first show of 2026 to take place at the historic chapel.
Fresh off his gig playing with Jon Batiste at the Met Gala, Pesaturo returns for his third visit to the Watermelon Wednesdays series. For this show, he will be joined by Leah Zeger, a classically trained violinist who, among her many accomplishments, has appeared and toured as a solo violinist with Miley Cyrus, Willie Nelson, Kristin Chenoweth, The Electric Light Orchestra, Annie Lennox, Stevie Wonder and others. She began touring and recording as a solo violinist/vocalist for Hans Zimmer in 2017.
Pesaturo has an equally impressive resume, having worked with a variety of musicians and appeared on the David Letterman Show, the Jimmy Fallon Show, and Let’s Make a Deal. We should also mention that he holds the Guinness World Record for the longest marathon accordion performance at 32 hours and 14 minutes.
They call this tour “The Bellows and Bow Tour,” and they will come together to offer their musically exciting interpretations of jazz, pop, classical and world music.
Tickets are available at watermelonwednesdays.com.
Emanuel Casablanca to perform at Incandescent Brewing Company
This upcoming weekend Incandescent Brewing Company in Bernardston will present Emanuel Casablanca on Saturday, May 30 at 7 p.m. in the first of a series of ticketed blues shows that will bring a number of blues musicians from outside of the area to the venue.
Casablanca, from Brooklyn, is a singer/songwriter/guitarist who blends gritty blues guitar with modern production and rock, moving the genre forward in the process. He cites his influences as Muddy Waters, Albert King and Jimi Hendrix to Gary Clark Jr. and Dan Auerbach, which explains his traditional-meets-modern blues sound. Casablanca has released four critically acclaimed albums, which has led to him being hailed as one of the most promising new voices in the blues world.
There aren’t a lot of blues shows in Franklin County, so if you are a fan, you won’t want to miss this show.
Tickets are available at incandescentbrewing.com
Sheryl Hunter is a freelance writer who resides in Easthampton. Her work has appeared in various regional and national publications. She can be reached at Soundslocal@yahoo.com.