Great Barrington Welcomes “Berkshire Busk!” in July, August

Great Barrington will host Berkshire Busk!, a summer event series celebrating music and live performance on weekends July 2-Sept. 4, on the streets of downtown. This immersive arts experience will place performers (“buskers”) at an array of locations from one end of the charming small town to the other.

Berkshire Busk! builds upon the success of the outdoor dining and community response to the music that occurred last summer in downtown Great Barrington on Railroad Street, the Town Hall Gazebo and the Triplex, which will continue this year, according to its organizer.

According to Festival Director Eugene Carr, “performers of all kinds, cooped up for over a year, are bursting with anticipation to perform in front of live audiences. And those audiences are eager to welcome them back in settings that keep everyone safe and engaged.”

The Berkshire Busk! online application for all performers is at berkshirebusk.com. Selected performers will be provided with a stipend for their participation, and solicitation for tips is also allowed -- and encouraged.

Great Barrington Town Manager Mark Pruhenski adds, “We see this festival as an innovative and creative way to help ensure that the stores and restaurants in our downtown district recover from the pandemic, and that the many new stores just opening up do so successfully.”

The project is being supported by a broad group of local political leaders, business owners and arts professionals, which can be viewed here: https://www.berkshirebusk.com/about-us/team. Lead sponsors are: Warrior Trading, Calyx Berkshire Dispensary, DépartWine and Berkshire MoneyManagement.

A full schedule of performers and locations will be updated in the late spring on the Festival website, berkshirebusk.com.

For more information, contact: press@berkshirebusk.com, or (413) 251-2252.