Grammy-nominated composer, trombonist, band leader, producer, author, educator, and Latin Jazz pioneer, Ed Byrne has performed and recorded with many of the jazz world’s leading stars in a career spanning decades, including Chet Baker, Joe Henderson, Herbie Hancock, Charles Mingus, Buddy Rich, James Brown, Archie Shepp, and Maynard Ferguson. A Doctor of Musical Arts in Jazz Studies from the New England Conservatory and former Berklee College professor, Ed has been nominated Best Trombone Soloist by Latin New York Magazine. In his current sextet he is joined by Rich Goldstein on guitar, Andrew Wilcox on keyboard, Conway Campbell, Jr., on doublebass, Jocelyn Pleasant on drums, and Rubin Rosa on Latin percussion.
Ed Byrne Sextet
Jeff Barnhart
The Gumbo Jumbo Dixieland Band performs the traditional jazz of New Orleans. They're comprised of Brian Bender on trombone, Bill Shontz on clarinet, Zack Danziger on banjo and Jay Witbeck on tuba. Get your red beans cookin', and get ready to party!
IMPORTANT UPDATE: The Massachusetts DCR has temporarily closed the Summit House while renovations of the building are completed this summer.
All our 2023 concerts will be held in the beautiful NOTCH VISITOR CENTER,
1500 West St. (Rt. 116) in South Amherst at 7:00 pm (doors open 6:00 pm).
Thurs., July 20, 7:00 pm
The Notch Visitor Center
Collage by Marcia Howard
Gumbo Jumbo
Dixieland Band
The Green Sisters
Thurs., July 13, 7:00 pm
Dear Ella is a vocal-led musical trio featuring Ann Percival (Wild Asparagus, The O-Tones) on guitar, ukelele and snare, Mary Witt (The O-Tones) on bass, and Annie Patterson (Girls From Mars, Big Yellow Taxi, & Rise Up Singing creator) on banjo, guitar and snare. Their repertoire includes songs from many genres, including swing, R&B, and acoustic folk. Their name is an homage, a love letter to the iconic vocalist and band leader Ella Fitzgerald, as well as to the inspiring civil rights activist Ella Baker, encouraging us all to honor the women who’ve inspired us to stand for justice, sing our truths, and be the best selves we can be!
Thursday, Aug. 3, 7:00 pm
Hailing from a small farm in rural Massachusetts, the four Green Sisters were raised with music accompanying their chores. Their sound spans a wide range of bluegrass, barbershop, blues, country, and lots of original songs which fit right into the mix. They’ve been playing venues in New England regularly for the last several years and have garnered quite the following; it’s hard not to smile when treated with their tight harmonies and high energy tunes. Their live show is where they really shine, bouncing their jovial banter around the stage as only siblings can!
Pre-concert picnicking on the porch (elevation: 935 ft.!)
...and, picknicking on the mountain!
Summer Concert
A bird's-eye view
A bustling intermission
Enraptured by sound
Thursday, July 27, 7:00 pm
The 2023 Friends of the Mount Holyoke Range
Dear Ella
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Jeff Barnhart is an internationally-renowned solo pianist, arranger, bandleader, composer, recording artist, educator, and entertainer specializing in the vintage American piano music of the 1920's and 1930's. He has led multiple small ensembles featuring the classic early ragtime, jazz and swing of the early 20th century, teaches in numerous academic settings, and has performed in many clubs, cruises and jazz and music festivals around the world. His versatility, vast repertoire and vibrant energy shine through his mastery of the keyboard!
The Friends of the Mount Holyoke Range Summer Concert Series is supported by Kestrel Land Trust, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Hadley, Amherst, and South Hadley Cultural Councils, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, the rangers of Skinner State Park, and the dedicated volunteers of the Friends of the Mount Holyoke Range.
Series
Thursday, July 6, 7:00 pm
Advance online tickets ($12 per person) for all shows (highly recommended) will be sold online until 12:00 noon day of show. All tickets purchased online will be available to be picked up at the door day of show. Any remaining tickets will be available for sale at the door after 6:00 pm day of show for $15 per person, cash only.
Admission: $12 advance (online) / $15 day of show (at door, cash only)
Advance online tickets are on sale now! (please click below)
At an elevation of 935 ft. overlooking the Pioneer Valley, the Summit House
was built in 1851, and its earliest visitors reads like a Who's Who of 19th-century
writers, poets, artists and dignitaries such as Charles Dickens, Jenny Lind and Thomas Cole.
Its original timbers are over a century and a half old, and the building has a warm acoustic
resonance, like an enormous vintage wooden musical instrument perched on top of a
mountain. The sunsets viewed from its porch can be the most spectacular in western
New England. And, picnicking is both welcomed and encouraged on the rolling
high grounds of J. A. Skinner State Park. It is an ideal, exhilarating place for
an evening of friends, food, music, and nature in all its summer glory!