Old Country Road is dedicated to keeping the sound of vintage or traditional country music alive. They feature songs from the Golden Age of Country, the 1950-1960’s, with some bluegrass thrown in. They'll take you back to the days of the Grand Ole Opry at the Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville, the Mother Church of Country Music, performing songs by Hank Williams, Carl Smith, Webb Pierce, Kitty Wells, Faron Young, among many others!
Rousing, soulful, foot-stomping fun with trombone, clarinet, trumpet, banjo and tuba, playing the classic dixieland and blues of New Orleans, Chicago, and everywhere in between! You'll hear Little Brown Jug, Basin Street Blues, Panama, Just a Closer Walk with Thee, Bill Bailey, Muskrat Ramble, Camptown Races and more. They'll put an instant smile both on your face and in your heart!
2025 Summit House
The Friends of the Mount Holyoke Range Summit House Sunset Concert Series is supported by Kestrel Land Trust, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Hadley, South Hadley and Amherst 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.
Thurs., July 17, 7:30 pm
The Valley
Northampton
Thurs., July 24, 7:30 pm
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Thurs., July 31, 7:30 pm
The historic, 935-ft. elevation Summit House in J. A. Skinner State Park in Hadley will resonate with live local music on five Thursday evenings this summer! And weather permitting, audience members can enjoy a glorious mountaintop sunset at intermission!
Enraptured by sound
Thursday, July 3, 7:30 pm
Thurs., July 10, 7:30 pm
A bird's-eye view
The Northampton Woodwind Quintet is an ensemble dedicated to the literature, voice, and multiple personalities of the woodwind quintet: clarinet, flute, oboe, bassoon and French horn. They perform selections from the great Classical canon, as well as transcriptions of works composed for other instrumentation. They've had two original pieces written for them, and have created their own unique arrangements of works by master composers, from J.S. Bach to Scott Joplin.
Sunset Concert Series
Pre-concert picnicking on the porch (elevation: 935 ft.!)
Woodwind Quintet
The Valley Strummers are a banjo string band from Holyoke that began in the 1920s as the “Pizzitola Strummers” under Joseph Pizzitola, and became "The Valley Strummers” under Bob Ezold. The name and repertoire has since continued through three generations of Ezolds. Once signature artists of the Bacon and Day Banjo Company of Groton, CT, today's trio with T.J. Ezold, Jerry Ezold and Adam Braunschweig plays the same historic instruments and same jazz and blues tunes and songs from the early 20th century!
Hilltown Ham Hocks
Old Country Road
Dixieland Stomp
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!
A bustling sunset intermission
...and, picknicking on the mountain!
Come kick off your 4th of July celebrations with some true Americana! Shelburne Falls' Hilltown Ham Hocks revive Appalachian-style folk, bluegrass and old-tyme sounds on fiddle, banjo, guitar and upright bass, with tight vocal harmonies and layered arrangements. Through their repertoire of carefully-crafted originals and venerable covers, they weave a rich, distinctively American tapestry that brings it all home to where the heart is!
Strummers
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 entrance gate day of show. Any remaining tickets will be available for sale at the gate after 6:00 pm day of show for $15 per person, cash only.
Entrance Gate opens at 6:00 pm, and the Summit House will open at 6:45 pm. Picnicking is welcome (neither food nor beverages will be available for sale at the event). The Summit House is wheelchair accessible. All hikers/walkers should please carry flashlights.
Porch Tickets: Once all indoor seating has been sold and weather permitting,
60 "Porch Tickets" will be available for sale at the gate day of show after 6:00 pm, $15 per person, cash only. The music can be clearly heard on the porch, and concert goers are welcome to bring their own lightweight, portable folding chairs.
Carpooling to the Top: Parking at the top of the mountain is extremely limited, so please consider carpooling up with other concert goers. Our volunteer staff can help you coordinate carpooling at the entrance gate and Halfway House, just let them know when obtaining your tickets you're willing to carpool. You'll be helping the evening go much more smoothly, and you just may make some new friends!
Admission: $12 advance (online) / $15 day of show (at gate, cash only)
Indoor seating is strictly limited, and advance tickets will go on sale online
mid-May! Just stay tuned here or on our Facebook page...
Collage by Marcia Howard