Photo by Christy Butler
Monthly gathering to meet, reminisce, and look at tons of great memorabilia gathered and displayed. Bring your stories and enjoy the amazing food and drink at Race Brook’s Stagecoach Tavern!
At this month’s gathering we will be screening the documentary film that focuses on the 1950’s era of Music Inn. More info about the film here.
Thursday March 28th
5-8pm
At The Pine Grove Porch at Race Brook Lodge
Call us at 413.229.8585 or Reserve a table on Resy below:
There was a time in the 1950s when musical giants strutted the Berkshire Hills in Western Massachusetts. Be-boppers, folk singers, African drummers, blues singers, jazz legends, poets, and musicologists gathered at a place called Music Inn in Lenox, Massachusetts, just a stone’s throw away from classical music’s most famous summer festival at Tanglewood, to share their converging traditions and go looking for roots most people didn’t think even existed. In their search, they created not only the first summer-long Jazz Festival, and the First School of Jazz, but a new movement in American music. It was that kind of unique, magical configuration of people and ideas that rarely occurs in the arts, but permanently alters the cultural landscape. In this case, it changed the world of American music, how we understand the meaning of America, and how the world came to appreciate the art of jazz.
During a decade rife with paranoia, in the middle of the McCarthy era, Music Inn was a bold experiment. Halfway between the Second World War and The Civil Rights Movement, Phil and Stephanie Barber created an oasis where aspiring musicians came to learn from the very best. Students and faculty, young and old, rich and poor, white, black, and brown convened together and learned from each other. Defying the surrounding environment, Music Inn harbored a racial and cultural harmony where music was all that mattered.
The Stagecoach Tavern at Race Brook Lodge offers a seasonal menu with a focus on local ingredients. The candlelit Tavern boasts hand-hewn beams and wide-plank floors spanning multiple levels. It has been a warm and convivial gathering spot for friends, families, and lovers for over 200 years. Cozy up by our roaring fire in winter months or in the summer relax with a drink under the stars in our courtyard.
Race Brook Lodge is a rustic and unique getaway destination, perfect for weekend getaways, workshops, weddings, hiking, biking and more, in the natural beauty of the southern Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts. Race Brook hosts musical performances and other cultural events in the Down County Social Club speakeasy, Barnspace and the Pine Grove Porch. Click here to see a schedule of upcoming events.
