MASS MoCA in North Adams, MA has converted a huge 19th century industrial complex, once home to Sprague Electric, into an assortment of performing arts venues to complement their principle mission in support of contemporary art. Parallel to long-term exhibitions such as Sol LeWitt: A Wall Drawing Retrospective, which will be on view through 2033, MASS MoCA has developed recurring performing arts events, including Wilco’s Solid Sound Festival, Bang on a Can, and the FreshGrass Bluegrass Festival.
Featured artists and bands this season include Bang on a Can guest composer John Luther Adams, and FreshGrass headliners Old Crow Medicine Show, Glen Hansard, Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, Rosanne Cash, Aoife O’Donovan, Alison Brown, and many more!. Following is a list of performing arts events at MASS MoCA in 2016: ( Denotes additional info.)
MASS MoCA box office, tickets, map, driving directions
- 87 Marshall St.; North Adams, MA 01247
- Fall, Winter, Spring Hours: 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. closed Tuesday
- Admission: $15 adults; $10 students; $5 children 6–16
- Phone: 413.MoCA.111
- Web: massmoca.org
2016 Bang on a Can schedule
Brilliant musicians and composers inhabit the MASS MoCA campus for three rollicking weeks of innovative, unexpected, and ear-expanding music.
- Special Festival Guest Composer, John Luther Adams | Gallery Recitals | Most Days, July 13-july 29 | Space is limited. First come, first served.
- Saturday, July 16, 11:30am | KIDS CAN TOO!
- Saturday, July 23, 4:30pm | Pianist Vicky Chow plays compositions by Bang on a Can founders Michael Gordon, David Lang and Julia Wolfe, plus a world premiere by composer Chris Cerrone.
- Saturday, July 23, 8pm | Bang On A Can All-stars Play Brian Eno’s Music For Airports
- Sunday, July 24, 4:30pm | Fellows and faculty perform John Cage’s ethereal Atlas Elipticalis.
- Monday, July 25, 4:30pm | World Premiere Composer Concert, Over 40 young exciting composers and performers from around the world.
- Tuesday, July 26, 4:30pm | Martin Bresnick 70th birthday celebration.
- Wednesday, July 27, 4:30pm | Bun-Ching Lam spins a virtuosic East / West fusion.
- Wednesday, July 27, 7pm | CONCERT AT THE LAKE, Bring a blanket. Windsor Lake, North Adams | Free
- Thursday, July 28, 4:30pm | Ashley Bathgate performs the explosive Bach Unwound, for solo cello, written by the Sleeping Giant collective.
- Thursday, July 28, 7:30pm | outdoor performance of Ten Thousand Birds, by renowned new music master, John Luther Adams.
- July 28 & 29, 10pm | After Hours At The Chalet
- Friday, July 29, 4:30pm | Music for percussion by John Luther Adams.
- Saturday, July 30, 4–10pm | BANG ON A CAN MARATHON 6-hour festival finale
- Bang on a Can tickets and info.
2016 FreshGrass Lineup
FreshGrass is a family-friendly festival, brimming with bright talent on four stages, and also in our galleries, brick-lined courtyards, and grassy field, produced in partnership by MASS MoCA, the FreshGrass Foundation, and No Depression.
The 2016 Lineup:
- Old Crow Medicine Show,
- Glen Hansard,
- Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder,
- The Devil Makes Three,
- Rosanne Cash,
- The Infamous Stringdusters,
- Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver,
- Aoife O’Donovan,
- Alison Brown,
- Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen,
- Stephane Wrembel,
- John Reischman and the Jaybirds,
- Mr. Sun,
- Old Salt Union,
- Zoe & Cloyd,
- Mile Twelve,
The Grass’d Waltz: Alison Brown & Friends Play the Music of The Band, 20 Emerging Artists, More than 50 bands in all! FreshGrass tickets and info.