FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Great Barrington, Mass.—Alternative country band Cowboy Junkies will perform at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center on Saturday, November 14 at 8 p.m.
The Mahaiwe has also added two new programs at the Indigo Room next door to the historic theater – Half an Evening with David Rasche on July 25 and Lala Tamar & Friends featuring Yacuba Sissoko on August 8.
Cowboy Junkies – Celebrating 40 Years and Beyond
Cowboy Junkies will perform on the Mahaiwe’s mainstage on Saturday, November 14 at 8 p.m.
Sometimes revolutions begin quietly.
In 1988, Cowboy Junkies proved that there was an audience waiting for something quiet, beautiful and reflective. The Trinity Session was like a whisper that cut through the noise – and it was compelling. It stood out in the midst of the flash and bombast that came to define the late ‘80s. The now classic recording combined folk, blues and rock in a way that had never been heard before and went on to sell more than a million copies.
Formed in Toronto in 1985 with siblings Michael Timmins on guitar, Margo Timmins on vocals, Peter Timmins on drums, and Michael’s lifelong friend Alan Anton on bass, the band has sparkled over the course of 29 albums.
Unlike most long-lasting groups, Cowboy Junkies has never had a breakup or taken a sanity-saving hiatus. There’s an appreciation of each other that keeps them constantly working. “It’s that intimacy and understanding of what each one of us brings to the table,” says Michael.
Tickets are $40 to $65, with discounts for Mahaiwe Members and individuals ages 30 and under.
This performance is sponsored by Berkshire Gas.
Half an Evening with David Rasche
Actor David Rasche will perform his show Half an Evening with David Rasche at the Indigo Room on Saturday, July 25 at 7:30 p.m.
Half an Evening with David Rasche is a delightful show of painful memories and personal insults that are tied together with a collection of original songs that the American theatre, film, and television actor wrote himself. Some of these songs have never before been sung in public, perhaps for good reason. Some are love songs, some comedic, some are bittersweet, some just bitter. He is not above a cheap joke, and nothing is beneath him. Songs will include the bossa nova favorite “Sand Up in My Crack,” the enchanting jazz waltz “I Wish I Was Married to Your Wife,” the historic actor/prison/chain gang song “Never Going to Work Again,” and not many more. The songs are musical, and short enough to accommodate the most limited attention span. Someone else will be playing the piano, so don’t worry. This show will be just long enough that just when you are thinking, “It’s time to go,” the last song will be finishing and your coat will be waiting for you at the door. “Thank God, David Rasche is finally doing a show,” someone might have said, maybe. It’s a performance you will be happy to have seen.
David Rasche began his career at Chicago’s famed Second City and appeared in the first two seasons of Succession on HBO. He has worked, although not frequently enough, both on Broadway and Off-Broadway, most recently at the New Jersey Rep in Fern Hill, by Michael Tucker. Other credits include: the musical of Little Miss Sunshine at Second Stage, directed by James Lapine, The Shadow Box, Lunch Hour with Gilda Radner, directed by Mike Nichols, and David Mamet’s Edmond at the Atlantic Theater Company. Film credits include: Burn After Reading, United 93, In the Loop, Just Married, That Old Feeling, Men in Black III, Delirious, and Manhattan. His latest film, Swallow, with Hailey Bennett, is scheduled for December release. On TV, he plays the title role in Sledge Hammer!, and has appeared in episodic shows from Miami Vice to Madame Secretary to VEEP.
Tickets are $47 general admission, café table seating.
Lala Tamar & Friends featuring Yacouba Sissoko
The Mahaiwe will present Lala Tamar & Friends featuring Yacouba Sissoko on Saturday, August 8 at 5:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
Lala Tamar is what happens when Moroccan soul and Brazilian beats meet on the dance floor. A singer songwriter, poet, guimbri player, dancer and world traveler, Lala Tamar stirs ancient North African rituals into fresh, feminine alchemy. She sings in Arabic, Amazigh and Portuguese, making music that feels like flipping through your grandmother’s photo album while dancing in a poppy dreamscape.
Lala made history as the first artist to record a contemporary album in Haquetia and one of the first women to introduce the guimbri to new musical worlds. She’s shared stages with North African greats like Karim Ziad, Khadija El Warzazia, and Mehdi Nassouly, and recently made her Lincoln Center debut in New York City.
With her new original album in the making, written mainly in Darija, Lala takes you on an intimate feminine Moroccan dive, an up-beat tribute to her ancestry. Lala invites you to join her world: a place of play and poetry, softness and strength, where music isn’t just heard, it’s remembered.
Lala’s ensemble performance explores the sounds of a caravan moving through the Sahara, shaabi grooves from Agahadir and Algiers, African strings, Arab ornamentations, music for ceremonies of healing, trances and spells of connection, poetry pulled from distant centuries. It is an unforgettable evening of friendship, love and humanity that transcend borders.
Master kora player Yacouba Sissoko devotes his musical gift to expand the awareness of West African history and culture, spread the word of peace, and empower his listeners to take charge and realize their imagined futures. His performances have a magical effect on audiences as he skillfully transforms the traditional songs and stories of his forefathers into modern day messages of peace, love, and harmony. Yacouba was born to a well-known Djeli family in Kita, Mali. For centuries, Djelis have been the musical storytellers, a position that is inherited through a family bloodline. Highly respected within their communities, they are the keepers of the factual history and the fictional fables of past rulers, nobles, social groups and families. The kora, a 21-stringed plucked instrument with a gourd resonator, is the traditional instrument accompanying their songs. At the age of 9, Yacouba started learning the kora and the oral traditions associated with it from his grandfather. By 15, he was touring the country sharing the stories passed down through his family for centuries. He attended the National Institute of the Arts in Bamako, where he immediately caught the attention of the music world there and began touring with noted artists and ensembles such as Ami Koita, Kandia Kouyate, the Raoul Fulero Ensemble, and l’Ensemble National du Mali (the orchestra that both his mother and grandmother sang with). Rooted to give back to the community, Yacouba offers cultural programs and benefit concerts all over the world. He continues to blend his virtuosity effortlessly with other musical styles, ranging from Indian ragas to Appalachian tunes. Currently, Yacouba can be seen performing regularly with Regina Carter and his own band, SIYA.
Tickets are $43 general admission, café table seating.
Tickets
Tickets go on sale to Mahaiwe Members on Wednesday, June 3 at noon, and to the public on Friday, June 5 at noon. Cowboy Junkies tickets will be available early online at 10 a.m. on both dates.
Tickets can be purchased online at mahaiwe.org, or by calling or visiting the Box Office, 413-528-0100, on Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.
To learn more about Mahaiwe Membership, contact Brenna Hull at 413-644-9040 x107 or brenna@mahaiwe.org, or visit mahaiwe.org/membership.
Individuals ages 30 and under are eligible for $15 youth tickets for live Mahaiwe Presents events on the mainstage. Visit or call the Box Office to redeem this offer.
About the Mahaiwe
Located in downtown Great Barrington, Mass., the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center is the year-round presenter of world-class music, dance, theater, opera, classic films, Live in HD broadcasts, and arts education programs for the southern Berkshires and neighboring regions. The intimate jewel box of a theater opened in 1905. Since 2005, the performing arts center has hosted over 2,500 events and welcomed over 600,000 people through its doors. More than 28,000 students from 77 different schools have benefited from the Mahaiwe’s school-time performances and residencies. In 2025, the Mahaiwe opened a second performance venue, the Indigo Room. For more information, see mahaiwe.org.
About the Indigo Room
The Indigo Room is a flexible performance venue in the former Great Barrington firehouse building at 20 Castle Street, next door to the historic Mahaiwe theater. Audience capacity ranges between 75 and 150 based on the floor plan for a given performance.
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