(PITTSFIELD and STOCKBRIDGE, Mass.) – Country singer Travis Tritt, jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal, former Men at Work frontman Colin Hay, soul singer Bettye LaVette, innovative classical-crossover ensemble Turtle Island Quartet, Americana rockers Tarbox Ramblers, Cajun stars BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet, instrumental folk duo Jay Ungar & Molly Mason, singer-songwriter Carrie Newcomer, and traditional Irish ensemble Danú will perform at Pittsfield’s Colonial Theatre and Stockbridge’s Unicorn Theatre at the Berkshire Theatre Festival, two venues operated by the Berkshire Theatre Group, in winter and spring 2012.

Further programming for these stages, as well as for the Fitzpatrick Main Stage at Berkshire Theatre Festival and the Neil Ellenoff stage at The Mount in Lenox, will be announced in coming weeks and months, including the official announcement of a run of the beloved show-business musical, A Chorus Line.

A previously scheduled concert by Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir that was postponed will take place on April 29. The show has long been sold out.

The season was put together by programmer Simon Shaw, who commented, “The combination of different venues has given us an opportunity to present wonderful artists in appropriate settings.  We are very focused on the different audiences we serve as well as the quality of the performers we present.”

The Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield seats 780 audience members and was reopened in August of 2006, following a $21 million restoration. As a part of the Winter/Spring 2012 programming, the theater will be the venue for two solo acoustic shows: Travis Tritt, who last performed in the Berkshires in the mid-1990s when the National Music Center ran the Berkshire Performing Arts Center (now Shakespeare & Company) in Lenox, and Colin Hay, the original lead singer for Men At Work.

The Unicorn Theatre, an intimate 122 seat theatre, originally built as a home for emerging artists and new theatrical ideas, will play host to a series of singers and songwriters, starting with The Duke’s Men of Yale, who appeared at the Unicorn this past summer, and continuing with roots-rockers The Tarbox Ramblers, Jay Ungar & Molly Mason and Carrie Newcomer.

Berkshire Theatre Group will also continue to present concerts at its newest venue, The Garage,. located in the lobby of The Colonial Theatre, and dedicated to showcasing local and regional acts.

Other programming at the Colonial includes tribute acts for Elvis Presley, the Rat Pack, and early rock ‘n’ roll vocal groups, comedy and magic shows, children’s and family performances.

Member tickets for Colonial events are exclusively available on Monday, December 12, 2011, and go on sale to the public on Wednesday, December 14.

Tickets may be purchased in person at the Colonial Ticket Office at 111 South Street or by calling 413. 997.4444 or online at Colonial Theatre. The Ticket Office is open Monday-Friday 10am–5pm, Saturdays 10am–2pm or on any performance day from 10am until intermission.