(GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.) – Singer-songwriters Lyle Lovett, Ben Folds, Keb’ Mo’, Suzanne Vega, and rootsy heartland-rockers BoDeans will perform at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington, Mass., between May and October 2024. Lyle Lovett, joined by singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb will perform in a collaboration on May 10, roots-rock band BoDeans on May 25, blues guitarist and vocalist Keb’ Mo’ on June 15, power-pop singer and pianist Ben Folds on June 22, and folk-pop musician Suzanne Vega on October 5.

The Mahaiwe will present Lyle Lovett and Lisa Loeb: In Conversation and Song on Friday, May 10 at 8pm. Lovett fuses elements of country, swing, jazz, folk, gospel, and blues in a convention-defying manner that breaks down barriers. Since his self-titled debut in 1986, Lyle Lovett has evolved into one of music’s most vibrant and iconic performers. Among his many accolades, besides the four Grammy Awards, he was given the Americana Music Association’s inaugural Trailblazer Award and was named Texas State Musician.

Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb started her career with the platinum-selling Number 1 hit song “Stay (I Missed You)” from the film Reality Bites. Loeb was the first pop musician to have a Number 1 single while not signed to a recording contract. Loeb continues to craft irresistible pop songs for the 21st century, while designing eyewear, writing children’s books, and supporting non-profit causes. Lisa’s recent television appearances include John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight, Orange Is the New Black, About a Boy, Hot Tub Time Machine 2, King of the Nerds, AP Bio, as well as Sprout’s Sunny Side Up Show.

BoDeans will perform on Saturday, May 25 at 8pm. Founded and led by original frontman, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Kurt Neumann, BoDeans’ catalog consists of songs such as “Good Things,” “You Don’t Get Much,” “Idaho,” and “Closer to Free.” The Waukesha, Wisc., band debuted in 1986 with Love & Hope & Sex & Dreams, produced by T Bone Burnett. Following Outside Looking In (1987), Home (1989), and Black and White (1991), Go Slow Down (1993) yielded “Closer to Free,” which famously served as the theme song for the smash hit television series Party of Five. With a sought-after discography, their music landed hundreds of television and film placements. Meanwhile, they transformed into a proven live phenomenon by supporting the likes of U2, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Tom Petty, The Pretenders, and David Bowie in addition to gracing the bills of Farm Aid, Summerfest, and ACL. Speaking to the group’s legacy, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame permanently enshrined BoDeans in the Midwest Artists exhibit.

Keb’ Mo’ will be performing on Saturday, June 15 at 8pm. Keb’ Mo’s musical journey began nearly half a century ago, when he landed his first major gig in Papa John Creach’s band at the age of 21. Over the course of the next 20 years, Keb’ Mo’would go on to establish himself as a respected guitarist, songwriter, and arranger. He recorded a one-off album in 1980 under his birth name, Kevin Moore, but it wasn’t until 1994 that he would introduce the world to Keb’ Mo’ with the release of his acclaimed eponymous debut. Critics took note of Keb’ Mo’’s modern, genre-bending take on old school sounds, and two years later, he garnered his first Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album with Just Like You.

In the decades to come, Keb’ Mo’ would take home seven more Grammy Awards; top the Billboard Blues Chart seven times; perform everywhere from Carnegie Hall to The White House; collaborate with many including Taj Mahal, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, The Chicks, and Lyle Lovett; have compositions recorded and sampled by artists as diverse as B.B. King, Zac Brown, and BTS; release signature guitars with both Gibson and Martin; appear in and compose music for films and TV shows like The Blues, Mike and Molly, and Can’t You Hear The Wind Howl; and earn the Americana Music Association’s 2021 award for Lifetime Achievement in Performance. NPR’s Mountain Stage hailed him as “one of the most decorated living blues artists,” while The New Yorker raved that “few musicians emblematize the blues like Kevin Moore,” and The New York Times praised “the subtle twists of his songwriting” along with his knack for “facing down desolation with a grin.”

Ben Folds will perform at the Mahaiwe on Saturday, June 22 at 8pm, with the return of his “Paper Airplane Request Tour.” What initially began years ago as a request for songs as encores will once again be a central element in Folds’s shows when he engages audiences to make their song requests via paper airplanes. “The last time I did this on tour the response was overwhelming, with literally hundreds of paper airplanes with song requests being launched on cue from fans at the start of the second half of each of my concerts,” says Folds. “It’s the purest, most low-tech form of engagement that creates a special bond with my audiences.

Born and raised in North Carolina, Folds first rose to fame in the mid-1990s with Ben Folds Five, whose genre-bending take on piano pop helped define an entire era of alternative rock. After scoring multiple hit singles and a gold record with the band, Folds launched his solo career in 2001, releasing a series of similarly acclaimed albums that would establish him as one of the most ambitious and versatile songwriters of his generation. For the past three decades, he has toured as a pop artist while also performing with some of the world’s greatest symphony orchestras.

Suzanne Vega returns to the Mahaiwe on Saturday, October 5 at 8pm. Regarded as one of the foremost songwriters of her generation, Suzanne Vega emerged as a leading figure of the new-folk revival of the early 1980s when, accompanying herself on acoustic guitar, she sang what has been called contemporary folk or neo-folk songs of her own creation in Greenwich Village clubs. Since the release of her self-titled 1985 debut album, she has given sold-out concerts in many of the world’s best-known venues. Known for performances that convey deep emotion, Vega’s distinctive, “clear, unwavering voice” (Rolling Stone) has been described as “a cool, dry sandpaper-brushed near-whisper” by the Washington Post, with NPR Music noting that she “has been making vital, inventive music” throughout the course of her decades-long career.

Vega has been described as an artist who “observes the world with a clinically poetic eye” (The New York Times). Her songs have tended to focus on city life, ordinary people and real-world subjects. Her work is immediately recognizable—as utterly distinct and thoughtful as it was when her voice was first heard on the radio over 30 years ago. Suzanne Vega will be joined on stage by her longtime guitarist, Gerry Leonard, performing a career-spanning show including favorites like “Tom’s Diner,” “Luka,” and more.

Tickets can be purchased online at mahaiwe.org, or by calling or visiting the Box Office at 413-528-0100, on Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. Individuals ages 30 and under are eligible for $15 youth tickets.

Located in downtown Great Barrington, Mass., the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center is the year-round presenter of world-class music, dance, theater, 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 1,500 events and welcomed over half a million people through its doors. More than 26,000 students from 75 different schools have benefited from the Mahaiwe’s school-time performances and residencies. For more information, see mahaiwe.org.

 

(Edited by Noah Peretz and Seth Rogovoy)