An artistic community is thriving in an unexpected place in Western Massachusetts.
When you picture a music venue, the front patio of a grocery store is probably not your first thought.
But the musicians make who the weekly trek to play outside the Berkshire Food Co-op in Great Barrington might change your mind.
With a variety of performers every weekend, the co-op has created what’s sometimes referred to as a “third place” – it’s not home, it’s not work, it’s somewhere else where anyone can find community.
Singer-songwriter Naomi Klavun is a former English teacher who says she always wanted to make her own music.
“I taught 30 years at Hawthorne Valley School and retired in 2014; it was after I retired that I realized I had a chance to live my buried dream, which was to do music which I had never allowed myself the time to do,” Klavun said.
Klavun's song "Texting Apple Emojis” encapsulates her desire to express herself authentically.
While working at a Waldorf school, Klavun taught lessons in poetry, too. She sees a contrast between teaching the classics and singing country songs.
“I taught iambic pentameter, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Wordsworth, Blake, Byron; I taught how to write in their styles when we did poetry exercises… It's a really contradictive kind of position for me to be in, to be out there singing with a cowboy hat on and cowboy boots,” Klavun said.
The co-op has hosted open mic nights since it opened in the 1980s. But COVID restrictions in 2020 forced the store to take a new approach.
Co-op Marketing Manager Devorah Sawyer says the change to outdoor performances has been embraced by the public and musicians alike.
“Music has always been a part of the co-op’s community-building, because music is a community language that everybody can relate to and understand,” Sawyer said.
Cashier Frankie Chicarelli, half of the Eric and Frankie Duo, also found community at the co-op. She first came to the Berkshires as a patient.
“I came out here in ’96; I wasn't doing too well at the time, so I came to Austen Riggs and then I stayed here and started working and started playing with music with people and acting,” Ciccarelli said.
The other half of the duo is Eric Reinhardt. He says they met at an open mic night in nearby Housatonic.
“The rule at that point was, if you went over the five minutes in your performance, Francine would become part of your act. So, I went all over the five minutes so that she would come up,” Reinhardt said.
And they’ve been performing together since. Ciccarelli says the co-op is a popular hangout.
“I just think it's a soothing atmosphere for people. It's very social,” Ciccarelli said.
Reinhart says he draws inspiration from everywhere.
“It can come from a dream. It can come from an inspirational thought in the middle of my day. I had one called Jemma's Song [It] came from a loss of someone very dear to me, and the grief that that produced,” Reinhardt said.
While many co-op performers come to their weekend slots with a repertoire, Sherry Steiner lets the moment make the music.
“It’s actually just improv. I sit down to start playing, and I'll play for two hours straight. I don't take a break, I don't stop. And people will come, they'll talk to me, kids will come over,” Steiner said.
“I've always played the piano. I've always had a piano. I've always moved the piano from place to place, but I didn't always sit at it and play it until the pandemic,” Steiner said.
Steiner says indie artists like her are driven by creativity more than money.
“You just have to do it. If, you know, if the music's in you, you have to do it, and you have to get it out there,” Steiner said.
Jake Goldstein — also known as “Jukebox Jake” — hails from Gardner, Massachusetts, a two-hour drive from the Co-op. He says he found out about the space by accident about three years ago.
“[I] happened to see some musicians out there. And I said, ‘you know, why not?’ You know, like, ‘I've been playing out professionally for a couple years. Let me give them my card and see if they're interested.’ And a few weeks later, they're like, ‘Hey, we would love to have you come down and play the co-op,’” Goldstein said.
Goldstein appreciates the unique atmosphere.
“It's a relaxed kind of gig, you know, I don't have to worry about, like, oh man, what's the next song? Or, oh man, like, you know, that's OK, you know what? I mean. It's a very open area where I can just kind of freely play, where I don't have to worry about bringing my A game,” Goldstein said.
Goldstein says he lets life inspire him. His song “Jack’s Garden” came from making his way through a rough patch, and finding community among other musicians.
“The sun was coming through my window. I don't actually have a garden. I have gardened before and but it's been quite, quite some time. But I said, ‘Well, why don't I make this song into something about someone who is also going through a rough time and then finds their peace in making a garden, and then also growing their own sort of life garden out of the rough patch that they are in?’” Goldstein said.
While the 2024 Music on the Patio season has ended, it’ll return next year.
