Out and About

By Michael Cobb

With the end of summer, Yale’s Norfolk Chamber Music Festival goes dormant until next season. Fortunately for fans of live music, there are plenty of other options—from folk to rock—scattered throughout the northwest corner. 

In downtown Norfolk, Infinity Hall seems to be picking up programming, although the exact relationship between the venue and the town of Norfolk remains unclear. Recent shows have been advertised on 98.1 WKZE, an excellent area radio station (tagline: “celebrating musical diversity in the Berkshires, the Litchfield Hills and the mid-Hudson Valley”) whose weekly entertainment calendar gives detailed updates on local bookings. 

Norfolk-based musician Andy Styles used to host the open mic night at Infinity Hall’s bistro. He now leads a jam every Thursday evening at Colebrook’s Norbrook Farm Brewery. Typically performed in a circular fashion, the jam is open to any acoustic instrument. A recent jam included plenty of guitars, bass, banjo, mandolin, accordion and even someone bowing a saw. Both spectators and players can enjoy Norbrook’s signature craft brews and views of the sunset silhouetting hop vines. Bonus: the Thursday jam series often coincides with “Cruise Night” where vintage car buffs show off hotrods. 

Head northwest on Route 44 from Norfolk to Canaan, where The Music Lab holds an open mic night every Thursday from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Hosted by Mark Yard, performances are broadcast live on their Facebook and Instagram pages. The Music Lab’s mission is to provide “a community room for teachers, students, enthusiasts, young people of all ages and anyone interested in learning, participating in and enjoying all aspects of the musical arts.” Nearby, the Belted Cow Farmhouse Tavern at the Canaan Country Club has weekly musical offerings, including acoustic blues, country, pop and rock bands. 

From Canaan, head south on Route 7 to Twelve Moons Coffee House in Falls Village, which hosts events on the first Saturday of each month from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Center on Main.  Norfolk-based singer-songwriter-multi-instrumentalist Trina Hamlin was a recent performer. 

Back on Route 44 to Winsted, one can find live acoustic music weekly at Little Red Barn Brewery. Also in Winsted, 2nd Home Lounge on Main Street spotlights local talent, with an emphasis on acoustic guitar, weekends throughout the year. 

Further south, the spectacular Warner Theater in Torrington has top-notch bookings, while Red Room Sound Studio on Water Street is an all-analog recording studio that periodically live streams first-class talent like The Allman Betts Band. Local eateries Sasso’s Coal Fired Pizza and Mad Dog Brewery usually have weekly musical offerings.

Also in Torrington, The Outlet for the Arts is a special place with a comfortable, welcoming feel, housed in a late-19th century church. Boasting a consistently high level of audio fidelity thanks to professional sound engineer Chaz DiVito, The Outlet for the Arts is both a performance space and a recording studio. 

Bringing it all back home, the Norfolk Farmer’s Market is open until October 1 and always features great acoustic music. 

With fall fast approaching, fans of live music can easily “take to the highway” to find great live music throughout the Northwest Corner.