music
In the Mix JACKSON WHALAN ENERGIZES THE LOCAL MUSIC SCENE B y B e n j a m i n L e r n e r // P h o t o s b y A m y W h a l a n( A v i d a L o v e P h o t o g r a p h y)
ON APRIL 21, Berkshire-based musicians, educators, venue owners, producers, radio hosts, and music lovers from across the county will come together at WANDER café in Pittsfield to network, jam, and build a stronger artistic community. The gathering will serve as the fourth installment of the Berkshires Music Mixer, a free, community-centered gathering founded and hosted by Berkshire-born rapper and producer Jackson Whalan. It comes on the heels of the third mixer held on February 17 at the Indigo Room in Great Barrington.
What began last August as a small, experimental gathering inside Whalan’ s studio at the MUSE building in Housatonic has quickly evolved into a growing event series— one that is quietly reshaping the potential of how the local music community can grow and evolve. Designed to bring together artists and the people who support, present, amplify, and sustain music— i. e., venue operators, educators, media voices, organizers, and listeners— the Berkshires Music Mixer is less about performance and more about presence. It is built on conversation, listening, collaboration, and the belief that a healthy music ecosystem emerges not from isolation, but from shared experience.
The mixer’ s momentum reflects both need and appetite. Its first two gatherings drew a cross-section of the region’ s musical life— Grammy ®-nominated artists and first-time performers, wellestablished figures, emerging voices, jam-band musicians and hip-hop artists, folk songwriters, educators, builders, broadcasters, and venue owners— all in the same room. That breadth is no accident. It is the product of Whalan navigating the Berkshire music landscape
from every angle: as a teenager mentored by Railroad Street Youth Project, as a touring and recording artist with national reach, and as a producer whose work bridges rural Western Massachusetts and the global hip-hop community.
INSIDE THE ROOM Each Berkshires Music Mixer follows a deliberate but flexible structure that begins with a social period, followed by a moderated discussion, and then a collaborative jam session to close out the evening. These elements create a rare balance— one that encourages both depth and spontaneity.
For Michelle Kaplan, longtime WBCR 97.7 FM radio host and creator of the WBCR show Mishmash, the breadth of attendees is what stands out.“ There were musicians, radio hosts, organizers, teachers— people just passionate about music,” she says.“ That mix doesn’ t really happen anywhere else.”
Kaplan’ s perspective underscores a key element of the mixer: It is not only for performers. It welcomes the full ecosystem of people who shape how music is heard, shared, and sustained. That inclusivity carries through to the jam session, which Whalan is careful to distinguish from an open mic.“ The rule is listen,” he explains.“ Be aware of the other people on stage.”
Recording artist, songwriter, and producer Michael Lesko is a longtime friend, collaborator, and close associate of Whalan’ s. He describes the jam element as both unique and necessary.“ There aren’ t many opportunities for jams like that anymore,” he says.“ You need the right space and someone who really cares about holding it.”
44 // BERKSHIRE MAGAZINE Spring 2026