For Clara Constance, a touring performer and teacher who moved to the Berkshires during the pandemic, the mixer offers both inspiration and momentum.“ The information session helped me rethink how I connect with my audience,” she says,“ and the conversations I had there led to potential collaborations.”
FROM IDEA TO INFRASTRUCTURE
For nearly two years, Whalan carried the idea informally, shaped by experiences in New York City jam spaces and by observing the Berkshire’ s uniquely dispersed music scene. The turning point came last summer, when he decided to stop waiting for a perfect framework and build something local, flexible, and easily adaptable.
The inaugural Berkshires Music Mixer took place at MUSE, with roughly 50 attendees. The informal networking was followed by a shared meal upstairs catered by Kevin Kelly of After Hours Global, followed by a music-industry discussion led by publicist and author Ariel Hyatt, founder of Cyber PR and author of From Buzz to Bond. Hyatt’ s conversation centered on sustainability, audience-building, and the long game of independent artistry— topics that resonated deeply with musicians navigating the realities of the Berkshires.
Then came the collaborative jam session in Whalan’ s studio, where musicians rotated in and out of shared instruments. The emphasis was not performance, but listening.“ The main goal was just to provide the space,” Whalan says.“ Everything else came from that.” The response was immediate. Attendees began asking when the next mixer would take place. That demand shaped the second gathering, held later that fall at Barrington Hall— a newly opened venue in the former Crissey Farm in Great Barrington and a much larger space than the inaugural mixer.
With more than 180 RSVPs, the second mixer revealed built-up demand for exactly this kind of convening. The format remained consistent, but the context expanded. The evening’ s panel featured saxophonist and producer Michael Wilbur, known for his work with Moon Hooch and years of national touring, alongside venue operator Jenny Rubin, whose career spans decades of live-music
Musicians and local music industry figures gather at the Berkshires Music Mixer at MUSE in Housatonic.
Design for Sustainable Living
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Spring 2026 BERKSHIRE MAGAZINE // 45