Two Amherst Music Events This Weekend That Won’t Break the Bank

Bill Shontz and Mitch Chakour at First Church on Saturday, Feb. 3
This Saturday, Bill Shontz and Mitch Chakour, two iconic veterans of the Pioneer Valley music scene and beyond, will be the featured performers at the February 3 Song & Story Swap. The event will take place at the First Church, 165 Main St. in Amherst and begins at 7pm.

Bill Shontz helped to set the stage for what children’s entertainment is today. For twenty years he served as one half of the nationally acclaimed duo, RosenShontz. Today he performs for adults, children, and families and has an uncanny ability to entertain even the most sophisticated audiences.

Bill has ten award-winning albums and three videos to his credit that have won over 25 National Awards and an Emmy nomination and sold over 750,000 copies. Since embarking on his solo career in the early 90’s, he has recorded three award-winning albums and produced a book on Musical Improvisation.

More recently Bill Shontz has traveled the country as a member of the legendary 60’s group Orpheus and joined the folk-jazz fusion trio Sweet As Sugar.

Mitch Chakour is a keyboardist, guitarist, vocalist, song-writer and arranger with a reputation as a musicians’ musician.

Mitch was Joe Cocker’s music director, keyboardist and vocalist in the 70’s and 80’s. He has toured with The J. Geils Band singing with Peter Wolf, opening the House of Blues and performing at Fenway Park in Boston along with Aerosmith. He has a diverse resume that includes dates with B.B. King, James Brown, Bonnie Raitt, Chuck Berry, Buddy Miles, to name a few.

Recently Mitch has arranged songs and performed with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and the Massachusetts Symphony. Other musical endeavors include house band for the television show, Community Auditions, and music director for Majestic Theater, New Century Theater and Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School.

The Song & Story Swap is held on the first Saturday of each month, excepting July and August, and is organized by the Pioneer Valley Folklore Society. Visit the Folklore Society website at pvfs.us.

The Song & Story Swap is open to the public, free of charge with donations accepted ($5 – $10 is suggested).

Jerry and Kara Noble at South Congregational Church on Sunday, Feb. 4
Historic Amherst South Congregational church presents popular Valley musicians Jerry and Kara Noble in a Musical Coffee House performance at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, February 4, 2024.

Jerry and Kara will share a mix of singer-songwriter titles from the famous to the obscure, with a sprinkling of toe-tapping traditional jazz classics from such artists as Fats Waller, Jelly Roll Morton, James P. Johnson and others in an intimate, coffee-house setting.

Admission is free; however, your free-will donation at the door is encouraged; $20.00 per person is suggested.  Reservations are required due to limited seating.  Call (413) 253-2977 or email office@amherstsouthchurch.org for reservations.

The Jerry and Kara Noble Musical Coffee House is presented as part of the South Congregational Church 200th Anniversary Celebration Arts and Social Justice Series.

The church is located at 1066 South East St. in Amherst.  The event will take place in the Kenseth Room.

More information and reminders about the series are available by joining the mailing list at http://tinyurl.com/SouthChurch200th.