North of Boston

Country Fair at Cider Hill Farm
2026-12-18 09:00 - 17:00, 2026-12-17 09:00 - 17:00, 2026-12-16 09:00 - 17:00, 2026-12-15 09:00 - 17:00, 2026-12-14 09:00 - 17:00, 2026-12-13 09:00 - 17:00, 2026-12-12 09:00 - 17:00, 2026-12-11 09:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) and 6 more dates | Cider Hill Farm, 45 Fern Avenue, Amesbury, M, 01913, United States
Join us Labor Day weekend for a quintessential New England celebration welcoming the season’s bountiful harvest! Enjoy summer apple picking, free tastings, hard cider, classic fair foods, fall flower cutting, old time-y games, free live music, tractor rides & more! See event schedule as we add more happenings to the line-up! Free admission (does not include pick-your-own tickets, food or drinks).

Squirrel Nut Zippers
2026-12-15 19:30 - 21:30 | Shalin Liu Performance Center, 37 Main Street, Rockport, MA, 01966, United States
From Hot to the holidays: Squirrel Nut Zippers keep the 30th anniversary celebration going with their festive Christmas Caravan tour.
The Squirrel Nut Zippers return with their beloved Christmas Caravan Tour, bringing a festive blend of vintage jazz, New Orleans swing, folk traditions, and holiday spirit to audiences nationwide. Following a successful year celebrating the 30th anniversary of their platinum-certified breakthrough album Hot with a special anniversary tour, the band continues the celebration by bringing their singular musical magic to the holiday season.
Part holiday spectacular, part musical time machine, the Christmas Caravan combines seasonal classics, fan-favorite selections from the band’s acclaimed Christmas Caravan album, and highlights from the Squirrel Nut Zippers’ celebrated catalog. From heartwarming ballads and spirited sing-alongs to rollicking dance numbers, the show creates an atmosphere that feels equally at home beneath twinkling Christmas lights and inside a lively Prohibition-era speakeasy.

Take 6
2026-12-13 17:00 - 19:00 | Shalin Liu Performance Center, 37 Main Street, Rockport, MA, 01966, United States
Celebrate the season with the extraordinary harmonies of Take 6, one of the most acclaimed vocal groups in music. With 10 GRAMMY Awards, 10 Dove Awards, two NAACP Image Awards, a Soul Train Award, and induction into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, the legendary sextet brings its unmistakable sound to a joyful holiday concert.
With 10 Grammy Awards, 10 Dove Awards, 2 NAACP Image Awards, a Soul Train Award, and more, Take 6 (Claude McKnight, Mark Kibble, Joel Kibble, Dave Thomas, Alvin Chea and Khristian Dentley) continues to bring extraordinary vocals to their worldwide audiences. April 2018 marks the release of their sixteenth album, aptly titled ICONIC (SRG/Universal) and the debut of a PBS special, The Summit, alongside The Manhattan Transfer.
The new recording, ICONIC, is composed of the songs the sextet loves to perform both on stage and for the pure joy of lending their voices to songs that have taken on a greater meaning to them and to their audiences over their career of nearly four decades. These eclectic tunes pay tribute to both the music and the artists that made them famous, from a fun and vocally significant cover of Justin Timberlake’s Can’t Stop the Feeling, a unique and harmonic interpretation of Christopher Cross’ Sailing, Khristian’s melodic and memorable vocal on Norah Jones’ Don’t Know Why to a jazz cover that the Beatles would surely be pleased with of Got To Get You Into My Life. They pay homage to their friend Al Jarreau, with their rendition of Roof Garden, and are true to their gospel roots with the hymn Nothing But the Blood. Change The World (Eric Clapton), the first single, was the most-added tune in Smooth Jazz upon its release. Take 6’s last release, in 2016, Believe (SRG/Universal) landed on six Billboard charts simultaneously.
Their wide array of fans can enjoy their performances on The Summit as part of the Soundstage concert series. The special debuts nationally on the public television network in April 2018. The impressive collaboration with The Manhattan Transfer was recorded at their show in Chicago during their 46-city 2017 tour “THE SUMMIT: The Manhattan Transfer Meets Take 6.” Gleefully for audiences, the repertoire includes songs neither band has ever recorded.
Take 6 has admirably and adeptly crossed most musical genres, from straight-ahead Jazz to Pop to adult R&B, doo wop to blues. Like a fine-tuned vocal orchestra (Alvin, bass; Khristian, baritone; Claude, Dave, Mark and Joel, tenors), the group continues to push the boundaries of creativity and musical genius with every new release, and with their ever-evolving live performances.
Any singer who aspires for vocal excellence cannot overlook the contributions these men have made to music. Take 6 has performed with and won praise from such luminaries as Stevie Wonder, Brian Wilson, Ben E. King, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Al Jarreau, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, and Whitney Houston, to name a very few.
Some of the honors Take 6 has enjoyed over the past few years include being chosen as the first musical group to perform in Cuba at the normalization of relations between our two countries, and their induction into The Gospel Music Hall of Fame.
Take 6 has come a long way from their days at Huntsville, Alabama’s Oakwood College where Claude McKnight formed the group as The Gentleman’s Estates Quartet in 1980. When tenor Mark Kibble heard the group rehearsing in the dorm, he joined in the harmonies and performed on stage that night. When Mervyn Warren joined shortly afterward, they took the name Alliance. Yet, when they signed to Reprise Records/Warner Bros. in 1987, they found that there was another group with the same name, so they became Take 6. Says McKnight: “Take 6 was all about a democratic process of sitting in a room together and throwing a couple of hundred names at each other and Take 6 was the one that got the most yay votes [laughing.] It pretty much was a play on the Take 5 jazz standard and the fact that there are six of us in the group, so it became Take 6.” Their self-titled debut CD won over jazz and pop critics, scored two 1988 Grammy Awards, landed in the Top Ten Billboard Contemporary Jazz and Contemporary Christian Charts — and they’ve never slowed down.
What makes the music and the group last this long? The answers are direct and simple: faith, friendship, respect, and love of music. The multi-platinum selling sextet says of their longevity, “We are family in the sense that we care deeply about each other, which helps keep us together. We have times when it gets tough, but we pull together because of the love and respect we have for one another. The group’s willingness to let members do other projects also adds to the brand and the cohesiveness of the group,” says Joey Kibble. Kibble is a motivational speaker and Alvin Chea does voiceover work session-singing on dozens of TV shows, feature films and commercials with his uniquely recognizable bass vocals. Two of the members have solo projects in the works, others produce outside acts, Mark Kibble arranges for A list artists and McKnight is working on a documentary. “It adds even more credibility and depth to the group as a whole, enriched by each of our outside skills and experiences,” Kibble adds.

Sweet Halloween at Cider Hill Farm
2026-12-13 10:00 - 14:00, 2026-12-12 10:00 - 14:00, 2026-12-06 10:00 - 14:00, 2026-12-05 10:00 - 14:00 | Cider Hill Farm, 45 Fern Avenue, Amesbury, M, 01913, United States
Join us for a not-so-spooky, trick-or-treating experience brimming with sweet treats and boo-tiful fall foliage! Break out those adorable costumes and get ready for a fun, festive day at the farm.

Tony DeSare: Holiday Pops
2026-12-11 19:30 - 21:30 | Shalin Liu Performance Center, 37 Main Street, Rockport, MA, 01966, United States
Tony DeSare delivers a fresh take on the Great American Songbook, blending jazz, swing, and pop with charm and virtuosity. From Sinatra to Billy Joel, plus his own award-winning songs, DeSare’s program celebrates timeless melodies and heartfelt storytelling. A dynamic evening of all your holiday favorites with one of today’s most engaging performers.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Tony DeSare performs with infectious joy, wry playfulness and robust musicality. Named “Rising Star Male Vocalist” in Downbeat magazine, DeSare has lived up to this distinction by winning critical and popular acclaim for his concert performances throughout North America and abroad. From jazz clubs to Carnegie Hall to Las Vegas and headlining major symphony orchestras, DeSare has brought his fresh take on old school class around the globe. DeSare has four top ten Billboard jazz albums under his belt and has been featured on the CBS Early Show, NPR, A Prairie Home Companion, and the Today Show, and his music has been posted by social media celebrity juggernaut George Takei. DeSare has also collaborated with YouTube supergroup Postmodern Jukebox. He has been a featured guest artist with over 100 symphony orchestras with some highlights including the Cleveland Orchestra, The New York Pops, The San Francisco Symphony, The Houston Symphony, and the Chicago Symphony.
Notwithstanding his critically acclaimed turns as a singer/pianist, DeSare is also an award-winning composer. He not only won first place in the USA Songwriting Contest, but has written the theme song for the motion picture My Date With Drew and several broadcast commercials, and has scored five films. His sound is romantic, swinging, and sensual, but what sets DeSare apart is his ability to write original material that sounds fresh and contemporary, yet pays homage to the Great American Songbook.
Tony has a strong presence on social media and continues to release his “song diaries,” recordings from his home studio that started in 2020 and now number in the 100s. Tony has numerous recordings available on all platforms and playlists.
Tony DeSare is a Yamaha Artist.

Captain Elias Davis House Tour
2026-12-11 14:00 - 14:30, 2026-12-04 14:00 - 14:30 | Cape Ann Museum, 27 Pleasant Street, Gloucester, 01930, United States
What can a house tell us about the people who lived there?
Step inside the Capt. Elias Davis House and discover how architecture, craftsmanship, and everyday objects reveal the lives of one Gloucester family and the changing history of Cape Ann. This docent-led experience invites visitors to look closely at the details that transform a historic building into a story of community, commerce, and home.

Handel's Messiah
2026-12-10 19:00 - 21:00 | Shalin Liu Performance Center, 37 Main Street, Rockport, MA, 01966, United States
One of the nation’s preeminent period orchestras, Boston’s own Handel & Haydn Society presents Handel’s iconic, treasured holiday tradition in a special chamber arrangement for chamber orchestra and chorus led by Associate Conductor Ian Watson.
HANDEL & HAYDN SOCIETY
One of the nation’s preeminent period orchestras, the Boston-based Handel and Haydn Society presents a critically acclaimed series each year at Symphony Hall and other leading venues. Founded in 1815, H+H is among the oldest continuously performing classical music ensembles in the United States, and is unique for its longevity, capacity for reinvention, and distinguished history of premieres. Through the Karen S. and George D. Levy Education Program, H+H also provides engaging, accessible, and broadly inclusive music education to thousands of children each year.
As an orchestra considered masters of historically informed performances, audiences have the opportunity to hear the unique textures and dynamics afforded by period instruments and orchestras. Musical lines that might disappear in larger ensembles become clearer and more prominent, and the end result is a truly intimate and gratifying musical experience. H+H began as a choral society founded by middle-class Bostonians who aspired to improve the quality of singing in their growing American city. In the first decades of its existence, H+H gave the American premieres of Handel’s Messiah (1818), Haydn’s Creation (1819), Verdi’s Requiem (1878), and Bach’s St. Matthew Passion (1879). Since its founding, H+H has given more than 2,000 performances before a total audience exceeding 2.8 million.
In addition to its performances, H+H reaches a worldwide audience through ambitious recordings including the critically-acclaimed Haydn The Creation, the best-selling Joy to the World: An American Christmas, and Handel Messiah, recorded live at Symphony Hall under Christophers’ direction.

Vienna Boys Choir
2026-12-07 19:30 - 21:30 | Shalin Liu Performance Center, 37 Main Street, Rockport, MA, 01966, United States
The angelic-voiced musicians of the Vienna Boys Choir celebrate the magic of the holiday season with a delightful program of Austrian folk songs, classical masterpieces, Christmas hymns, and holiday carols. For six centuries, these young cultural ambassadors have been adored the world over for their wide range of repertoire, purity of tone, and generosity of musical spirit. The Vienna Boys Choir is one of the most celebrated and historic choirs in the world. Boys have sung at Vienna’s Imperial Chapel since at least 1296, and in 1498 Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I formally established a Court Chapel in Vienna, specifying that boys be included among its singers. This act laid the foundation for the Vienna Boys Choir, whose early members traveled with the imperial court to perform at coronations, weddings, state ceremonies, and other important occasions throughout the Holy Roman Empire. Over the centuries, the Viennese court attracted many of Europe’s greatest musical figures, including Heinrich Isaac, Johann Joseph Fux, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Anton Bruckner. Joseph Haydn, Michael Haydn, and Franz Schubert all sang as boys with the choir, linking the ensemble directly to some of the most important names in classical music history. Today, the Vienna Boys Choir is a private, nonprofit organization and an entire educational campus devoted to choral training. Its schools serve 330 boys and girls ages six to nineteen, all of whom receive individual voice lessons and sing in one of the campus choirs. In addition to the four internationally touring boys’ choirs, the institution includes the Vienna Girls Choir, Chorus Primus, and Chorus Juventus. Its educational tradition is recognized by UNESCO as cultural heritage and is open to students regardless of origin, gender, nationality, or religion. The 90 active boy choristers are divided among four touring choirs, each performing under the name Vienna Boys Choir. Together, they give nearly 300 concerts each year for audiences around the world. Since 1924, the choirs have completed more than 1,000 tours in 100 countries and performed more than 29,000 concerts. In Vienna, the choirs continue their historic role by singing Sunday Mass in the Imperial Chapel with members of the Vienna Philharmonic and the Vienna State Opera men’s chorus. They also appear regularly in major symphonic concerts, at the Salzburg Festival, and with the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Concert. In 2023, the Choir celebrated its 525th anniversary, marked by major recording and publishing projects. In 2024, the Vienna Boys Choir and Vienna Girls Choir jointly received the European Culture Award. Erasmus Baumgartner was appointed Artistic Director in 2023.

Lúnasa Winter Solstice
2026-12-06 15:00 - 17:00 | Shalin Liu Performance Center, 37 Main Street, Rockport, MA, 01966, United States
The beloved Irish folk supergroup Lúnasa, called the “hottest Irish acoustic band on the planet” (The Irish Echo) returns for a festive holiday concert celebrating the winter solstice. Don’t miss some of the finest pickers, pipers and fiddlers in the world—Lúnasa will get your spirit (and your feet) moving! “Lúnasa reigns as the new Celtic royalty.” – The Boston Herald Formed in 1997, Lúnasa has long been one of contemporary Irish music’s leading voices. Named after an ancient Celtic harvest festival in honour of the Irish god Lugh, the group that Folk Roots magazine once called an “Irish music dream team” was formed from members of some of Ireland’s greatest bands and over the years has proven its mettle time and again, having sold over a quarter of a million records and collaborated with notable artists outside the tradition such as Natalie Merchant and Mary-Chapin Carpenter. They have performed more than 2,000 shows across 36 countries including high-profile concert venues such as Carnegie Hall, The Hollywood Bowl, National Concert Hall (Dublin) and Paris Bercy, and many of the leading festivals such as Glastonbury, Womadelaide & Edmonton. From the start, the band’s complex arrangements and unique sound reshaped the boundaries of traditional music and energized audiences the world over. Critical acclaim followed, The Irish Echo describing the band as the “the hottest Irish acoustic band on the planet”; MOJO magazine named the band “the new gods of Irish music,” adding that “nobody since the Bothies has wielded such a thrilling rhythmic underlay.” Billboard raved that “anybody who listens can’t help but find them contagious.” Lunasa’s current lineup features: Trevor Hutchinson, who achieved fame as the bassist with the The Waterboys: piper Cillian Vallely was a member of Riverdance and recorded with Bruce Springsteen: Flute player Kevin Crawford, considered one of Ireland’s greatest flute players, was a member of Moving Cloud: award-winning ﬁddler Sean Smyth, who performed with Donal Lunny’s legendary Coolﬁn and accordionist Alan Kelly; Colin Farrell is a multiple award winning fiddler, who has toured with Project West, Grada and Michael McGoldrick: Guitarist Ed Boyd made a name for himself in the UK folkscene with bands such as Flook, Kate Rusby and Cara Dillon.

Cape Ann Big Band Holiday
2026-12-05 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-12-05 14:00 - 16:00, 2026-12-04 19:00 - 21:00 | Shalin Liu Performance Center, 37 Main Street, Rockport, MA, 01966, United States
Enjoy the holidays with holiday favorites, old and new, infused with a bit of jazz, swing, and rock n’ roll. In just a short span of time, the Cape Ann Big Band has become one of the most sought-after ensembles in the North Shore.
“In just a short span of time, the Cape Ann Big Band has become one of the most sought after ensembles in the North Shore and Greater Boston area selling out 23 consecutive shows at the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport, Ma. ” – Gloucester Daily Times
Enjoy the holidays with Cape Ann’s own 17-piece big band performing holiday favorites, old and new, infused with a bit of jazz, swing, and rock n’ roll.
In just a short span of time, the Cape Ann Big Band has become one of the most sought-after ensembles in the North Shore. The Band was formed in December of 2010 when director Carlos Menezes Jr. teamed up with friends and fellow musicians Paula Burns, Shawn Lowe, Mike Lentini, and Rick Geraghty to discuss the potentials of starting up a 17-piece big band. What was once a dream quickly became reality when Menezes found the roster full in just a week’s time. Driven by the talents of local musicians, the Cape Ann Big Band prides itself in performing to entertain and connect with its local community. This is a group that truly operates as a family. This diverse big band entertains and delights audiences with danceable music infused with jazz, swing, New Orleans street bands, soul, and rock n’ roll that will bring you back in time. The Cape Ann Big Band prides itself with having a repertoire that has no boundaries.

Holiday Stroll, Manchester-by-the-Sea 2026
2026-12-04 15:00 - 20:00 | Downtown Manchester, 10 Central Street, Manchester-By-The-Sea, MA, 01944, United States
Manchester-by-the-Sea’s Annual Holiday Stroll
and other fun events on December 4th…
The Manchester Holiday Stroll & Business Open House: 3 PM – 8 PM |Downtown Manchester. Stroll around town, enjoy refreshments at many shops. Details will be available at participating local businesses.
