North of Boston

Handel's Messiah
2026-12-10 19:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York) | 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.

Country Fair at Cider Hill Farm
2026-12-10 09:00 - 17:00, 2026-12-09 09:00 - 17:00, 2026-12-08 09:00 - 17:00, 2026-12-07 09:00 - 17:00, 2026-12-06 09:00 - 17:00, 2026-12-05 09:00 - 17:00, 2026-12-04 09:00 - 17:00, 2026-12-03 09:00 - 17:00 and 9 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).

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.

Sweet Halloween at Cider Hill Farm
2026-12-06 10:00 - 14:00, 2026-12-05 10:00 - 14:00, 2026-11-29 10:00 - 14:00, 2026-11-28 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.

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.

Christian Sands
2026-11-29 17:00 - 19:00 | Shalin Liu Performance Center, 37 Main Street, Rockport, MA, 01966, United States
Jazz history is filled with stirring torch songs and ballads — brilliant expressions of suffering after love has gone awry. The jazz record shelf even contains some classic album-long explorations of melancholy. But it’s hard to find precedent in pianist Christian Sands’ new Embracing Dawn, his fifth full-length effort for Mack Avenue Records.
Sands’ LP is nothing less than a cinematic narration of the stages of grief, crafted by one of jazz’s finest young composers. It’s a “breakup record,” to be sure — composed while Sands was experiencing the hurt that only a sudden absence of love can deliver — but it’s so much more. In its thoughtfully assembled nine tracks are a group therapy session, a guide to healing, and an understanding that Sands’ deeply personal angst could apply to any person who has lost a partner, a job, a loved one, an opportunity, the list goes on. In other words, Embracing Dawn is for everyone.
“I actually tried not to write this record,” Sands says with a laugh. “It was painful. I was going through heartbreak, and I didn’t know what to do — and so I decided to put it all into music. But I knew I wasn’t alone in this feeling. So why not create a safe space for people to go when they’re having this feeling, when they’re having these thoughts or questions?”
Embracing Dawn trails 2023’s acclaimed Christmas Stories and 2020’s GRAMMY-nominated Be Water. Following that album’s release, the New York Times commented, “Equipped with a crisp but forceful touch, he seems always to be flowing in new directions, integrating elements of prog rock, gospel and Western classical into a forward-tumbling jazz conception.” Embracing Dawn furthers Sands’ uniquely cultivated jazz language, where agile post-bop meets soulful bluesy tinges and gorgeous swells of strings. Sands’ love of classical orchestration, he explains, is rooted in his lifelong obsession with film.
Ultimately, Sands’ sound and philosophy are informed by two of his most essential mentors: bass maestro Christian McBride, who, as Sands’ longtime employer, taught him the importance of always being yourself; and the late piano legend Dr. Billy Taylor, who stressed how crucial it is to connect jazz to a wide-ranging audience. “I want Embracing Dawn to be something you gravitate toward because of the story,” Sands says.

The Clements Brothers Present A Paul Simon Tribute
2026-11-27 19:30 - 21:30 | Shalin Liu Performance Center, 37 Main Street, Rockport, MA, 01966, United States
Experience the timeless music of Paul Simon with The Clements Brothers in a captivating quartet tribute filled with soaring harmonies and exceptional musicianship. George Clements brings the music vividly to life, drawing on his experience portraying Paul Simon in the national tour of The Simon & Garfunkel Story.
The Clements Brothers are George and Charles Clements, identical twins from New England. They’ve been playing and writing music together for as long as they can remember and ‘The Clements Brothers’ marks their first project together since playing in the internationally touring grass-roots band, ‘The Lonely Heartstring Band’ with whom they put out two albums on Rounder Records. With roots, rock, bluegrass, jazz, and classical influences, George (on guitar) and Charles (on bass) aim to capture their singer-songwriter sensibilities in a unique blended voice, at once enthralling and intimate, groovy and serene. Their first album ‘Dandelion Breeze’ was released in 2023 on Plow Man Records and their sophomore record is set to be released in the Fall of 2026. The duo is a fusion of each brother’s unique musical journey, and the result is music all its own, filled with vocal harmonies, instrumental virtuosity, and a genuine love of song.
