Tanglewood

Tanglewood. There is nothing like it. Really. When my sister and I decided to knock an item off our bucket list, we could only imagine what was in store. Both avid James Taylor fans and avid concert-goers, we knew this would be special. James Taylor performs two shows every summer at Tanglewood, and with the help of an old friend from high school, we scored a couple of lawn seats for this year's July 3rd show. I could write forever about how much I love James Taylor's music. I've referenced it countless times on several different blogs, and even devoted a post to some of my favorites. But Tanglewood was something special. I suppose part of what makes it special is the way JT obviously feels about being there. He opened the show with Something in the Way She Moves, and as he finished to applause and whistles, he said how great it is to be home in Tanglewood. He shared that he and the band had been looking forward to it for days. And when an artist is at home, he's going to feel at home, and then the music just sounds terrific. So there's the music.

The other thing that's so cool about Tanglewood is the venue itself. Follow me here for a minute and forget I spent money to fly to another state to get there. Tanglewood is in the Berkshires in Massachusetts. It is 42 miles from Albany, NY; 130 miles from Boston; 62 miles from Hartford, CT; and 142 miles from New York City.  This makes it a day trip or weekend vacation spot for these areas. But most notably, it is a summer getaway for people in these areas. You know, the people who have summer homes... some of them are even Florida snowbirds. The area is spectacular. It is quaint New England a la Norman Rockwell (there's a Rockwell museum there), and it is made up of a cluster of small towns.

Tanglewood is in Stockbridge, one of the towns in the cluster. As my friend who got us the tickets told us, everything is twenty minutes from everything in the Berkshires. By and large we found this to be true. So picture these small towns, with families and couples and people of just about every age, there to vacation. Tanglewood is music and culture venue right in the heart of it all. It is the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Pops perform there, and there are all kinds of musical performances throughout the summer ranging from classical and jazz to rock and pop.

Here's the clincher, lawn seats at Tanglewood are around $30, and children 17 and under are free. Did you get that? Doesn't matter if you have one or seven kids, if they're all under 18, they're in at no charge! Not impressed yet? Get this. You can bring in blankets, lawn chairs, coolers, picnic baskets... you name it. If you can carry it in, you can bring it. That includes bottles of wine and beer. One of the most interesting things about the lawn at Tanglewood is walking around and looking at everyone's picnics. People bring small tables adorned with table cloths and candles.  The gourmet markets are packed during the day as concertgoers stock up for the show. We went to Guido's Gourmet Market to pack our cooler, and you could just tell by the buzz and conversation in the store that may of them were shopping for Tanglewood. The gates open at 5 and the show doesn't start until 8. People are sprawled all across the lawn chowing down on gourmet treats and sipping on wine. It's like nothing I've ever seen. It was absolutely magnificent.

My sister and I agreed. If we lived up there, we would have season tickets and would be out there every weekend. It's hard to find concert tickets under $30 these days at any venue, and Tanglewood is without a doubt, one of the best venues I have ever been to. Even the acoustics were fantastic, not what you'd expect from lawn seats. As with so many great experiences the only bad part was it eventually had to end. It was an evening I will never forget.