A variety of music happens at Club Helsinki

12:00AM / Wednesday, August 21, 2002Print Story | Email Story

One of the many gems in quaint Great Barrington is Club Helsinki. Club Helsinki is a live music club where a â€œvery eclecticâ€ mix of bands and artists perform, said Deborah McDowell who, along with her boyfriend Marc Schafler, owns the club and the adjacent Helsinki CafÃ© at 284 Main St. The 10-year-old Helsinki CafÃ©, she said, always had live music, including jazz every week, and that led to the creation of the club, a â€œnatural evolutionâ€ she called it. Club Helsinki, which opened in 2000, mostly showcases folk, jazz, bluegrass and blues, although they also have rock, jam bands, rhythm and blues, reggae, hip-hop and classical acts, she said. McDowell books acts that she and her staff like, she said, adding that she loves working with and getting to know musicians. The week of August 18 sees the first classical show at the club and three jazz acts, each with their own twist on the music, McDowell said. Cellist Matt Haimovitz will be performing classical music on Wednesday. Jen Chapin, Harry Chapinâ€™s daughter, will be playing with her jazz/pop band on Thursday night. Dr. Tim, a funky jazz band led by drummer Tim Ward â€” â€œa jazz guy from New Orleansâ€ â€” will be performing on Friday, McDowell said. Classic jazz brought up on rock-n-roll, performed by The Josh Roseman Unit, will fill the club on Saturday night. The smoke-free club has two cover charge-free nights each week: an open-mic night on Sunday and a â€œMojo Deluxe Jazzâ€ night on Monday. Called â€œSunday Mix,â€ the open-mic night starts at 8:30 p.m. â€” signup occurs around 7 p.m., McDowell said â€” and is hosted by Peter Lindstrom, the sound technician at the club since its [the] first show. Festivities on Monday night start at 9 p.m. Named after the Hotel Helsinki in Helsinki, Finland that her grandfather used to run, Club Helsinki is a very small, upside-down-L-shaped club with a small bar on the right side of the room. The stage is against the rear wall, decorated with interesting, abstract paintings. The walls are lined with photographs of some of the performers and bands that have played Helsinki over the years. A greenroom for performers is downstairs from the club. Blues guitar legend and Grammy Award winner, John Hammond, played his second sold-out show at the club in the last nine months, on Saturday, Aug. 17. Everyone in the crowd had their eyes fixed intently on Hammond as he performed his intense, solo-acoustic blues, including powerful singing and harmonica-playing. The smallness of the room makes for an intimate experience for both the performer and the audience. The sound was great. Seated at the bar, Ken Kupperman, of Great Barrington, was among the crowd of people enjoying the blues of John Hammond that night. Kupperman, who attends shows there when he can, said he likes Helsinki because they bring in manyâ€big namesâ€ and new artists. â€œThe music they bring in here is awesome,â€ he said. He also praised the club for its smoke-free environment, which is a requirement of all places in Great Barrington. â€œThey [the performers] donâ€™t choke, and we can see them,â€ he said. McDowell said the clubâ€™s acoustics and sound system are great. The powerful, vibrant sounds of Hammond that filled the room attested to that. A great deal of the performers who play at Helsinki often play bigger venues and, as a result, enjoy playing at the club for its intimacy, she said. Occasionally McDowell arranges big-name shows at the nearby Mahaiwe Theater, which seats 700, she said. Pete Seeger, Maceo Parker and Doc Watson are among the five Helsinki performances at the theater, she said. Two of the shows at the Mahaiwe were part of a concert series paying tribute to W.E. Du Bois, who McDowell said was an African-American leader and historian and a native of Great Barrington who started the civil rights movement. She said she would like to continue that concert series. Although the club opens at 5 p.m., there are people in it throughout the day, McDowell said. Managed by her brother, Craig McDowell, the club serves as a space for locals, most of whom have become friends of the McDowells over the years, to rehearse, record and take music lessons, as well as a place for people to congregate, talk and play games, she said. â€œPeople use it [the club] as a refuge,â€ she said. Who goes to see shows at Club Helsinki? People of all ages attend shows, McDowell said. Many local residents attend shows, but some performers bring in people McDowell does not recognize, as was the case with the Hammond show. Many people on dates attend shows, she said. Some people from New York City and Boston come to shows, she said, coupled with a point about the devotion of fans of some performers. The audience at Club Helsinki on any given night really depends on the performer, said McDowell, who lives in Hillsdale, N.Y. Regarding her long-term goals for the club, McDowell said expanding it is a possibility. She also said she and her staff â€œwant to keep on doing what weâ€™re doing.â€ Show prices range from free to $40, McDowell said. The average Helsinki show ranges from $10 to $15, she said. Prices for tickets purchased in advance are usually lower than the prices of tickets purchased the day of shows. The Helsinki CafÃ©, adjacent to the club, specializes in Finnish, Russian and northern European dishes, including a number of vegetarian ones, McDowell said. It is open daily for lunch and dinner, 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., and a Mexican brunch on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Occupying the same space as the cafÃ© is the Helsinki Tea Company, which sells wholesale teas, she said. Tickets are sold at the club or by phone at 528-3394. Visa and Mastercard are accepted. For more information about the club or its schedule, call 528-6308 or check out www.clubhelsinkiweb.com.

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McCann Recognizes Superintendent Award Recipient

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
05:32PM / Tuesday, December 23, 2025

Landon LeClair and Superintendent James Brosnan with Landon's parents Eric and Susan LeClair, who is a teacher at McCann.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Superintendent's Award has been presented to Landon LeClair, a senior in McCann Technical School's advanced manufacturing course.

The presentation was made last Thursday by Superintendent Jame Brosnan after Principal Justin Kratz read from teachers' letters extolling LeClair's school work, leadership and dedication.

"He's become somewhat legendary at the Fall State Leadership Conference for trying to be a leader at his dinner table, getting an entire plate of cookies for him and all his friends," read Kratz to chuckles from the School Committee. "Landon was always a dedicated student and a quiet leader who cared about mastering the content."

LeClair was also recognized for his participation on the school's golf team and for mentoring younger teammates.

"Landon jumped in tutoring the student so thoroughly that the freshman was able to demonstrate proficiency on an assessment despite the missed class time for golf matches," read Kratz.

The principal noted that the school also received feedback from LeClair's co-op employer, who rated him with all fours.

"This week, we sent Landon to our other machine shop to help load and run parts in the CNC mill," his employer wrote to the school. LeClair was so competent the supervisor advised the central shop might not get him back.

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