Greenfield will celebrate its 102nd Winter Carnival this weekend. Thanks to our local music venues, the three-day celebration, jam-packed with events, will include plenty of music to further fuel the party atmosphere. The theme of this year’s carnival is “season switch up,” and what better way to celebrate winter than to give a little nod to the warm weather days we long for.

Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center is totally on board with the “season switch up” idea and will host a Winter Carnival Dance on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 8:30 p.m. with the theme of “chasing summer vibes.” Two Greenfield-based cover bands, Small Town Radio and HYFY, will be on hand to keep everyone moving and grooving on the dance floor, just like at a good ol’ summertime party.

Small Town Radio is a relatively new Greenfield based band that has been together for about a year. The group includes veteran musicians from the local scene: Dan Jarvis on lead guitar, Erik D’ambra on lead vocals, Zack Inzer on bass and backup vocals, Tim Williams on rhythm guitar and backup vocals, and Ben Magdalenski on drums.

When Small Town Radio takes the stage, expect to be treated to classic hits and modern favorites played with catchy rhythms and dance-worthy beats.

“We are rather eclectic,” said Jarvis about the band’s repertoire. “Our idea was to be a little bit different from everyone else around here, so we are doing everybody from Melissa Etheridge to Jimi Hendrix to the Black Crowes to Taylor Swift.”

The band hopes to appeal to all demographics, mixing old classics with contemporary pop songs, all played with their own twist on the material. “We want to get people age 21 to 61 to stay for the whole show,” said Jarvis. “This way, we can share our passion with more people.”

“We’ve been playing up in Vermont. We didn’t want to launch in town until we had a place like Hawks & Reed to do it,” said Jarvis. “It’s really exciting for us that the Winter Carnival is our first local show.”

“I know the guys in HYFY and reached out to them and we are all really excited about it,” he added.

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HYFY is also a Greenfield-based band, and this will be their first proper hometown show. The band includes Brent Hale on lead vocals, Jake Pielock on drums, Ed Patenaude on bass, Jarad Weeks on guitar, and Jasmine Russia on guitar.

“We formed in the early summer of 2022 and have been playing shows and private gigs since December of that year,” said Weeks about the band’s roots. “We primarily play Alternative Rock from the 90s and 2000s, covering Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Blink 182, Green Day, and even Maroon 5!”

Going into this show, Jarvis fully embraced the “chasing summer vibes” theme and came up with ideas to put a special twist on the event.

“I thought ‘let’s make this fun’ ... I wanted to get people more involved,” he said. “We are going to have beach balls, I’m going to have leis for everyone who comes through the door, and we’ll also have a limbo contest.”

In addition, there will be door prizes and a 50/50 raffle, and they’ll be serving some of those fancy summer drinks with little umbrellas in them. (What’s even in those?!)

So get out your Hawaiian shirt and flip-flops — actually maybe it’s better to skip the flip-flops — but put on your best summertime dancing shoes and be prepared to dance like it’s a sweaty summer dance party on the Fourth of July. It may be cold outside, but it’s going to be hot inside at Hawks & Reed.

Tickets for the Winter Carnival dance are $10 in advance and $15 the day of the show. Doors open at 8 p.m. Advance tickets are available at hawksandreed.com or by calling 413-774-0150.

10 Forward, at 10 Fiske Ave., is also getting in on the carnival fun with a packed weekend of events that start on Friday, Feb. 2. at 8 p.m. when the arts venue hosts an event called Coverchella.

“We are hosting Coverchella, a cover band show featuring over 14 local bands. Acts covered range from classics like Bob Dylan to pop favorites like Avril Lavigne,” said Mo Schweiger, marketing manger for the venue. “The aim is to celebrate the incredible musicians in our community and give whoever is interested a stage to play on.”

On Saturday, Feb. 3. the fun begins in the afternoon when 10 Forward hosts Karaoke for Kids from 1 to 3 p.m. This is a free event open to all ages.

Later on that same day, 10 Forward will host a rave at 8 p.m.

“The rave on Feb. 3 is a collaboration with Greenfield Community Television’s radio station, WMCB, and features Badcatch and Madel, whose radio show Secret Sessions plays Fridays from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., and 413DJMAFIA, whose show Jeonggwa Impact runs Tuesdays from 2 to 4 p.m,” said Schweiger. “The theme of the event is seasonal switch, in keeping with the Greenfield theme, but with an innuendo-laden twist: ‘wear your summer top or winter bottom … or vice versa!’’”

Admission for Coverchella is $10 to $20 sliding scale. Admission for the Rave is $10 to $20 sliding scale.

Masking is appreciated at 10 Forward. Elevator access is available through the Mesa Verde foyer.

No one will be turned away for lack of funds. 10forwardartsvenue.org

Greenfield resident Wallace Field recently celebrated the one year anniversary of her excellent album, “No Costs,” and will perform a full band show at the Parlor Room in Northampton on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 7:30 p.m. The album is a meditation on grief and loss as Field wrote most of the songs about the end of a relationship and the loss of her family home in Shelburne Falls in a house fire. “No Costs” established her as a songwriter of great depth and her ethereal signing voice beautifully conveys the emotion of this material. Due to the size of the room, advance tickets are recommend for Parlor Room shows.

Tickets are $15 in advance ($13 for members in advance) and $20 day of show ($18 for members day of show), and are available at parlorroom.org.

On Thursday, Feb 8, at 8 p.m The Drake in Amherst is hosting a show that you will not want to miss. This one will be well worth a drive to Amherst.

If you are a fan of classic country music, chances are you have heard of Daniel Donato. The reason I say that is that the Nashville-based guitar whiz-kid is generating quite a buzz these days. His debut album, “Reflector,” has received glowing reviews from publications like Rolling Stone, Glide Magazine, No Depression, Vintage Guitar magazine and many others.

Donato, who is 28 years old, cut his teeth playing nightly in Nashville with the Don Kelley Band at the honky-tonk Robert’s Western World. When he wasn’t playing there he was out on the streets busking, playing outside of John Mayer and Phish shows.

While Donato’s sound is deeply rooted in classic country music (artists like Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings), he is also a huge Deadhead, so jam band music has also factored in this sound. He calls his music “cosmic country” and it’s described as organic rock with a touch of roadhouse twang.

As a result, he is quickly making inroads in the jam band rock world while his virtuosic guitar playing is drawing comparisons to Billy Strings, another young player who is has won great acclaim. This is a show worth checking out and probably one of the last time you’ll see this rising star playing in a room of this size.

Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 the day of the show. Tickets available at thedrakeamherst.org

Just announced! Andrew Bird with special guest Amadou & Mariam will be at Tree House Brewing Company’s Summer Stage in South Deerfield on Aug. 15. Tickets are going on sale Friday, Feb. 2 at 10 a.m.: https://bit.ly/48Ts3s6

Also, Rickie Lee Jones will perform at the Shea Theater Arts Center in Turners Falls on Friday, May 10, at 8 p.m. Tickets go on sale Friday, Feb. 2, at 10 a.m.: https://tixr.com/e/92287

Sheryl Hunter is a freelance writer who resides in Easthampton. Her work has appeared in various regional and national publications. She can be reached at soundslocal@yahoo.com.