Infinity Hall

Admit it, Berkshires. You can get a little fussy about your music and arts scene, a little precious, dare I say, with your chorales, your string quartets and your chamber music. But sometimes you like to let your hair down. Sometimes you just need to keep it real. I don’t mean Keith Lockhart at Tanglewood, either. Sometimes you like to raaaaawk, Berkshires.

What if there was a place to go for live rock and folk music that spoke to your Berkshire aesthetic? A place that resonates with history while it turns toward the future and embraces it. A place that eschews trendiness for an understated, country sensibility. A place that takes you by surprise with its delightful contradictions in scale. Look no further, Berkshires. That place is Infinity Hall in Norfolk, CT.

From the moment you are welcomed into Infinity Hall’s rich, warm, lovingly restored interior (Arts and Crafts with a Japanese influence, says owner, Dan Hincks), Infinity Hall is an unparalleled Berkshire sensory experience. After a bite in the bistro, grab your drink and step into the hall itself. Feel the disarming scale of the room: a cozy, elbow-to-elbow seating plan for 300, while a dizzying 75 ft high vaulted ceiling above dwarfs everyone. (Fun fact: that big a fan gently swirling over head, stirring up the excitement? That is a Big A Fan, from the Big A** Fan Co of Boston.)

“There’s this energy,” says Sam McGarrity, with reverence. Sam is a local guitar hero and sound and lighting tech at Infinity Hall. “You feel the history,” he says. “But it’s all about rejuvenation.”

Rejuvenation, isn’t that a Berkshire’s sensibility? Everything old is new again. Yes, Mark Twain once orated from this stage, or so they say, but these are today’s world class artists coming through here, artists like Tori Amos, Dawes, The Cowboy Junkies and Rubblebucket, to name just a few of the folk, rock, indie and other established and up-and-coming acts you can catch at Infinity Hall. In fact, the performances are so outstanding that American Public Television recorded and broadcast a thirteen part series of live shows and green room interviews from Infinity Hall for national television, Infinity Hall Live. ihlive.org

“This is what I wanted to do,” says Dan Hincks. “This was my vision. It’s about bringing the joy of music.” Soon, Dan and his wife Sarah will be expanding their vision and capitalizing on their success in Norfolk by opening a second venue, Infinity Hall Hartford.

“Infinity Hall is music for the people,” Dan says.

If you haven’t been yet, go. These are blockbuster, history-making performances just a few country miles from here.