Tanglewood Adds New Events To 2025 Popular Artist Series Lineup

The Tanglewood Popular Artist Series, which each year brings a star-studded lineup of musicians and performers to Tanglewood's Koussevitzky Music Shed, adds two exciting new concert dates to the 2025 season. 

Barenaked Ladies brings their “Last Summer on Earth 2025” tour to Tanglewood with special guests Sugar Ray and Fastball on Tuesday, July 8 (7 p.m.). Later in the month, in A Very Special Evening with Emmylou Harris & Graham Nash, the two iconic singer-songwriters return to the Shed on Tuesday, July 29 (7:30 p.m.). 

Over the course of 35 years, the beloved quartet Barenaked Ladies, comprised of Ed Robertson, Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, and Tyler Stewart, has sold over 15 million records worldwide and built up an arsenal of hits such as "If I Had $1,000,000," "One Week," "Pinch Me," and "The Big Bang Theory Theme." Widely acknowledged as one of the best live acts on the planet, Barenaked Ladies has hosted a cruise, had their own Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor, and participated in the first-ever “space-to-earth musical collaboration” with astronaut Chris Hadfield. To date, Barenaked Ladies has amassed eight JUNO Awards, garnered two GRAMMY nominations, and was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. The band's 18th studio album, In Flight was released in 2023 and features 14 brand new studio recordings. Their July 8 performance will be their second at Tanglewood, where they made their debut in 2013. Joining Barenaked Ladies as special guests are two ever-popular hitmakers, Sugar Ray (“Every Morning,” “Fly-Fly” and “Someday”) and Fastball (“The Way,” and “Out of My Head”). 

Emmylou Harris and Graham Nash, two of popular music's most beloved icons, share the stage for A Very Special Evening on July 29. Both artists first performed at Tanglewood in 1975 and will bring their respective complete shows to the historic venue this summer. A 14-time GRAMMY winner and Billboard Century Award recipient, Emmylou Harris has recorded more than 25 albums and has lent her talents to countless fellow artists' recordings. In recognition of her remarkable career, Harris was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008 and earned a GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement award in 2018. Known as much for her eloquently straightforward songwriting as for her incomparably expressive singing, Harris is one of the most admired and influential women in music and is a longtime social activist and advocate for animal welfare. 

Legendary artist Graham Nash, as a founding member of both the Hollies and Crosby, Stills and Nash, is a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee who has seen rock history unfold at some of its seminal moments, from the launch of the British Invasion to the birth of the Laurel Canyon movement a year later. An extraordinary GRAMMY award-winning renaissance artist—and self-described “simple man”—Nash was inducted twice into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, for his work with Crosby, Stills and Nash and his work as a solo artist, beginning with two landmark albums, Songs for Beginners and Wild Tales. A passionate advocate for peace, social and environmental justice, Nash is also an internationally renowned photographer and visual artist whose work has been shown in galleries and museums worldwide. 

The Popular Artist Series opens in the Shed with A Prairie Home Companion starring Garrison Keillor on June 21 (7 p.m.) Joining Keillor are music director Rich Dworsky and the band, the Royal Academy of Radio Actors (Tim Russell, Sue Scott, and sound-effects wizard Fred Newman), and other guest performers.  

As previously announced, James Taylor and his All-Star Band perform with special guest Tiny Habits on July 3 and 4 (8 p.m.). The six-time GRAMMY-winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee is marking his 51st season at the festival (tickets on sale now for July 3 at bso.org; July 4 is sold out).  

At the end of the season, Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, NPR's popular news quiz program returns live with host Peter Sagal, judge-scorekeeper Bill Kurtis, and a to-be-named celebrity guest on August 28 (8 p.m.). 

Thirteen-time GRAMMY winner Bonnie Raitt closes the festival on August 31 (7 p.m.). Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, Raitt was also named one of Rolling Stone's “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” and “100 Greatest Singers of All Time.” Known for her lifelong commitment to social activism, she was a Kennedy Center Honoree last year in recognition of her indelible impact on the nation's performing arts and culture. Joining Raitt is newly announced special guest Jimmie Vaughan & The Tilt-A-Whirl Band. 

Please note the on-sale schedule for these concerts: Tickets for the two James Taylor performances went on sale January 29, and the July 4 show is sold out. Tickets for Barenaked Ladies with special guests Sugar Ray and Fastball and A Very Special Evening with Emmylou Harris & Graham Nash will go on sale February 18 at 10 a.m. Tickets for the other previously announced Tanglewood Popular Artists Series dates will go on sale March 6 at 10 a.m. 

Tickets also may be purchased by calling 888-266-1200 on Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday 12:30-4:30 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at the Symphony Hall Box Office during regular Box Office hours. 

The Tanglewood Box Office is currently closed for the season but will be open on March 6, 7, and 8 (from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.) once tickets for the 2025 season are available. Please note that the March sale dates will take place at the Linde Center for Music and Learning (in the Martignetti Lobby of Studio E) rather than at the Main Gate. Parking is available in the Bachrach Lot (enter at 3 West Hawthorne) Rd., Lenox.  

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