The NorthEast Squeeze-In is a relaxed, participant-led gathering of free-reed players. There are no paid performers or teachers. We're here for the fun and good company of one another. All are welcome, even with other instruments -- they round out the sound. Pipes, fiddle, mandolin, recorder, hurdy-gurdy, whatever . . . it's all good. We’re delighted to include raw beginners needing help with getting a start. This is a warm, friendly place, a Brigadoon weekend for squeezers of every level and style.
Nothing is required of you, but there are lots of choices. You might jam in a crowd, play with a few others, noodle in a corner, or seek some quiet time in the rustic outdoor setting. You might join organized and informal sessions, attend and/or lead workshops, and enjoy the Saturday night concert as audience or performer. You can lift your feet in the contra dance that follows the concert and lift your voice in the pub sing until the wee hours.
Workshops are as varied as our participants, and most are unannounced until the weekend starts. Some are created on the spot in response to requests. You might get involved in a tango workshop, learn Klezmer or Breton or Scottish or Irish or Balkan tunes and techniques, or find out how to fix your concertina or accordion from people that make and repair them.
You can browse and "test-drive" all kinds of instruments. They're as different as people; take this opportunity to find your musical soulmate! Learn some new subtleties of your box and find out, finally, how to play that tricky passage that's had you stumped.
It's all here in a free-wheeling, free-spirited weekend that we make up as we go along, so it’s different every year.
| Playing, jamming, sessions and workshops Friday through Sunday morning |
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| The sessions and workshops are coordinated on a event board...here's how it works |
| On Saturday night, there's the Concert |
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| You can listen to the Concerts here |
| Afterwards, there's a contra dance |
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| and a pub sing |
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Where It is
The Squeeze-In is held at Chimney Corners, a fabulously well appointed year round camp and conference center in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts, 30 minutes from the Lee exit off the Mass Pike and close to Tanglewood. Directions.
There are three levels of housing
- Heated Lodges with shared-occupancy bedrooms, lounges, and baths;
- Unheated Cabins that have a central room with bunk beds, clustered around a central wash house;
- Field Camping with access to the nearby cabin wash house.
For more details about housing, see the Registration & Attendance page
When It Is . . .
The Squeeze-In is held on a weekend that runs from Friday afternoon through Sunday noon. Depending on various considerations, including available site-booking dates, religious holidays, and the like, it may happen anywhere from an early September weekend to one in early October. Several upcoming years’ dates are usually published on the NESI website by late October, following that year's NESI.
To get more information, check out the FAQ. You can sign up for our mailing lists to ask questions of other participants and get notifications & news.