The Lit Salon | An Evening with Author Marcia Chatelain Accompanied by Singer-Songwriter Chantell McCulloch

Lit Salon in the Berkshires is a new series bringing together literature and music through intimate, candlelit conversations and live performances. Presented by The Mount at Barrington Hall and curated by author Michelle Young (The Art Spy), the Salon creates a warm, intimate setting for the community to gather, connect, and experience the written word and music in unexpected combinations. From Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marcia Chatelain comes the little-known story of the pioneering Black women who helped shape the 1963 March on Washington—artists and activists who were seen, yet too often left unheard. How Bright the Path Grows: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the March on Washington is a scintillating group biography, rendering the lives of thirteen Black women visionaries—some famous, others soon to be—in novelistic detail and like never seen before. Moderated by Michelle Young and featuring an accompanying performance by acclaimed singer-songwriter Chantell McCulloch, this conversation and performance brings these trailblazing women into the spotlight, from cultural icons Josephine Baker, Rosa Parks, and Mahalia Jackson to Eva Jessye, the choir director who designed the day’s musical program, and Anna Hedgeman, the coordinator who pushed in the eleventh hour for a tribute to Black women’s work. IMPORTANT EVENT INFORMATION: This program takes place offsite at Barrington Hall, 426 Stockbridge Road, Great Barrington, MA 01230, a fully accessible event venue. Doors open at 6:00 pm. A cash bar and food truck will be available. Seating at Barrington Hall is first come, first served. All ticket sales are final, and Barrington Hall is unable to offer refunds for missed events. If an event is cancelled or postponed, the venue will notify all ticket holders and provide the option to receive a refund or hold onto your ticket for the new date. Questions? Email: [email protected]; or call: 413-551-5111 x2 ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Marcia Chatelain is a Presidential Penn Compact Professor of Africana studies at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of South Side Girls and Franchise, which won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in History, the James Beard Foundation Book Award for Writing, the Hagley Prize for Business History, and the Lawrence W. Levine Award from the Organization of American Historians. An active public speaker and educational consultant, Chatelain has received awards and honors from the Ford Foundation, the American Association of University Women, and the German Marshall Fund of the United States. ABOUT THE MUSICIAN: Chantell McCulloch, healing songstress, is a classically trained vocalist from Chicago, known for her commanding vocal agility and soulfully connected performance style. Her artistic credits include sharing the stage with Grammy-nominated artists like Matt Cusson, opening for Grammy Award-winning cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and Grammy Award-winning pianist Emmanuel Ax, and recording for PBS Kids and Sesame Street. In 2026, Berkshire Magazine named Chantell as a recipient of Berkshire 25 for her work around the county. Performing blues, jazz, and classical soul, her uniquely styled arrangements transform her performances into spaces of collective encouragement, hope, and healing. Photo: Lee Everett ABOUT THE CURATOR: Michelle Young is an award-winning journalist and author. Her latest book, The Art Spy: The Extraordinary Untold Tale of World War II Resistance Hero Rose Valland, was named a Best Book of 2025 by the New York Public Library, Library Journal, and Hyperallergic, and a 2026 Massachusetts Book Award Honors Title. The book was also a finalist for the Marfield Prize—The National Award for Arts Writing—and the Lambda Literary Prize, and was longlisted for the 2025 American Library of Paris Book Award. ABOUT THE VENUE: Founded by friends and neighbors Dan and Daniel, Barrington Hall was created out of a shared love of live music, travel, and bringing people together. Today, Barrington Hall is a vibrant destination for live music, comedy, and so much more, built on good energy, local connection, and the belief that the best memories happen when people come together.