4 Best Performing Arts in The Catskills, New York

Founded in 1915, Maverick Concerts is the country's oldest continuously running summer chamber-music series. Every summer since has seen a confluence of world-class musicians drawn by superlative acoustics in a gorgeous 1916 "chapel" renowned by audiophiles for its acoustics. Gone are the days when concerts were free, but you can still bring your own chair and enjoy the pay-what-you-can prices. The season runs from late June to early September.

Lyle Lovett, the Neville Brothers, Herbie Hancock, and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater are among the performers who have appeared at the annual Belleayre Music Festival, held Saturday nights in July and August. Friday nights in August bring the Jazz Club, when the audience dances up a storm under the stars.

Two former Metropolitan Opera performers started the Windham Chamber Music Festival in 1997. The festival makes the most of the soaring acoustics at the Windham Performing Arts Center, which occupies an 1826 Greek Revival church. Saturday-evening concerts are scheduled throughout the summer, and other events take place during the rest of the year.

Cinephiles flock to Woodstock for five days in October, for the fiercely independent Woodstock Film Festival. Celebrity-led seminars, film screenings, and raucous parties—most in Woodstock—will keep you buzzing until morning.