Ken Pomeroy books The Drake for Dec. 5: a 240-cap room for Americana's newest award winner

The Oklahoma songwriter, this year's Emerging Act of the Year at the Americana Honors, plays Amherst on Saturday, Dec. 5; tickets are $25 to $30.

Every year there are a few artists who play rooms like The Drake right before they stop playing rooms like The Drake. Ken Pomeroy looks a lot like one of them.

Pomeroy plays The Drake in Amherst on Saturday, Dec. 5, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25 to $30 through Tixr. The show was announced Oct. 29, which gives Pioneer Valley folk fans about four weeks from this weekend to sort out plans. With 240 capacity, the room won't take long to fill.

Here's why this one is worth jumping on. In 2026, Pomeroy won Emerging Act of the Year at the Americana Honors & Awards, according to her Wikipedia entry). That's the kind of recognition that tends to move an artist into bigger venues fast. Her current album, *Cruel Joke*, came out May 16, 2025, on Rounder Records, her first release with the label, as Grateful Web reported when it was announced alongside the song "Stranger." Her publicists at Sacks & Co. have been working her story nationally, and she's turned up on CBS Saturday Sessions, performing "Pareidolia."

Put those together and you have a young Oklahoma singer-songwriter with a major roots label behind her, a national TV spot and an industry award in the same stretch. She's also been working the road: she played the West Coast in October, according to tour listings, and Amherst lands near the end of this run.

The Drake is the right kind of place to catch someone at this moment. A 240-person room means nobody is far from the stage, and songs built on lyrics and voice, which is what Pomeroy's are, land differently when you can hear the breath between lines. Pioneer Valley audiences know how to listen, and a folk show in a room this size on a December Saturday is about as good as it gets for that.

What to expect: material from *Cruel Joke* and the songs that got her here, delivered in a room small enough that you'll leave feeling like you know her a little. Beyond that, the setlist is hers.

There's also the bragging-rights angle. If the Americana Honors are any guide, the next time Pomeroy comes through the region it may be in a bigger room with a bigger ticket price. A $25 to $30 ticket at The Drake is the low-cost way to say you saw her first.

Tickets are on Tixr now. Don't wait for the holidays to sneak up on you; 240 seats goes quickly.

Sources: Ken Pomeroy (singer) — Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org); Ken Pomeroy's new album 'Cruel Joke' out May 16 via Rounder Records, new song 'Stranger' debuts — Grateful Web (gratefulweb.com); Ken Pomeroy artist notes — Sacks & Co. (sacksco.com); Saturday Sessions: Ken Pomeroy performs 'Pareidolia' — CBS News (cbsnews.com); Ken Pomeroy at The Drake — Tixr (tixr.com)