Shokazoba featuring DJ Megha • Friday
Friday nights were made for chill reggae and funky beats, especially Fridays that cap the first full post-holiday week. Breathe deep, relax, and shake that thang with Northampton-based Afrofunk band Shokazaba. DJ Megha Amira will warm things up with the hottest reggae beats and Shokazoba will “rattle the rafters with our tight, heavy, afrofunky grooves.” Bishop’s Lounge, Jan. 8, from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. — Amanda Drane
Open mic and final qualifier for the Women of the World Poetry Slam • Tuesday
The 2016 Women of the World Poetry Slam will be held in March in Brooklyn, NY. Northampton Poetry will be sending a representative to compete at the event, and the poet will be picked Tuesday! You had me at “Women of the World.” More info about qualifications are here. Jan. 12 at The Deuce (WWII Club), 50 Conz St., Northampton. — Jennifer Levesque
Play it cool boy, real cool • Friday, Saturday
Rumble! Mambo! Maria! God, I love West Side Story. Leonard Bernstein brought his A-game (his only game) to this musical based on doomed lovers Romeo and Juliet. West Side Story updates the Shakespeare classic to the ‘50s and turns the rival families into rival gangs the Jets (whites) and the Sharks (Puerto Ricans). See it once and you’ll be doing the double finger snap all day. Pothole Pictures presents West Side Story at Memorial Hall in Shelburne Falls, Jan. 8-9, at 7:30 p.m. $4-$6. — Kristin Palpini
A whole lotta gray • Every day
With all the fog that’s been resting in the Valley, you’d think I’d have had enough gray for a while. Natch! The gray space in between is so much more interesting than stark black or white. Gallery A3 gets this, too. The gallery’s current exhibit, Sweep of Gray, features painting, photography, assemblage, drawing, and printmaking by member artists.
Gallery A3 is on Amity Street in Amherst. Hours are Thursday–Sunday, 1–7 p.m. Free. — Hunter Styles
