Articles
by Gina Beavers | Jul 6, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter, Stage
You know her, you love her, and you want to support her! Jen Levesque, aka the Valley Show Girl aka the Valley Advocate graphics guru, hosts The Valley Show Girl premiere tonight at 13th Floor Music Lounge. Everybody who’s anybody will be there; she’s...
by Advocate Staff | Jul 5, 2018 | Articles, Music, Valley Advocate Sessions
Emma June is a singer-songwriter who performs folk opera songs on guitar with lush vocal duo harmonies. Check out her full Valley Advocate Sessions performance in the video below. Interview with Emma June:
by Gina Beavers | Jul 5, 2018 | Articles, Featured, News, Newsletter
Raven Books in Northampton is the quintessential New England used bookstore. Winding stacks of books create a delightful maze that loops in and out of corners. There doesn’t seem to be a square inch of wall that remains unoccupied, and tables of books, live plants,...
by Gina Beavers | Jul 5, 2018 | Articles, Newsletter
Our fearless leader Dave Eisenstadter went all high brow on his Staff Picks this week and I’m going to defer to him for today’s Pick of the Day. Shakespeare, the bard, is being celebrated in Amherst tonight until Sunday. Here’s what Dave had to say:...
by Gina Beavers | Jul 5, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Daily Calendar, Music, Newsletter, Stage
THURSDAY 7/5 MUSIC Drop-in Traditional Music Sessions: 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. $5. Friendly traditional music sessions. Moderate swingy pace. Adults and teens of all skill levels welcome – and not just fiddles. Northampton Senior Center, 67 Conz St., Northampton....
by Gina Beavers | Jul 5, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
Hopefully the heat won’t keep you from enjoying some of the cool things happening this weekend. The Berkshire Arts Festival begins today and goes until Sunday. The festival brings together 175 jury selected artists from across the country and you’re...
by From our Readers | Jul 4, 2018 | Articles, Featured, News, Newsletter
Editor’s Note: Welcome to our letters to the editor page. Here you’ll find reader comments on Advocate articles and other news. We collect readers’ opinions from emails, letters, Facebook comments, and comments to valleyadvocate.com. Want to get in on this? Email...
by Hunter Styles | Jul 4, 2018 | Articles, Columns, Featured, Newsletter, The Beerhunter
Putting shake-ups behind them, two brewers plan for the future Massachusetts has more than 120 visitable breweries, 19 of which are in the Valley. That’s a lot of taprooms to keep a Beerhunter busy around Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden counties. Still, you can’t...
by Gina Beavers | Jul 4, 2018 | Articles, Newsletter
Happy Independence Day! My pick of the day? Yep, FIREWORKS!!!! Springfield – Star Spangled Springfield at Blunt Park: 6 – 10 PM Agawam – Six Flags: 9:30-10pm PM Amherst – McGuirk Stadium at UMASS Amherst: 9:30 PM North Adams – Joe Wolfe Field (Rain Date...
by Chris Rohmann | Jul 4, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Stage, Stagestruck
For your consideration – four shows playing in the region this weekend, two that hark back to the ’60s/’70s and forward to tomorrow, plus a Shakespearean comedy and a jungle adventure. The Ko Festival of Performance opens its five-weekend season with The...
by Chris Rohmann | Jul 3, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Stage, Stagestruck
These days, fiction can hardly keep up with real life. Take The Cake, playing at Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield through July 15. It opened last month, just days after the Supreme Court upheld a Colorado baker’s refusal, on religious grounds, to make a wedding...
by Gina Beavers | Jul 3, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Film, Newsletter
Cool off with a little “Culture in the Cold War.” Amherst Cinema (yes, the movies are a great way to escape this hellish heat) is showing a FREE screening of The Naked Man on the Sports Field. It’s too hot to get bogged down in words, so I’ll...
by Gina Beavers, Dave Eisenstadter, and Chris Goudreau | Jul 3, 2018 | Articles, Newsletter, Staff Picks
Rocky Horror Picture Show // SATURDAY, July 7 In 1975 something amazing happened: Rocky Horror Picture Show burst on the scene and life would never be the same again – especially for college kids who want to throw toast and toilet paper. On top it all, The Come Again...
by Chris Rohmann | Jul 2, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Newsletter, Stage, Stagestruck
Two world premieres kick off the season at Williamstown Theatre Festival, one a raucous comedy, the other a brief, intimate tragedy. The Closet holds forth on WTF’s Main Stage through July 14th, while The Sound Inside plays through the 8th on the smaller Nikos...
by Gina Beavers | Jul 2, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter, Stage
MONDAY 7/2 STAGE/FILM/DANCE The Closet: Williamstown Theatre Festival, Williamstown. The Sound Inside: Williamstown Theatre Festival, Williamstown. TUESDAY 7/3 STAGE/FILM/DANCE The Closet: Williamstown Theatre Festival, Williamstown. Make It Funny Open Mic Comedy: 8...
by Gina Beavers | Jul 2, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
Who doesn’t love Nick Offerman? The perennial curmudgeon, however, turns nice guy in the new film Hearts Beat Loud. Offerman plays Frank a single dad whose only child, a daughter named Sam (Kiersey Clemons), is going off to college. As if that wasn’t...
by Chris Rohmann | Jun 29, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Newsletter, Stage, Stagestruck
The dance companies that opened this year’s season at Jacob’s Pillow epitomize the festival’s enduring mission. This week the mainstage hosts Pilobolus, one of the pillars of modern dance and still innovating after 45 years. And in the Pillow’s intimate Doris Duke...
by Chris Goudreau | Jun 29, 2018 | Articles, Newsletter
Boston-based Klezperanto takes traditional klezmer music and adds its own twist, introducing a variety of genres to the mix such as Colombian big band music, funk, surf rock, and covers of TV theme songs from 1970s cop shows. I had the opportunity to speak with band...
by Chris Goudreau | Jun 29, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
The Root Cellar is hosting a cajun dance night this month featuring two local bands. The first is Les Taiusts from Western Mass and southern Vermont, an old school electric Cajun dance hall band, followed by fiddle due drive group Terrible Mountain String Band. The...
by Valley Advocate Staff | Jun 29, 2018 | Articles, Music, Valley Advocate Sessions
Asia Mei is a Northampton-based singer-songwriter and virtuoso pianist with a dash of 1990s alt rock. Her complete Valley Advocate Sessions performance is available for viewing in the video below. Interview with Asia Mei:
by Gina Beavers | Jun 28, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
I saw Tuck and Patti at the Iron Horse in what seems like one hundred years ago. And one hundred years later, they’re in Northampton again. This dynamic duo is comprised of married couple guitarist William Charles “Tuck” Andress and singer Patricia...
by Gina Beavers | Jun 28, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter, Stage
Silverthorne Theater opens its production The Road to Mecca this evening. Helen is a South African widow and has been working on a sculpture garden, which is a dream trip to “Mecca.” Her pastor is urging her to move into a senior retirement home, but a...
by Gina Beavers | Jun 28, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Daily Calendar, Music, Newsletter
THURSDAY 6/28 MUSIC Children of the Falls: 6 p.m. – 10 p.m. Join us the patio for an evening of classic rock hits performed by Children of the Falls. 6 to 10 pm. All Ages. No Cover. Free. Luxe Burger Bar, 1200 West Columbus...
by Gina Beavers and Chris Goudreau | Jun 27, 2018 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter
A county coroner in Kentucky has been accused of working with at least two others — a retired police colonel and a current state police trooper — of illegally transporting a number of items. The most serious appeared to be $40,000 worth of illegally obtained weapons...
by Gina Beavers | Jun 27, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter, Stage
The New Zealand indie electronic band Naked and Famous just played a sold out show in DC and they’re bringing their Stripped tour to town tonight at the Iron Horse. The band has been around since 2007 and has produced three albums. Tonight they’ll strip...
by Advocate Staff | Jun 27, 2018 | Articles, Music, Newsletter, Valley Advocate Sessions
Asia Mei is a Northampton-based singer-songwriter with virtuoso piano and a dash of 1990s alternative rock. Check out a teaser video for her Advocate Sessions video, which will be released this Friday.
by Gina Beavers | Jun 26, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Film, Newsletter
When I was at the University of Pittsburgh, I worked part-time at WQED Pittsburgh Public Television. During fund drives, they would move Mr. Rogers props into the first floor hallway so telephone operations could be set up. Even up close there was no demystifying the...
by Chris Rohmann | Jun 25, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Newsletter, Stage, Stagestruck
Silverthorne Theater Company has come a long way since its founding five summers ago. Struggling at first with difficult venues and miniscule audiences, the company, under the leadership of Lucinda Kidder, is now celebrating the half-decade mark with a permanent home...
by Gina Beavers | Jun 25, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Daily Calendar, Music, Newsletter, Stage
MONDAY 6/25 MUSIC A Very Intimate Acoustic Evening with Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo: June 25, 8 p.m. $71 – $141. Experience special arrangements from two rock and roll icons during A Very Intimate Acoustic Evening with Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo. Mahaiwe...
by Gina Beavers | Jun 25, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter, Stage
Let’s dance! That’s what the Montague Community Band wants you to do tonight. A concert on the lawn at Peskeomuscut Park in Turner’s Falls will give you a dose of summer in New England. This week’s theme is, indeed, “Let’s...
by Chris Rohmann | Jun 23, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter, Stage, Stagestruck
Bar Mitzvah Boy is a comedy that looks seriously at faith, community, and loss. Its premise contains the seeds of sitcom: A middle-aged Jewish lawyer who hasn’t set foot in a synagogue since he was a boy is suddenly in a rush to have his way-overdue becoming-a-man...
by Gina Beavers | Jun 22, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
Oh boy, there’s nothing more delightful than amateur criminal movies, and this is the unbelievable but true story of four college guys who attempt to an extraordinary art heist at Kentucky’s Transylvania University. The film centers around two friends, Spencer...
by Advocate Staff | Jun 22, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Newsletter, Review
The Forbes Library is a handsome structure abutting the Smith College Campus at 20 West St. in Northampton. It’s stately and grand and at one time it was known as “the castle on the hill.” The grounds are perfectly manicured and the circular drive allows for easy...
by Jennifer Levesque | Jun 22, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, Newsletter, Review
For my last column, I wrote about The Stone Church in Vermont, a church renovated into a performance venue. What are the chances I happen to find another one of those without knowing it until I show up? Well, I did. Enter the 1794 Meetinghouse in the center of the...
by Advocate Staff | Jun 22, 2018 | Advocate Sessions, Articles, Music, Valley Advocate Sessions
Mamma’s Marmalade is a jammy bluegrass group with old timey cheer. Check out the band’s Advocate Sessions performance in the video below. Interview with Mamma’s Marmalade:
by Advocate Staff | Jun 21, 2018 | Articles, Music, Newsletter, Valley Advocate Sessions
Mamma’s Marmalade is a a jammy bluegrass group with plenty of old timey cheer. Check out a teaser video of the band’s Advocate Sessions, which will be released this Friday.
by Gina Beavers | Jun 21, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Daily Calendar, Family Friendly, Film, Get Out!, Music, Newsletter, Stage
THURSDAY 6/21 MUSIC British Dance Invasion: 7 p.m. Academy of Music Theatre, 274 Main St., Northampton. Colorway Album Release with Easy Weasel, Featuring Chris Collingwood: 7:30 p.m. – 10 p.m. $10 advance, $12 at the door. Colorway has been keeping the spirit...
by Gina Beavers | Jun 21, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
Got a personal note from Christopher Bakriges. He and whole bunch of heavyweights are in Forest Park tonight at the Bing. I’ll let him speak for himself: Pianist/composer Chris Bakriges will be “joined by his mentor at Wesleyan University, Jay Hoggard...
by Gina Beavers | Jun 21, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter, Stage
There’s a lot going on tonight: Junior Reid at Hawks and Reed and Liz Longley at the Iron Horse. But I thought I’d let Vilray (pronounce Vil-ree) give his own shout out for today’s pick. He posted this back on 6/11. You can see him up close and...
by Chris Rohmann | Jun 20, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter, Stage, Stagestruck
A six-week workshop for first-time playwrights taught by the Majestic Theater’s Danny Eaton has borne unexpected fruit. It has not only brought forth a full-length play, but has inspired Eaton to establish an annual “new works” week at the theater. Betel Arnold’s...
by Gina Beavers | Jun 20, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter, Stage
Okay, honestly, I can’t stand new country music; it’s a horrible thing. I absolutely despise it. So when somebody like Junior Brown blows into town, it’s an opportunity to hear country music done right. Junior Brown’s a country guitarist...
by Chris Goudreau | Jun 19, 2018 | Articles, News, Newsletter
Josh Zakim, a Boston City Councilor and a Democratic candidate for Massachusetts Secretary of State, visited the Northampton farmers’ market this afternoon alongside Mayor David Narkewicz, speaking with customers and vendors about how he plans to implement...
by Readers of the Advocate | Jun 19, 2018 | Articles, Letters from our Readers, News, Newsletter
Editor’s Note: Welcome to our letters to the editor page. Here you’ll find reader comments on Advocate articles and other news. We collect readers’ opinions from emails, letters, Facebook comments, and comments to valleyadvocate.com. Want to get in on this? Email...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Jun 19, 2018 | Articles, Between the Lines, Featured, News, Newsletter
I’m angry these days. I try to hide it as best I can, but the piling up of atrocities committed by the Trump administration is taking its toll, and I doubt I’m the only one concealing a bubbling rage as I go about my day. But the recently-implemented “zero tolerance”...
by Gina Beavers | Jun 19, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter, Stage
After last night’s wild and woolly weather, you need a de-stressor. Check out the smoothness of Mutlu at the Iron Horse tonight. He’s a real deal, a soulful singer-songwriter from Philly and a proud first-generation American of Turkish descent. He’s...
by Chris Rohmann | Jun 18, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Newsletter, Stage, Stagestruck
Church & State is the funniest play about a serious issue I have ever seen. The issue is gun violence, specifically mass shootings, and the humor is threaded into the storyline so organically that, far from cheapening the theme, it lends to it a richer, more...
by Advocate Staff | Jun 18, 2018 | Articles, Columns, Featured, Newsletter, Podcast, The Beerhunter
Advocate alumnus Hunter Styles, who still writes our Beerhunter column, and Sally Noble, co-founder of Western Mass Beer Week, tell us about the embarrassment of riches of beer we have in the Valley. Hear about Sally’s beer beginnings and the start of Western...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Jun 18, 2018 | Articles, Columns, Featured, Newsletter, The V-Spot
Hi Yana, I’m a dude in my mid-thirties struggling to recover from a sort of recent break-up (over a year ago). We were together for seven years. The last three of those years were spent in couples therapy and the last year of our relationship was spent trying to be...
by Rob Brezsny | Jun 18, 2018 | Articles, Astrology, Featured, Newsletter
ARIES (March 21-April 19): According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you have cosmic permission to enjoy extra helpings of waffles, crepes, pancakes, and blintzes. Eating additional pastries and doughnuts is also encouraged. Why? Because it’s high time...
by Jack Brown | Jun 18, 2018 | Articles, Cinemadope, Columns, Featured, Newsletter
Something I’ve come to love about Father’s Day weekend is my own dad’s profound disinterest in the world of the internet. He doesn’t give a fig for Facebook, has no email address, and if he were ever involved with something viral it would be cause for a trip to the...
by Gina Beavers | Jun 18, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Daily Calendar, Music, Newsletter
MONDAY 6/18 MUSIC AMHERST JAZZ ORCHESTRA: 7:30 p.m. – 10 p.m. Free. With vocalist Ethel Lee. No cover, free parking and great food. Union Station Grand Ballroom, 125A Pleasant St., Northampton. 413-253-1607. info@amherstjazzorchestra.com. STAGE/FILM/DANCE On...
by Gina Beavers | Jun 18, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Film, Newsletter
Who doesn’t love a little Russian tragicomedy? Chekhov did. No, not Chekhov from Star Trek, I’m talking about Anton. The movie The Seagull is an adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s play by the same name. Here’s the scoop: Friends and family gather...
by Will Meyer | Jun 15, 2018 | Articles, Basemental, Columns, Featured, Music, Newsletter
Wendy Eisenberg has made a name for herself in the amalgamated DIY, jazz, and improvisation scenes in New England and beyond. Coming via Rochester and then Boston, Eisenberg now lives in Amherst. Eisenberg has a variety of tactics in her artist’s toolbox. Among them...
by Gina Beavers | Jun 15, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
It makes my job easy when my picks make their own plugs! Singer songwriter Brooke Annibale posted this on Twitter Friday afternoon: “Playin in Northampton, MA this Sunday night@ParlorRoomMusic with Ben Jaffe! Everybody bring your dads cause it’s Father’s Day and...
by Gina Beavers | Jun 15, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
Kevin Morby rose to fame as bassist in the folk rock band Woods and as the co-founder of The Babies. It’s the one year anniversary of his fourth studio album City Music; it was released on June 16, 2017. He describes the album as a “listless...
by Chris Goudreau | Jun 15, 2018 | Articles, Featured, News, Newsletter
By the summer of 2019, Amherst will have a new mixed-use development of 130 low to moderate income apartments and eight to 10 new spaces for businesses at North Square in the community’s Mill District. A groundbreaking ceremony for the development took place with...
by Chris Rohmann | Jun 15, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Stage, Stagestruck
The “royal family” of Broadway in the early 20th century was the Barrymores – Ethel, “first lady of the American theater,” John the swashbuckling Shakespearean, and Lionel, best remembered now as mean old Mr. Potter in It’s a Wonderful Life. The hit Broadway comedy of...
by Advocate Staff | Jun 15, 2018 | Articles, Music, Valley Advocate Sessions
Lisa Marie Ellingsen is a Northampton-based Americana singer-songwriter who’s a little bit folk, blues, rock, and country. Her full Advocate Sessions performance is now available to watch in the video below. Interview with Lisa Marie Ellingsen:
by Dave Eisenstadter | Jun 14, 2018 | Articles, Featured, News, Newsletter
Some sad community and activism news — longtime political activist Rose “Arky” Markham passed away earlier this week. Sad in that she passed away, but among the things she has left behind are the results of a life well-spent, as can be seen in her...
by Advocate Staff | Jun 14, 2018 | Articles, Music, Valley Advocate Sessions
Check out a short teaser video of local Americana singer-songwriter Lisa Marie Ellingsen. Her full performance will be available tomorrow.
