Articles
by Advocate Staff | Apr 13, 2018 | Articles, Music, Valley Advocate Sessions
Fuzz Puddle is an alternative rock duo that mixes indie jazz influences with an experimental approach. Interview with Fuzz Puddle:
by Naila Moreira | Apr 12, 2018 | Articles, Columns, Down to Earth, Newsletter
In the sugaring room of North Hadley Sugar Shack and Market on a recent Saturday, a trio of young farmers manned the massive wood-fired evaporator slowly boiling off water from maple sap. Mahogany-colored product rushed every couple minutes from the spigot. On a...
by Blaise Majkowski | Apr 12, 2018 | Articles, Blaise's Bad Movie Guide, Columns, Newsletter
Hands up! — how many readers remember HL Childs’ toy store in Northampton? I was there on closing day and came across a massive “Thunderbirds Island” playset commanding an entire shelf. As you may recall, “Thunderbirds” was a British TV show featuring marionettes and...
by Gina Beavers | Apr 12, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
Ìrìn Àjò is a world premiere opera by Bode Omojola. It’s about Káyò̩dé, a Nigerian engineer who immigrates to the United States in search of a better life. His parents in Nigeria now look up to him to take care of them and other members of his family back home....
by Advocate Staff | Apr 12, 2018 | Articles, Get Out With Staff Picks, Music, Newsletter
Ingmar Bergman’s Persona // SUNDAY, APRIL 15 It’s tax time and to increase your psychological stressors, check out Ingmar Bergman’s film Persona. Amherst Cinema has been celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Swedish master’s birth. Hooray! Persona is another...
by Gina Beavers | Apr 11, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Daily Calendar, Newsletter
THURSDAY 4/12 MUSIC Live Music!: Wyld Nightz: 8:30 p.m. – 11:30 p.m. Whetstone Station Restaurant and Brewery, 36 Bridge St., Brattleboro. Luke Baillargeon: 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. Live Italian music with Luke Baillargeon in The Mick. Free. The Mick, 3 Country...
by Meg Bantle | Apr 11, 2018 | Articles, News, Newsletter
Sarno repeatedly calls himself a “law and order mayor,” but for Springfield’s police union president, his recent decision to leave the bargaining table speaks louder than his words. “The fair thing to say is that we judge people on how they treat us,” said Joseph...
by Advocate Staff | Apr 11, 2018 | Articles, Arts, News, Newsletter
When spring blooms burst forth, you’ll want to rove the Pioneer Valley looking for fantastic things to see and do. We’ve pulled together some of the best events happening in the area April through June. 4/14: Radically interconnected There’s a plethora of arts events...
by Gina Beavers | Apr 11, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
Guitarist Jesse Cook says, “I want to take people to places they haven’t been,” and he’s traveled the world looking for and mastering sounds that speak to him. His new album, Beyond Borders, is an expression of that world music combination his...
by Advocate Staff | Apr 11, 2018 | Articles, Music, Newsletter, Valley Advocate Sessions
Fuzz Puddle is an alternative rock duo that mixes indie jazz influences with an experimental approach. Check out a teaser video for the band’s upcoming Advocate Sessions performance to be released this Friday.
by Meg Bantle | Apr 10, 2018 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter, O Cannabis!
Slow, meditative breathing is an important part of most yoga classes, but at Chronic Trips’ first cannabis-friendly yoga class on April 7, there was also a different kind of inhaling going on. “We want to reduce the stigma of the lazy stoner,” said Chronic Trips owner...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Apr 10, 2018 | Articles, Between the Lines, News, Newsletter
Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno spent the better part of the past two weeks railing against a Springfield church for offering sanctuary to an undocumented Peruvian woman and her two American children. Immigrant Gisella Collazo’s cause was taken up by the Pioneer...
by Letters from our Readers | Apr 10, 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 Sarah Heinonen | Apr 10, 2018 | Articles, News, Newsletter, Wellness
“I was the fat girl complaining about back pain,” said Becca Minardi, 24, of Longmeadow about the early symptoms of her polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Diagnosed just six months ago, Minardi feels as though doctors didn’t take her seriously before her diagnosis....
by Gina Beavers | Apr 10, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
Tonight, Grace Episcopal Church in Amherst will host the Better Chance Gospel Choir Concert. Choirs include the Amherst Area Gospel Choir, the Amherst Regional High School Chorale, the Hampshire Young People’s Chorus, and the Resurrect Gospel Choir at Amherst...
by Advocate Staff | Apr 9, 2018 | Articles, News, Newsletter, Podcast
A woman, an African American, and a Muslim, Tahirah Amatul-Wadud’s candidacy for the First Congressional District of Massachusetts makes her a first for the district in a couple respects. But for her, the campaign is about representing interests of the people of...
by Chris Goudreau | Apr 9, 2018 | Articles, News, Newsletter
South Congregational Church in Springfield, which is offering sanctuary to an undocumented Peruvian woman and her two American-born children, has passed the minimum requirements for an inspection by the city with only minor violations. Mayor Domenic Sarno sent out an...
by Gina Beavers | Apr 9, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Film, Newsletter
Michael and Dafna’s son Jonathan is killed while serving in the Israeli Defense Forces; they experience gut-wrenching grief when army officials show up at their home to announce his death. The family’s overzealous mourning, as well as the army’s...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Apr 9, 2018 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter, The V-Spot
Writer’s note: This column contains mention of rape/non-consensual sex. Hey Yana!! I’ve been dating the sweetest guy. Well, sweet in ways that he always helps with housework, takes care of my dog for me, and is ALWAYS there for me. He’s a solid and loyal dude which is...
by Meg Bantle, Gina Beavers, and Chris Goudreau | Apr 9, 2018 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, News, Newsletter
In 2016, dogs bit human postal service workers a total of 156 times in Colorado. But that shouldn’t deter any prospective mail carriers. A recent study shows that the number went down in 2017 … to 132 times. Nationwide, the number of dog bites to postal...
by Gina Beavers | Apr 9, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Daily Calendar, Newsletter
MONDAY 4/9 MUSIC Tommy Castro and The Painkillers: The Iron Horse: 7 p.m. – 10 p.m. Iron Horse Music Hall, 20 Center St., Northampton. STAGE/FILM/DANCE Facing the Surge: 7 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Free. A 25-min. film showing the costs of sea level rise for the...
by Jack Brown | Apr 6, 2018 | Articles, Cinemadope, Columns, Newsletter
After a long winter, spring has returned to Western Mass. And with it, as hotly anticipated as any crocus, comes a new season of Red Sox baseball. It’s a tradition that we have come to take for granted, and even when it’s not a great season — let’s face it,...
by Rob Brezsny | Apr 6, 2018 | Articles, Astrology, Newsletter
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries statesman Thomas Jefferson was the third President of the United States. He wrote one of history’s most famous documents, the Declaration of Independence. He was an architect, violinist, inventor, and linguist who spoke numerous...
by Gina Beavers | Apr 6, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
Who doesn’t want to support the arts in public schools? On Saturday, April 7, you can. Watch nine great a cappella groups sing for music and arts enrichment in the Amherst and Northampton public school systems. Proceeds will be divided between the two and will be...
by Gina Beavers | Apr 6, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
Something terrible has happened in Megasaki City! An executive decree has exiled all pets to a vast garbage dump called Trash Island. Well, no young boy worth his salt would let that stand, and 12-year-old Atari sets off alone in a little prop plane to find his...
by Gina Beavers | Apr 6, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Daily Calendar, Newsletter
SATURDAY 4/7 MUSIC AEIOUkes: 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. A community ukulele club who meets regularly to sing together and to improve our playing. For uke enthusiasts of all levels and experiences. Forbes Library, 20 West St., Northampton. 413-587-1012....
by Gina Beavers | Apr 6, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
It’s Friday and you’re free as a bird, or as Steve Miller might say, “I wanna fly like an eagle!” If that’s the case, you might want to head up to Shelburne Falls tonight and catch The Eagle Huntress to get inspired. It’s a...
by Gina Beavers | Apr 5, 2018 | Articles, News, Newsletter
On a rainy Wednesday afternoon in Springfield, NAACP president Bishop Talbert Swan, Mayor Domenic Sarno, a host of interfaith clergy, and a roomful of citizens gathered to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s April 3 “Mountaintop”...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Apr 5, 2018 | Articles, News, Newsletter
Tahirah Amatul-Wadud, a Democratic primary challenger to longtime Congressman Richard Neal, is attacking her opponent from an unlikely angle — his seniority. Neal, a Springfield Democrat who has served in the House since 1989, would likely be appointed chairman of the...
by Gina Beavers | Apr 5, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter, Stage
Do you have a story to tell? Do you want to tell it in front of a bunch of people you don’t know? You’re in luck! Season 4 of Valley Voices is the place to do it. Tonight “The Silver Lining” is the theme. Listen to all sorts of stories told in five minutes...
by Gina Beavers | Apr 5, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Daily Calendar, Newsletter
THURSDAY 4/5 MUSIC Open Mic Night at The Taproom Hadley: 7 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. The Taproom Hadley, 1Mill Valley Rd., Suite C, Hadley. 618-889-4831. Joe@thetaproomhadley.com. UMass Advanced Percussion Ensemble: 7:30 p.m. Free. The Department of Music and Dance...
by Chris Goudreau | Apr 4, 2018 | Articles, Music, News, Newsletter
Easthampton-based folk pop multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Seth Glier won three Independent Music Awards on March 31 during the 16th annual awards ceremony at Lincoln Center in New York City. Glier, an Emmy nominated musician, took home awards for best...
by Meg Bantle | Apr 4, 2018 | Articles, News, Newsletter
When Holyoke Public Schools (HPS) announced in March that they will be changing their special education transportation contract from minibuses to vans, Anna Gonzales was concerned for her son’s well-being. Gonzales, who lives in Holyoke, has three children who have...
by Advocate Staff | Apr 4, 2018 | Articles, Music, Valley Advocate Sessions
Ginja Low Main mixes its blend of jazz fusion and funk with a side of psychedelic rock. Check out the band’s complete Advocate Sessions performance filmed by Northampton Community Television and recorded by Signature Sounds Recordings. (Click on the video below)...
by Advocate Staff | Apr 4, 2018 | Articles, Music, Valley Advocate Sessions
Ginja Low Main mixes jazz fusion with funk and jammy psychedelic rock that doesn’t skimp on the groove. Check out a teaser for the band’s upcoming Valley Advocate Sessions video to be released this Friday.
by Monte Belmonte | Apr 4, 2018 | Articles, Columns, Monte Belmonte Wines, Newsletter
When I started down the road to wine snobbery, I was one of those people that said “I’m a red wine drinker. I don’t like white wine.” What a young, foolish, naive, wine drinker I was. I have since realized that there are great and interesting manifestations of...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Apr 4, 2018 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter, The V-Spot
Hi Yana, I’ve been dating a new guy for about four months. He’s honest and makes time for me. He’s also really exciting, and after going through a lot of painful previous relationships, I actually feel safe with him. Our sex life is amazing, and he...
by Will Meyer | Apr 4, 2018 | Articles, Basemental, Columns, Music, Newsletter
What happens after the gig is over, the room is reset, and everyone goes home? This is the prompt being posed by a new collective that is organizing a festival later this month by the name, well, After the Gig Fest. “We wanted to use the phrase ‘After The Gig’ in...
by Hunter Styles | Apr 4, 2018 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter, The Beerhunter
Despite what you’re seeing out your front window, hot afternoons in New England are not so far away. Once spring really hits, from the beach to the backyard, we’ll be reaching for lighter beers that are, to use an all-American term, “thirst-quenching.” For the past...
by Gina Beavers | Apr 4, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
SVETLANA BOYM: EXILE AND IMAGINATION Celebrating the legacy of literary and cultural critic Svetlana Boym who passed away in 2015, Exile and Imagination traces Boym’s life from when she left the USSR for the US in 1980. After her graduate studies, she became...
by Gina Beavers | Apr 4, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Daily Calendar, Newsletter
WEDNESDAY 4/4 MUSIC All Ages Open Mic Night With Host F. Alex Johnson: 7 p.m. – 10 p.m. Award winning guitarist F Alex Johnson hosts this weekly open mic featuring some of the best talent in the valley. All ages, free and open to all. Brew Practitioners, 36 Main...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Apr 3, 2018 | Articles, News, Newsletter
Longtime broadcast journalist and news anchor Dave Madsen, of Western Mass News, is criticizing his former boss, Sinclair Broadcast Group, following its decision to require its anchors to read promos decrying “fake stories” from national news outlets, a...
by Chris Goudreau | Apr 3, 2018 | Articles, News, Newsletter
The Pioneer Valley Workers Center plans to hand deliver 1,000 letters from Western Massachusetts residents in support of Lucio Perez, an undocumented immigrant receiving sanctuary in Amherst, to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office in Hartford on...
by Rob Brezsny | Apr 3, 2018 | Articles, Astrology, Newsletter, Wellness
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Eighty-three-year-old author Harlan Ellison has had a long and successful career. In the course of publishing hundreds of literary works in seven different genres, he has won numerous awards. But when he was in his thirties, there was an...
by Gina Beavers | Apr 3, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Film, Newsletter
Catch the tail end of Holyoke Community College’s 2018 French Film Festival. Bring your escargot and beret to watch Panique, a 1947 adaptation of Mr. Hire’s Engagement by Belgian crime writer Georges Simenon. It’s a “bleak picture of human nature at its vilest...
by Gina Beavers | Apr 3, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Daily Calendar, Newsletter
TUESDAY 4/3 MUSIC Gary Mullen and The Works: 7:30 p.m. Springfield Symphony Hall, 34 Court St., Springfield. Northampton Jazz Workshop: 7:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. $5. Richmond, VA based clarinetist Darryl Harper will be the guest soloist with the Green Street Trio...
by Sarah Heinonen | Apr 2, 2018 | Articles, News, Newsletter
Following the arrest of a Northampton High School janitor on charges of taking photos of people in a girl’s bathroom, Principal Bryan Lombardi is defending the school’s hiring practices. Lombardi said there had been no way to screen out Michael J. Kremensky, 22, of...
by Advocate Staff | Apr 2, 2018 | Articles, News, Newsletter, Podcast
First elected as a Democrat in 2016, 24-year-old Solomon Goldstein-Rose of Amherst replaced longtime Amherst Rep. Ellen Story in a crowded primary after Story retired. Now some Democrats are criticizing his decision to leave the party and run as an unenrolled...
by Meg Bantle | Apr 2, 2018 | Articles, Columns, News, Newsletter, O Cannabis!
Adult-use cannabis was legalized by Massachusetts voters in 2016, but based on the number of moratoriums and bans that have passed across the state since then, it’s clear that there are still some mixed feelings about cannabis on the local level. “Like every other...
by Gina Beavers | Apr 2, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Daily Calendar, Newsletter
MONDAY 4/2 MUSIC Back Stage Bar at Luthier’s Co-op: 6 p.m to 11 p.m. 108 Cottage St., Easthampton Hartford Jazz Orchestra: 8 p.m. Free. Arch Street Tavern, 85 Arch St., Hartford. STAGE/FILM/DANCE The Death of Stalin: 1:55 p.m., 4:35 p.m., 7:10 p.m., 9:40 p.m....
by Jack Brown | Apr 2, 2018 | Articles, Cinemadope, Columns, Newsletter
Live in New England long enough, and it’s easy to begin to take it for granted. The deeply quiet winters, the burst and blaze of autumn, the summer thunderstorm that chases away July’s heavy heat — our seasonal weather and landscapes become a way to mark our calendar...
by Gina Beavers | Apr 2, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
Has it snowed enough for ya? Well, dip inside Amherst Cinema today or tonight and check out IFC’s new release, The Death of Stalin. Political intrigue and farce are usually recipes for fun and hilarity — The Death of Stalin is no exception. It’s set in...
by Sarah Heinonen | Mar 30, 2018 | Articles, News, Newsletter
If Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno is trying to scare the South Congregational Church, it isn’t working. The historic Springfield church at 45 Maple Street has been sheltering an undocumented Peruvian woman named Gisella, whose last name is being withheld due to her...
by Gina Beavers | Mar 30, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
Hadley Town Commons is sleepy and quaint and on one of the four corners of the intersection of Routes 47 and 9, sits the historic Goodwin Memorial Library. It’s a brick building, unassuming, old, and encumbered by time. The Goodwin, however, is slated for enormous...
by Gina Beavers | Mar 30, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Daily Calendar, Newsletter
SATURDAY 3/31 MUSIC Sylvan Esso: 8 p.m. – 11 p.m. $28. MASS MoCA. 1040 MASS MoCA WAY, North Adams. AEIOUkes: 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. A community ukulele club who meets regularly to sing together and to improve our playing. All levels and experiences. Forbes...
by Gina Beavers | Mar 30, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
After a long and treacherous winter, The Forest Park Zoo is back! They’ll be open Easter Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Who doesn’t want to see furry and feathery adorableness? Sheep, monkeys, pythons, fennec foxes, spotted leopards, kangaroos and more. On...
by Gina Beavers | Mar 30, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music
The Advocate’s intern Sarah Heinonen made a wise staff pick a few days ago; Brooks Williams is performing tonight. This is what Sarah says: “Wind down your week with some good old fashioned blues at The Parlor Room. Georgia-born guitarist and songwriter...
by Advocate Staff | Mar 30, 2018 | Advocate Sessions, Articles, Music
Maurice “Soulfighter” Taylor’s performances are slam poetry meets socially conscious hip hop. Check out his complete Valley Advocate Sessions performance. Interview with Maurice “Soulfighter” Taylor:
by Meg Bantle | Mar 29, 2018 | Articles, Film, Music, News, Newsletter
Black Panther smashed global box office records when it opened in February, and like any good action movie part of the magic of Black Panther is the soundtrack. While watching the movie, there’s one part of the soundtrack that you might not notice at first: the tama,...
by Meg Bantle | Mar 29, 2018 | Articles, Arts
The Take is a documentary film made in 2004 about a group of unemployed Argentinian auto-workers who decided to restart the plant where they used to work as a cooperatively owned business. Using archival footage, director Avi Lewis and writer Naomi Klein give a often...
