Articles
by Sarah Heinonen | Feb 5, 2018 | Articles, News
The auditorium at the Northampton High School was filled with students as Congressman Jim McGovern fielded questions in a town hall-style meeting on Friday afternoon. The students were engaged and their questions ran the gamut from what should be done about climate...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Feb 2, 2018 | Articles, Between the Lines, News, Newsletter
Sometimes the great teachers are role models to emulate, and sometimes they are the ones whose unfortunate actions you learn not to repeat. Poynter Institute, which touts itself as the world’s leading instructor for journalists, unfortunately fell into the...
by Advocate Staff | Feb 2, 2018 | Articles, Music, Newsletter
The Screaming Hearts is edgy alternative rock with indie soul. The band performed a special acoustic set on Valley Advocate Sessions. Check it out in the video below. Interview with the Screaming Hearts
by Gina Beavers | Feb 1, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter, Review
The great mysteries of the southernmost countries of Pan America lie in the enormity of its territory, its rich history, and the shroud of chaos and human suffering. But Nobel-winning Mexican poet Octavio Paz beautifully sums up the artistic heritage of these nations....
by Advocate Staff | Feb 1, 2018 | Articles, Newsletter
“Hairdressers Are My Heroes” by Artist Sonya Clark // WEDNESDAY, FEB. 7 The Cowsills sang, “There ain’t no words for the beauty, the splendor, the wonder of my Hair,” and as part of “Five Takes on African Art / 42 Paintings by Fred Wilson”, hairstylist Kamala...
by Chris Goudreau | Feb 1, 2018 | Articles, News, Newsletter
Cannabis isn’t exactly the first thing that you’d think of when the topic of holistic wellness is brought up, but a new Easthampton business called Chronic Trips hope to change some of the dialog about wellness and recreational weed. Seth Frappier, the owner and...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Feb 1, 2018 | Articles, News, Newsletter
Editor’s note: I have been employed by Newspapers of New England since 2014 and was working for the Daily Hampshire Gazette and then the Valley Advocate at the time that most of the events reported in this story took place. There is some inherent awkwardness of...
by Chris Rohmann | Jan 31, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter, Stage, Stagestruck
I grew up on Shakespeare and musicals, so what was I to make of Something Rotten!, the hit musical that mercilessly lampoons both? Love it for its origins or hate it for its irreverence? Having missed it on Broadway, where it earned a double handful of Tony...
by Chris Goudreau | Jan 31, 2018 | Articles, News, Newsletter
A passenger rail service connecting Springfield to Boston is one step closer to becoming reality. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) recently released a draft of its 2018 Rail Plan for the state, which includes a study for rail service connecting...
by Chris Goudreau | Jan 31, 2018 | Articles, Music, Newsletter
The Screaming Hearts is edgy alternative rock with indie soul. Check out a teaser for the band’s acoustic set, which will be released in full this Friday.
by Gina Beavers | Jan 31, 2018 | Articles, Newsletter, Uncategorized, Wellness
Holly Woods has always loved the art of dance. When she was a young girl in Manhattan, her mother rented an apartment above Alvin Ailey’s studio. “I would go downstairs and hangout and watch the ballet dancers perform,” she recalls. “You would see Debbie Allen and all...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Jan 31, 2018 | Articles, News, Newsletter
Hello Advocate readers, You may have noticed that something is different here at the Advocate and valleyadvocate.com. We’ve been around for more than 40 years, and the way that people get their news and information has changed. That means we’re making some changes at...
by Gina Beavers | Jan 31, 2018 | Articles, Between the Lines, Newsletter
As a black woman, I cannot bring myself to seek refuge in the monumental arms of the #MeToo Movement. On the contrary, I often find myself feeling contempt and cynicism. But it’s not because I don’t empathize with the women who have come forward with their...
by From Our Readers | Jan 31, 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 | Jan 30, 2018 | Articles, News, Newsletter
I … I … I believe … I believe … I believe that we will win! … I believe that we will win! … I believe that we will win! … I believe that we will win! So went the call-and-response led by Springfield attorney Tahirah...
by Will Meyer | Jan 30, 2018 | Articles, Basemental, Columns, Newsletter
Elliot Hartmann-Russell, a local musician who has quite a big appetite for releasing lots of albums under different aliases and bands—including Sweat Enzo, Thee Arcadians, and Full Grown Cats—and Caleb Rosazza, who plays guitar in Lux Deluxe, have teamed up for a...
by Advocate Staff | Jan 30, 2018 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, News, Newsletter
A new study by Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland shows that right-handedness is popular among female cats. Researchers worked with cat owners, collecting data on 24 male and 20 female domesticated cats. In a press released, the research team stated that...
by Chris Rohmann | Jan 29, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Stage, Stagestruck, Uncategorized
Constellations, playing at TheaterWorks in Hartford through Feb. 18, looks at love and second chances through a prism of reflecting and refracting fun-house mirrors – or more accurately, through a spectrum of infinite chances. Nick Payne’s two-hander isn’t exactly a...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Jan 29, 2018 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter, The V-Spot
Hello Yana, I’m a college student and I feel like I’m emotionally ready to seek out romantic and sexual relationships. The problem is, I feel like I have a lot stacked against me physically. I’m living with a pelvic floor disorder that requires me to do daily physical...
by Monte Belmonte | Jan 29, 2018 | Articles, Columns, Monte Belmonte Wines, Newsletter
I go to Mesa Verde, a burrito bar in Greenfield, pretty much every week and order take-out for the Belmonte family: blackened-chicken burrito with chipotle sour cream, Mesa salad, cheese quesadilla, large chips and guac and an unsalted margarita while I wait. A...
by Gina Beavers | Jan 30, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter, Review
The nondescript building in which Anchor House of Artists is located is misleading. It’s exterior is plain and white, sitting on the very edge of Pleasant Street seconds from the highway. There is no extra signage to alert visitors that they have, indeed,...
by Jack Brown | Jan 29, 2018 | Articles, Cinemadope, Columns, Newsletter
A few years back, I spent most of my weekends running around Western Mass as part of an acoustic jazz band. We played parties, weddings, and a lot of restaurant gigs, but the place I was always happiest to see was the welcoming porch of Elmer’s Store in Ashfield....
by Rob Brezsny | Jan 29, 2018 | Articles, Astrology, Newsletter, Wellness
ARIES (March 21-April 19): In all of history, humans have mined about 182,000 tons of gold. Best estimates suggest there are still 35 billion tons of gold buried in the earth, but the remaining riches will be more difficult to find and collect than what we’ve already...
by Gina Beavers and Dave Eisenstadter | Jan 23, 2018 | Articles, News
Earlier this month, in a meeting with U.S. Senators and House members on immigration, Donald Trump, president of the United States, is widely reported to have asked why the government would want people from “shithole countries” coming to America? According to people...
by Chris Goudreau | Jan 26, 2018 | Articles, Music, News, Newsletter
Blues harmonica and singer James Montgomery is a blues legend. Growing up in Detroit, he learned the blues first-hands from blues harp virtuoso James Cotton, and has been a presence in blues music for decades with the James Montgomery Band. Valley Advocate Staff...
by Lena Wilson | Jan 26, 2018 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter, Stream Queen
What’s the connecting thread between old jukebox music videos and Carly Rae Jepsen? What ties Swan Lake to My Strange Addiction? One word: camp. I’m talking about the particular aesthetic that marries high-brow and low-brow, producing art too grave to be serious. The...
by Advocate Staff | Jan 26, 2018 | Articles, Music, Newsletter
Darklight creates dark ambient electronic meditations and is this week’s Valley Advocate Sessions performer. Darklight is also set to release a dual song recording via Bandcamp on Feb. 1 called “Dyadic.” Interview with Darklight:
by Chris Goudreau | Jan 25, 2018 | Articles, Music, News, Newsletter
Charles Neville, Grammy award winning saxophonist and member of R&B, soul, and funk group, The Neville Brothers, has been battling pancreatic cancer for the past two months. He was born and raised in New Orleans, but has called the Pioneer Valley home for the past...
by Chris Goudreau | Jan 24, 2018 | Articles, News, Newsletter
The mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Carmen Yulin Cruz, will visit the Pioneer Valley and make a stop on April 25 at Gateway City Arts in Holyoke to speak about the transformation of her city and Puerto Rico after the devastation caused by hurricanes Irma and Maria....
by Advocate Staff | Jan 24, 2018 | Articles, Music, Newsletter
Darklight creates dark ambient electronic meditations and is this week’s Valley Advocate Sessions performer. You can check out a teaser for his performance set to be released this Friday. Darklight
by Jennifer Levesque | Jan 24, 2018 | Articles, Columns, Music, Newsletter, Valley Show Girl
I love it when music collides with a charitable fundraiser event, especially when that event involves human rights. The happenings at The O’s Music Bar in Sunderland last week were just that. Rise Up Productions, a liberal activist group of musicians and actors based...
by Advocate Staff | Jan 24, 2018 | Articles, Newsletter, Staff Picks
Marc Chagall and Friends: The Salon des Indépendants // Through Sunday Marc Chagall has been described as “the quintessential Jewish artist of the twentieth century.” A pioneer of modern expressionism, Chagall’s work is a celebration of his Jewish...
by Meg Bantle | Jan 24, 2018 | Articles, Columns, News, Newsletter, O Cannabis!
Despite the legalization of recreational cannabis use for adults in Massachusetts over a year ago, there is still no standard of measure or device to test people behind the wheel for marijuana intoxication. This presents a problem for law enforcement officers who...
by Chris Goudreau | Jan 23, 2018 | Articles, News, Newsletter
Eduardo Samaniego, a 25-year-old Hampshire College student and undocumented immigrant from Mexico, was one of hundreds of thousands of people to travel to Washington D.C. this past week to advocate for the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM)...
by Advocate Staff | Jan 24, 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 | Jan 23, 2018 | Articles, Between the Lines, News, Newsletter
It is beyond fitting that on the first anniversary of Donald Trump being inaugurated president not only does the government shut down, but huge numbers of people take to the streets to protest against his policies. Women’s marches took place across the country,...
by Gina Beavers | Jan 23, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter, Review
Walking into the genteel Von Auersperg Gallery, one is reminded that Western Massachusetts is truly a bastion for visual arts venues. One is also reminded of how many choose to host phlegmatic collections of New England landscapes rather than those that may court...
by Advocate Staff | Jan 23, 2018 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs, News, Newsletter
We’ve all seen the extravagant divorce celebrations: divorce cakes with decorations rivaling wedding centerpieces, “newly single” clubbing events that make bachelor and bachelorette parties look tame, and more. Now, you can throw axes as part of that celebration — so...
by Chris Goudreau | Jan 22, 2018 | Articles, News, Newsletter
By most accounts, Gov. Charlie Baker is popular with the people of Massachusetts despite being a Republican in a state that’s known to be one of the bluest in the country. Baker’s popularity has survived his mediocre environmental record and his bill mandating state...
by Rob Brezsny | Jan 22, 2018 | Articles, Astrology, Newsletter, Wellness
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Anders Haugen competed for the U.S. as a ski jumper in the 1924 Winter Olympics. Although he was an accomplished athlete who had previously set a world record for distance, he won no medals at the games. But wait! Fifty years later, a sports...
by Jack Brown | Jan 22, 2018 | Articles, Cinemadope, Columns, Newsletter
One of the stranger aspects of moviegoing is that it is at once a grand communal act and an intensely private experience. We gather together in dark rooms as if in secret churches, and when the crowd is right it can feel as if we’ve all been through something together...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Jan 22, 2018 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter, The V-Spot
Dear Yana, I’ve been with my boyfriend for a couple years now. We’re just now starting to experiment in our sex life. I’ve known how to make myself vaginally orgasm for a few years now. And he knows what positions I need to do to make this happen. But it’s gotten to...
by Advocate Staff | Jan 19, 2018 | Articles
John Trudeau is an Orange-based progressive rock synthesizer sorcerer that’s a blast from the 1970s. He performed on the Valley Advocate Sessions on Dec. 19 and his full performance is available to view in the video below. Interview with John...
by Chris Goudreau | Jan 18, 2018 | Articles, News, Newsletter
The Lander-Grinspoon Academy, a K-6 Jewish day school in Northampton, is celebrating the Jewish ceremony of Havdallah with music and a Drag Queen Story Hour featuring local drag queen Jenayah De Rosario this Saturday on Jan. 20 from 6 to 8 p.m. “I hope that the...
by Advocate Staff | Jan 17, 2018 | Articles
John Trudeau is an Orange-based progressive rock synthesizer sorcerer that’s a blast from the 1970s. Check out a teaser for John Trudeau’s Valley Advocate Sessions performance, which will be available this Friday.
by Chris Goudreau | Jan 17, 2018 | Articles, News
Northampton’s two-year-old plastic bag ban has an outspoken opponent in McDonald House resident John Gibney, who gets around using a cane. Gibney, who wrote the Advocate an email this week with the subject “paper bags suck,” challenged Mayor David Narkewicz and...
by John Clayton, with Sharon Dunn | Jan 16, 2018 | Articles, News
It Begins in October 2017 All 18 of us in Leverett are excited and maybe a little nervous. We live in a small town — Leverett: population, less than 2000 — in western Massachusetts. The Kentuckians are coming to us — 15 of them, men and women, young and not-so-young,...
by Chris Goudreau | Jan 16, 2018 | Articles, Arts, News
Henry Rollins embodies the punk ethos in more ways than one — he’s well known for his role as vocalist for 1980s hardcore punk band, Black Flag, and he’s also an actor, orator, photographer, writer, television and radio host, as well as a comedian. Rollins is stopping...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Jan 16, 2018 | Articles, Between the Lines, News
I recently got my first pay stub of the year. I was curious to see how the Republican tax plan would affect me, if at all, but it turns out that none of us will see the results until February. So stay tuned. One thing I did notice, however, is that (surprise!) my...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Jan 16, 2018 | Articles, Columns, The V-Spot
Hi Yana, My partner and I seem to be in different places when it comes to sex. We have fabulous sex when he’s up to it, but in general I have a higher sex drive and want to be more adventurous. We both have histories of trauma and deal with it in different ways. I’m...
by Meg Bantle | Jan 16, 2018 | Articles, Columns, News, O Cannabis!
Despite the support for the legalization of recreational marijuana in Massachusetts, Attorney General Jeff Sessions sent out a federal memo this month that makes the future of cannabis in Massachusetts even more unsure. According to a Gallup poll from 2017, 64 percent...
by Chris Goudreau | Jan 16, 2018 | Articles, Music, Review
Amherst-based OroborO’s debut album, Laughing Death, is a furiously upbeat apocalyptic vision of doom metal, hardcore punk, math rock, and jazzy psychedelia with a wry dark sense of humor that’s like going for a quaint and pleasant stroll while sirens wail and...
by Advocate Staff | Jan 16, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Get Out With Staff Picks
Lilith of the Valley: Fierce Femmes of the 413 // SATURDAY The official after-party for the Pioneer Valley Women’s March this year being held in Northampton, brings even more woman power to close out the day. A night of music and activism will continue to pump through...
by Advocate Staff | Jan 16, 2018 | Articles, Bizarro Briefs
On the early morning of Jan. 2 a thief entered Cafe 33 in Copenhagen, Denmark, which houses one of the largest collections of vodka in the world — more than 1,200 bottles. Captured in black and white security camera footage, the thief was only after one bottle — a...
by Will Meyer | Jan 16, 2018 | Articles, Basemental, Columns
The fight to prevent additional police operated surveillance cameras in downtown Northampton has dragged on since September — over four months, two calendar years, and even through a municipal election. The Northampton City Council has voted 7-2 passing first a...
by Jack Brown | Jan 16, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Cinemadope, Film, Newsletter
Few artists have captured the public’s fancy like Vincent Van Gogh. His richly textured landscapes, interiors, and portraits, built up with a painterly impasto as inviting as a rich ganache, seem to grow in popularity with every passing year. And while the calendar...
by Rob Brezsny | Jan 16, 2018 | Articles, Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Many American women did not have the right to vote until August 18, 1920. On that day, the Tennessee General Assembly became the 36th state legislature to approve the Nineteenth Amendment, thus sealing the legal requirements to change the...
by Letters from Our Readers | Jan 16, 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 Chris Rohmann | Jan 16, 2018 | Articles, Columns, Newsletter, Stagestruck
Time was, going to the theater took up the whole evening, with built-in pee and bar breaks. That’s been changing recently, as more and more plays clock in at an intermissionless 90 minutes or so. Back in Shakespeare’s day, of course, the show went on all afternoon,...
by Monte Belmonte | Jan 16, 2018 | Articles, Columns, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, Monte Belmonte Wines
All natural. The kind of buzz words that make my extremely savvy, health-conscious wife cringe. When you see “natural flavors” on raspberry flavored items, it might as well read “flavors expressed from a beaver anus.” It’s true. Or at least it used to be. Google it....
