Arts
by Gina Beavers | Jun 1, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Film, Newsletter
Want a little creepy end to your weekend? Check out Beast, a new film at Amherst Cinema. Here’s the gist: Moll is 27 and still living at home and is finding it hard to break away from her stifling family. She meets Pascal, “a free-spirited...
by Gina Beavers | Jun 1, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter, Stage
Honky Tonk goodness with the Sweetback Sisters hits the Berkshires tonight. Their unique brand of classic country and rockabilly rave-ups is a hootin’ good time. This is real deal musicianship at its best. Catch the show at 7:30 p.m. Hancock Shaker Village,...
by Gina Beavers | Jun 1, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Daily Calendar, Music, Newsletter, Stage
FRIDAY 6/1 MUSIC Bob Stabach 4tet: 7 p.m. – 10 p.m. The Lounge, 4 High St., Brattleboro. Live Music on The Deck Friday & Saturday: 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. The Deck at Union Station has live music all summer long! Friday and Saturday from 6-9pm. Check...
by Gina Beavers | May 31, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Film, Newsletter
When I was a kid, I thought Close Encounters of the Third Kind was one of the dumbest movies I’d ever seen; but now the nostalgic feels are off the chart. It’s definitely one of those movies you should see. It was 1977 and interstellar adventure was all...
by Gina Beavers | May 31, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
Say goodbye to May 2018 — it’s been real. But you have one last night together so go spend it with a line of up of music at Luthier’s Co-Op in Easthampton. The music starts at 7 p.m., and three acts are scheduled to perform. Pamela and Anand at 7 p.m.,...
by Chris Rohmann | May 30, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter, Stage, Stagestruck
Barrington Stage Company’s summer season launched on Sunday in the troupe’s St. Germain Stage, with a play by its eponym, Mark St. Germain. In her curtain speech, artistic director Julianne Boyd proudly announced that Typhoid Mary is the ninth play of his that...
by Gina Beavers | May 30, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Newsletter, Review
Earlier this month Lennie and Elizabeth Applequist opened #LOCAL: A Gallery with a Twist on Cottage Street in Easthampton, happily joining the eclectic array of shops, galleries, restaurants, and watering holes that make Easthampton center special. In 2013 the...
by Gina Beavers | May 30, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
Clean and sleek, L.A. indie group Sir Sly comes to Northampton Wednesday, May 30. Front man Landon Jacobs’ cool, light voice combined with instrumentalists Jason Suwito and Hayden Coplen make this synth-rock trio a must see. Their 2017 Don’t You Worry, Honey...
by Gina Beavers | May 29, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
The Northamptones are an audition-based advanced a cappella group at Northampton High School. They’ve performed all over New England, including at the Academy of Music, John M. Greene Hall, the Calvin Theatre, the Iron Horse, Fenway Park, and the Massachusetts...
by Gina Beavers | May 27, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Daily Calendar, Music, Newsletter
MONDAY 5/28 MUSIC Strange Creek Campout: Camp Kee-Wanee, 1 Health Camp Rd., Greenfield. Baby and Me: 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Free. Wheeler Memorial Library, 49 East Main St., Orange. 978-544-2495. Paradise City Arts Festival: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Live music, 260...
by Gina Beavers | May 27, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
It’s year 24 for the Paradise City Arts Festival, and 250 artists from 20 states are prepared to thrill you with their original works of art and one of kind crafts. Because the Festival is directed by artists, you can be sure the very best in ceramics, painting, art...
by Gina Beavers | May 25, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Film, Music, Newsletter
Zut Alors! If you’re in the mood for a little french with English subtitles, Let the Sunshine In is the film for you! Juliette Binoche plays a divorced Parisian painter searching for love, but she refuses to just settle for any ol’ body. Amherst Cinema...
by Gina Beavers | May 25, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
New Orleans brass always sounds good. The phenomenal brand of brass music that originates out of the bayou is personified by the eight-piece powerhouse group The Soul Rebels. The Village Voice says the Soul Rebels are “the missing link between Public Enemy and...
by Gina Beavers | May 25, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Film, Newsletter
George Romero is the gift that keeps on giving. If you loved Night of the Living Dead, the zombie-rific sci-fi horror classic, then you’ll go bonkers for The Crazies. The Crazies is another social commentary about the hazards of the industrial military complex. A...
by Gina Beavers | May 24, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Featured, News, Newsletter, Stage
“A dirty vanilla box” is how Pam Victor lovingly describes the new location of Happier Valley Comedy. The 1,300 square foot room at the end of a strip of shops on Route 9, is the culmination of years of comedic toil. “It’s the first ever improv theater and training...
by Gina Beavers | May 24, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Get Out With Staff Picks, Music, Newsletter
Open Hearth Cooking Demonstration // SATURDAY Mmmm, there’s nothing like home cooked food; but what’s even better is learning how to cook food from scratch an open hearth flame. Explore old cookbooks with Historic Deerfield’s Open Hearth Cooking Demonstration, which...
by Gina Beavers | May 24, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Film, Music, Newsletter
Granted, religion is one of those polarizing hot buttons, but it behooves us to take a look at one another’s points of view. Check out this doc written and directed by three-time Academy Award® nominee Wim Wenders. Described on Amherst Cinema’s site as...
by Gina Beavers | May 24, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Daily Calendar, Music, Newsletter
THURSDAY 5/24 MUSIC An Evening Peter “Archguitar” Blanchette: 7 p.m. $15 – $45. Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center, 289 Main St., Greenfield. Buddy McEarns Band: 8:30 p.m. – 11 p.m. Whetstone Station Restaurant and Brewery, 36 Bridge St., Brattleboro....
by Gina Beavers | May 23, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter, Review
Hatfield resident Martha Armstrong is exhibiting at the Oxbow Gallery in Northampton. Her collection of paintings, Friends and Family, is currently on display in the back gallery of the Pleasant Street venue. The back gallery at Oxbow is very small and intimate,...
by Gina Beavers | May 23, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
Welcome to Hump Day! You might know Mantis Toboggan as a Dr. with … uh … let’s say dubious credentials: Danny DeVito’s hysterical and obscene Dr. Mantis Toboggan on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is sheer madness. But local Valley...
by Gina Beavers | May 22, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
Keyboardist Scott Guberman’s band is in town tonight at Hawks and Reed in Greenfield. He’s kind of the psychedelic cousin of the Grateful Dead; known for his work with the Dead’s bassist Phil Lesh and keyboardists Tom Constanten and Vince Welnick....
by Gina Beavers | May 21, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Daily Calendar, Newsletter
MONDAY 5/21 MUSIC AMHERST JAZZ ORCHESTRA: 7:30 p.m. – 10 p.m. With vocalist Ethel Lee. No cover, free parking and great food. Union Station Grand Ballroom, 125A Pleasant St., Northampton. 413 253 1607. STAGE/FILM/DANCE We Made a Thing: A Tiny Audience Show: 9...
by Gina Beavers | May 21, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter, Stage
Our illustrious stage connoisseur Chris Rohmann, has recommended a pick of the day, Guys and Dolls at the Majestic Theater in West Springfield. I like all the help I can get, so take it away, Chris: “Guys and Dolls, the “musical fable of Broadway,” is playing...
by Gina Beavers | May 18, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
Here I am borrowing again, but why ignore a perfectly good staff pick made by my buddy and co-worker Chris Goudreau? Maestro Kevin Rhodes conducts The Springfield Symphony Orchestra’s 2017-2018 season finale All-Rachmaninoff. The evening features award winning...
by Gina Beavers | May 18, 2018 | Arts, Featured, Newsletter
Aaron Brando, aka DJ Hip Sockit, is intense and direct, but he has a calm about him and his expressions are chosen with care and with purpose. A holistic body-work practitioner by day, he’s also co-founder of Pollinate Ecstatic Dance, “the hub where high...
by Gina Beavers | May 18, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Film, Newsletter
“No more riding, no more rodeos, if you don’t stop, your seizures are gonna get worse.” That’s kind of crux of Brady Jandreau’s delimma. Jandreau was injured in a riding accident curtailing his rising star on the rodeo circuit....
by Gina Beavers | May 17, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
Jayme Timpson Winell performs this one person hour-long interactive dance-play. The play takes a look at the life and times of Winell’s grandmother Anne Burlak Timpson, known to many as the “Red Flame.” “Anne was a passionate organizer for...
by Gina Beavers | May 17, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
Matthew Logan Vasquez is a bit of a modern Bob Dylan … no really. He’s got similar qualities but his music is meatier and his vocals are better — which isn’t that difficult. Dylan insults aside, Vasquez brings his storytelling and agreeable sound to...
by Gina Beavers | May 17, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Daily Calendar, Music, Newsletter
THURSDAY 5/17 MUSIC CLICK Music Presents: Annie Patterson & Peter Blood: 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. Advance Sales $12, Door Sales $15. Join Annie Patterson & Peter Blood in an in evening of music and stories. CLICK Workspace, 9 1/2 Market St., Northampton....
by Gina Beavers | May 16, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
Two sisters from New Orleans bring the sounds of the Appalachians to Northampton tonight. Multi-instrumentalists Leah and Chloe Smith pick, strum, drum and sing — nothing fancy but appealing all the same. It’s quiet music that expects you to listen to the...
by Dave Eisenstadter | May 16, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Featured, News, Newsletter
A reader came in with an unusual request earlier this week: she had a piece of art work she bought at an auction in Greenfield nearly a decade ago and wanted to see if we could identify the artist. Arts and Culture Editor Gina Beavers, herself a local artist, looked...
by Gina Beavers | May 15, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 84 and many of us are praying she lives and serves until the age of 150. There’s a new doc out about her life and career and it’s playing at Amherst Cinema. It’s simply titled RBG. RBG explores...
by Advocate Staff | May 15, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Get Out With Staff Picks, Newsletter
Cajon, Honky-Tonk, and songs by the Roches at Luthier’s Co-op // THURSDAY, MAY 17 If you’re looking for an excuse to get your cowboy boots on, look no further. The Maypops, a honky-tonk and two step band, are hosting an evening of dancing and fun at Luthier’s Co-op...
by Gina Beavers | May 14, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Daily Calendar, Newsletter
MONDAY 5/14 MUSIC Jeff Holmes Big Band featuring Dawning Holmes, vocals: 7:30 p.m. – 10 p.m. Jeff Holmes Big Band featuring Dawning Holmes, vocals. perform arrangements and compositions w/some of the best musicians from the region.121 Club at Eastworks, 116...
by Gina Beavers | May 14, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
The Sea and Cake is an indie band formed in the way back — 1992. They’re straight out of Chicago and they’re in Northampton tonight at the Iron Horse. Their sound is light and airy, a friendly flurry of melodies and hooks that are very hard to dislike....
by Gina Beavers | May 11, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Film, Newsletter
Welcome to Sunday. In June 1943, Germany infamously declared Berlin “free of Jews.” There were, however, still 7,000 Jews living in the Nazi capital. These terrorized people were hiding in attics, basements, and warehouses, “protected by courageous Berliners.” Only...
by Gina Beavers | May 11, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Film, Newsletter
Netflix jumped into the Academy Awards this year with Mudbound, a magnificent film set in the Mississippi Delta during the years surrounding World War II. It’s all about southern race relations and that’s the only thing that ain’t pretty in this masterpiece. Lush and...
by Gina Beavers | May 11, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music
The legendary Wailers band is at Hawks and Reed tonight. Yep, Bob Marley’s bandmates Aston “Familyman” Barrett, Julian Junior Marvin and Donald Kinsey are in Greenfield to carry on what Spin Magazine listed as #4 in the “50 Greatest Bands of All...
by Gina Beavers | May 10, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Daily Calendar, Newsletter
THURSDAY 5/10 MUSIC Bellwether: Milford Graves Full Mantis w/ Director Jake Meginsky: 7 p.m. – 10 p.m. Amherst Cinema, 28 Amity St., Amherst. Live Music! Galvanizer: 8:30 p.m. – 11:30 p.m. Whetstone Station Restaurant and Brewery, 36 Bridge St.,...
by Gina Beavers | May 10, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter, Stage
If you want a little Tennessee Williams with a twist, check out Shoot The Moon Theater Company’s production of The Glass Menagerie, Williams’ signature 1944 stage play. Let’s go over the plot before we get to the good stuff. Domineering Amanda Wingfield, has two adult...
by Gina Beavers | May 9, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Get Out With Staff Picks, Music, Newsletter
Mudbound MASS MoCA // SATURDAY, MAY 12 Mudbound has been on my list of things to see since it first started making waves at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. While it is available to watch online, MASS MoCA is bringing in the director of the film Dee Rees for a...
by Gina Beavers | May 9, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
Brand X has been on the music circuit off and on since 1975, and they’re coming to the Iron Horse tonight. They’re “a multi-national jazz fusion band formed in London by the great Phil Collins and a couple of other blokes. They’ve recently...
by Gina Beavers | May 8, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter, Review
Given Paul Goodnight’s international stature, it’s difficult to understand the lack of fanfare and the dearth of coverage he receives when his work is exhibited at Rosemary Tracy Woods’ Art for The Soul Gallery in Springfield. Since 1984, Goodnight’s work has been...
by Gina Beavers | May 8, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Film, Newsletter
It’s hard not to admire Jaoquin Phoenix’s work; he doesn’t just pop up any and everywhere and he actually acts. More importantly, he hasn’t morphed into a Marvel Comics hero … yet. So let’s celebrate him while he’s still free...
by Gina Beavers | May 7, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
Bob Schneider is a bona fide artist. Not only is this guy an award winning singer/songwriter, he’s a terrific visual artist, as well. The Dallas Morning News says of his musical stylings: Bob Schneider is “a musical omnivore eager to devour any genre that...
by Gina Beavers | May 4, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
Few will argue that there’s a real need for folks to bridge the racial gap that is yawning across the U.S. To do their part, the All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church will be hosting an anti-racism film festival. At 1:30 Whose Streets? directed by Sabaah...
by Gina Beavers | May 4, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
Want a little drama on your Saturday? The Great Gatsby remains one of America’s greatest works of fiction, and it’s going to be staged by the National Players at the Wisteriahurst Museum in Holyoke today at 1:30. The Jazz Age never looked so beautiful and glamorous...
by Gina Beavers | May 4, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Stage
The weekend has begun and you can take your pick of great events happening this weekend. My recommendation? The Tattooed Man Tells All. This solo stage piece was written by Peter Wortsman. Wortsman interviewed Holocaust survivors in the 1970s and distilled them into...
by Gina Beavers | May 2, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Daily Calendar, Newsletter
THURSDAY 5/3 MUSIC Honeysuckle: 7 p.m. $12 – $15. The Parlor Room, 32 Masonic St., Northampton. Live Music!: The Moores: 8:30 p.m. – 11:30 p.m. Whetstone Station Restaurant and Brewery, 36 Bridge St., Brattleboro. Professor Louie And The Crowmatix: 7 p.m....
by Gina Beavers | May 2, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
My buddy Meg Bantle chose The Head and the Load as one of her Staff Picks. So I will defer to her for my Pick of the Day: “Check out William Kentridge as he and his 50 person theater troop end their two week residency at MASS MoCA with this work-in-progress...
by Gina Beavers | May 2, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Film, Newsletter
It’s so beautiful today and you’ve probably completely lost your mind; it’s hard to think about being indoors when there’s no guarantee that winter has really gone into hiberation. But we’ve got a suggestion for you after you settle down...
by Meg Bantle | May 1, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Featured, News, Newsletter
Only five years ago, ArtWeek was a series of 25 events in Boston. This year, ArtWeek, which started on April 27 and runs until May 6, expanded to Central and Western Massachusetts and includes over 525 events, making it the only statewide art festival in...
by Gina Beavers | May 1, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter, Stage
Tennessee Williams knew how to create drama. And his Pulitzer Prize winning 1955 masterpiece Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is the perfect example. Brick, Maggie, Big Daddy and the gang are gathered for Big Daddy’s birthday. Simply put, these people are the worst. Greedy,...
by Gina Beavers | Apr 30, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Daily Calendar, Newsletter
MONDAY 4/30 MUSIC UMass Symphony Band & Percussion Ensemble: 7:30 p.m. Joint concert. $5 – $10. Fine Arts Center Concert Hall, UMass, Amherst. 413-545-2511. music@music.umass.edu. STAGE/FILM/DANCE Conversations With Nick Cave at Academy of Music Theatre: 8...
by Gina Beavers | Apr 30, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Film, Newsletter
Patagonia Treasure Trail is about a mother/daughter’s road trip on horseback into “the environmentally delicate and politically volatile territory of southern Arizona. A large commercial mining company has claimed the Patagonia Mountains, and the...
by Jack Brown | Apr 30, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Cinemadope, Columns, Featured, Newsletter
So few of us follow our deepest drives — it’s a path that leads along high wires and narrow ledges, and for many, the fear of failing big keeps us dreaming small. On the other end of human experience is a man like Milford Graves. Graves is a renowned percussionist who...
by Gina Beavers | Apr 27, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
Chris Goudreau is a music aficionado; he thinks this show at Hawks and Reed is a must see. He says, “It’s a night of awe inspiring, shredding, progressive bands this Saturday at Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center in Greenfield, including Amherst-based math...
by Gina Beavers | Apr 27, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
Syracuse may be one of the dreariest cities in the union, but that doesn’t mean their music scene doesn’t have a few bright spots. Check out Salt City Shakedown, a three band tour featuring Sophistafunk, who combines spoken-word, old-school hip hop, and funky rhythms;...
by Gina Beavers | Apr 27, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, News, Newsletter
One of the brightest music stars in the Pioneer Valley and the world succumbed to pancreatic cancer. Saxophonist Charles Neville, age 79, passed away Thursday, April 26, at his home in Huntington. A member of the acclaimed Neville Brothers band, Charles...
by Will Meyer | Apr 26, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Basemental, Columns, Featured, Music, Newsletter
Tucked away in an old house in Hadley live two musicians named Sal and Cooper, who collectively make up the rock duo The Taxidermists. The band has nurtured something of a cult following from DIY persistence and their 2015 record Honesty Box. One showgoer recently...
