Arts
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, 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 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 | 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 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 | Arts, Music, Newsletter
Here’s a worthy cause: A Voice for ALS features NBC Voice star Terry McDermott. Although the concert is free, contributions to the ALS Association are encouraged. For many with ALS losing their voice is connected with the loss of identity; here’s a great...
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 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 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 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 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 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 Gina Beavers | Jun 14, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter, Stage
The Hot Club of Cowtown is at the Iron Horse, swinging and twanging and doing their thing tonight. They’re celebrating their 20th anniversary by releasing their first-ever CD format of their very first recording, Western Clambake. Western Clambake has only been...
by Gina Beavers | Jun 14, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter, Stage
English guitarist Albert Lee is at the Iron Horse tonight. Lee is known for his fingerstyle and hybrid picking technique. A Grammy winner, Eric Clapton says Lee is “the ultimate virtuoso. His skill is extraordinary, his ear is extraordinary and he’s gifted on just...
by Gina Beavers | Jun 14, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Daily Calendar, Music, Newsletter, Stage
THURSDAY 6/14 MUSIC Albert Lee: 7 p.m. Iron Horse Music Hall, 20 Center St., Northampton. Drop-in Traditional Music Sessions: 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. $5 at the door. Friendly traditional music sessions. Moderate swingy pace. Adults and teens of all skill levels...
by Chris Rohmann | Jun 13, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Newsletter, Review, Stage, Stagestruck
A theater story: For three years in the mid-’70s, Anthony Perkins starred in the long-running Broadway production of Equus, playing the psychiatrist Dr. Dysart (pause for Psycho jokes). Just before one matinee came an announcement: “Anthony Perkins will not be...
by Advocate Staff | Jun 13, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Get Out With Staff Picks, Music, Newsletter, Stage
Pub sing at McNeill’s // Saturday, June 16 There isn’t enough singing in our pubs around here. But McNeill’s in Brattleboro is working to fix that. Led by Tony Barrand and Amanda Witman, the bar is open for sea shanties, work songs, pub songs, and all the rest. Open...
by Gina Beavers | Jun 13, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
Throw caution to the wind and check out of Montreal at Gateway City Arts tonight. They’re music is an irrepressible synthesis of dance and modern psychedelia. They’ve been around since the ’90s and released their 15th album in January. It’s...
by Chris Rohmann | Jun 12, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter, Stage, Stagestruck
If you’re a regular at the NT Live series of high-def broadcasts from the London stage, you’d be forgiven for thinking Rory Kinnear is under exclusive contract to the National Theatre. (He’s not, as you’ll know if you’re also a fan of the recent James Bond films, in...
by Chris Goudreau | Jun 12, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
David Keenan is a 23-year-old Irish folk songwriter with poetic lyrics who has been described as “not just another lad with an acoustic guitar; the sound of Tim Buckley and Brendan Behan arguing over a few jars, while Kavanagh deals Dylan a suspicious hand of...
by Gina Beavers | Jun 11, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Daily Calendar, Film, Music, Newsletter, Stage
MONDAY 6/11 MUSIC Music Mondays Cafe ~ An Evening with Peter Eldridge: 7 p.m. – 8 p.m. $15 adults / $10 students cash at the door. .June Music Mondays Cafe features Peter Eldridge and an evening of piano and vocal pop, jazz, standards and original works. Doors...
by Gina Beavers | Jun 8, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
This is an easy one. Melissa Etheridge, the legend, is at Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center tonight in Great Barrington. It’s worth the ride; Etheridge’s catalog of heartland rock and roll spans thirty years. Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, 14 Castle Street...
by Gina Beavers | Jun 8, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
New Salem, yes, New Salem. It’s the town that borders Shutesbury, Wendell, Belchertown, Athol, Orange, Pelham, Ware — oh and Petersham. Christine Ohlman & Rebel Montez: are out at the Meetinghouse tonight in New Salem to kick off the 2018 season! ...
by Gina Beavers | Jun 6, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
How can two people be wrong? Both Dave Eisenstadter and Chris Goudreau chose Northampton Arts Night Out as their Staff Picks this week. Dave recommends CLICK Workspace which will host some ukulele bands that will perform in conjunction with two photography exhibits....
by Gina Beavers | Jun 6, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter
Cycling is a religion for a lot of folks I’ve known over the years. If it yours (and even if it’s not) check out the Ciclismo Classico Bike Travel Film Festival (See Jack Brown’s Cinemadope) tonight at the Academy of Music. The first film is called...
by Gina Beavers | Jun 6, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Daily Calendar, Music, Newsletter, Stage
THURSDAY 6/7 MUSIC Albert Castiglia: 7 p.m. Iron Horse Music Hall, 20 Center St., Northampton. Drop-in Traditional Music Sessions: 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Friendly traditional music sessions. Moderate swingy pace. Adults and teens of all skill levels welcome – and...
by Gina Beavers | Jun 6, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Newsletter, Review
“‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul — and sings the tunes without the words — and never stops at all,” wrote Emily Dickinson, the grande dame of poetry. And down a bit from the hustle and bustle, Hope and Feathers Custom Framing and Art Gallery...
by Gina Beavers | Jun 6, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
Veteran punk rocker Dave Hause will hit the Parlor Room tonight. He’s just released his third solo album Bury Me in Philly which he co-wrote with his 23-year-old brother Tim. Hause describes his album like what you might expect on stage tonight: “You want...
by Gina Beavers | Jun 5, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter
Paul Arslanian, George Kaye, and Jon Fisher make up The Green Street Trio; for almost ten years, they’ve performed with a guest artist each Tuesday at City Sports Grille as the Northampton Jazz Workshop. This week they’re bringing in vocalist Wanda...
by Chris Rohmann | Jun 4, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Review, Stage, Stagestruck
Two plays now running in Hartford are framed by resistance movements against political and economic oppression, and both carry weighty metaphors. At TheaterWorks through June 23, a lesson in global economics is tucked into a torn-from-the-headlines thriller, and at...
by Gina Beavers | Jun 4, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Daily Calendar, Music, Newsletter
MONDAY 6/4 MUSIC An Evening with Gaelic Storm: 7 p.m. Iron Horse Music Hall, 20 Center St., Northampton. STAGE/FILM/DANCE We Made a Thing: A Tiny Audience Show: 9 p.m. – 9:45 p.m. Everyone is invited to this weekly super casual – and totally free!...
by Gina Beavers | Jun 4, 2018 | Articles, Arts, Music, Newsletter, Stage
Celtic band Gaelic Storm is at the Iron Horse tonight. They perform traditional Irish music, Scottish music, and original tunes in both the Celtic and Celtic rock genres. Go Climb A Tree, their most recent album, was released last year. 7 p.m. at the Iron Horse...
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...
