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Brutal? No, beautiful: Holyoke artist Michael Karmody has found beauty — and a decent living — in concrete creations
By Samuel Gelinas Staff Writer Artist Michael Karmody knows a hard truth about concrete — that it is often associated with sidewalks and jails, not attractive things. But, serious question. What does concrete actually look like? For Karmody, the only serious answer...
Monte Belmonte Wines: What’s going on at Table & Vine in West Springfield?: Something fishy is afoot at the Big Y’s flagship location for fine wine
By Monte Belmonte For the Valley Advocate What is going on at Table & Vine in West Springfield? Given that you are reading a wine column, I assume you partake of the grape. Then you probably know that Table & Vine is the wines, beer and spirits branch of the...
Theater Matters with Jarice Hanson: Audience participation required: Three plays raise questions around moral integrity and point of view
By Jarice Hanson For the Valley Advocate Plays about difficult subjects, like the consequences of personal actions, politics, and social change, require more of the audience in terms of asking them to consider how their own sense of morality and moral integrity...
Mixtape: New heavy music to initiate summer: Reviewing Warm’s ‘Fastidium’ and TueTewsday’s ‘Shoulda Been Larz’
By Jennifer Levesque For the Valley Advocate Warm “Fastidium” The moment I pressed play on this album, I couldn’t stop listening to it. At home, mid-chore, I just sat there in a trance-like state until the last track ended. “Fastidium” is the latest release from local...
‘I’ve met friends in my books’: Eric Carle Museum celebrates author, illustrator Grace Lin with retrospective exhibition
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Florence-based author and illustrator Grace Lin is known for books like “Where the Mountain Meets the Moon” (for which she received a Newbery Honor in 2010), “The Gate, the Girl, and the Dragon,” “The Ugly Vegetables,” and “A Big Mooncake...
A food fest to feel good about: Inaugural Western Mass Vegan Food Fest is this Sunday
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer A new vegan food festival is about to take root in the Pioneer Valley. The inaugural Western Mass Vegan Food Fest will be at Abandoned Building Brewery in Easthampton on Sunday, June 15, from noon to 5 p.m. The vendor lineup includes...
Catharsis meets comedy: ‘Customers From Hell’ show will premiere at the Shea Theater on Sunday, June 15
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Most people who have worked retail and food service jobs have dealt with customers who were rude, annoying, or just plain strange. A new comedy TV series written and filmed in the Pioneer Valley wants to answer the question: what if those...
Get Growing with Mickey Rathbun: ‘I just let them grow’: Inside one of the six gardens on this year’s Northampton Garden Tour
By MICKEY RATHBUN For the Valley Advocate John Smith likes it when people stop outside his house, a lovely Carpenter Gothic on a quiet street in Florence, to peek at his garden through the fence. “I tell them, ‘Come on in and have a look around,’” he said. On June 14,...
Holyoke hosts inaugural Paper Festival: Crafts, exhibitions, tours, contests and more in the ‘Paper City’ this Saturday
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Holyoke was known for its thriving paper industry – that’s how it got the nickname “Paper City.” Now, over a century later, the city will celebrate the legacy and impact that paper production had on the...
Profiling ‘The Raider’: New book by UMass history professor Stephen Platt explores the life of a celebrated but unconventional Marine
By STEVE PFARRER For the Gazette Stephen Platt, who teaches 19th and 20th century Chinese history at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, made a significant name for himself with his two last books. “Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom,” an account of China’s bloody...
Local tragedies, set to song: Historic Northampton will stage ‘Northampton Stories: From the Operas of Sawyer & Erdman’ next weekend
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Two dark moments in Northampton history – the 1806 execution of two innocent immigrants and the 1960 arrest of a closeted Smith College professor – have an unlikely connection: an upcoming event will explore them both in opera. Historic...
‘My heart requires it’: Pioneer lesbian singer-songwriter Linda Shear will perform benefit show in Northampton, May 31
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Celebrated lesbian singer-songwriter Linda Shear will play a benefit show for Straw Dog Writers Guild on Saturday, May 31, at 4 p.m. at Northampton Center for the Arts. Shear founded the band Family of Woman, the first openly lesbian band...
Fearlessly following her muse: Artist Rosemary Barrett’s upcoming show in Easthampton is rich with surrealist oil paintings
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Holyoke artist Rosemary Barrett has worked in many mediums, but her upcoming show in Easthampton will highlight a collection of oil paintings. Barrett’s show, “The Awakening,” will be featured at Big Red Frame in Easthampton from...
‘Irving Berlin’s View of the East River’ films in western Mass: Behind the scenes of an indie movie set in the Valley
By EMILEE KLEIN Staff Writer ‘Reset!” There’s an inaudible moan among the cast and crew when director Sarah Knight cues the walk back down the path along the Connecticut River dike in Hadley to record another take after nearly an hour of running the same scene. The...
Holy Smokes Theatre lands in the Valley: Newly relocated theater company to stage queer ‘erotic horror comedy’ at Easthampton’s CitySpace this weekend
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Holy Smokes Theatre, which used to be based in southern New Hampshire, now has a home in the Pioneer Valley — and they’re debuting a new show here this weekend. The theater company, led by founder Wren Hannah, will premiere an original...
‘Space is the place’: Sun Ra Arkestra plays the Academy of Music, May 18
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Legendary Afrofuturist bandleader, composer, and musician Sun Ra had an eye on the cosmos. Though he passed away in 1993, the members of his 13-person musical ensemble, the Sun Ra Arkestra, have since kept his legacy alive through shows...
Block and roll: Roller Derby, the ‘sport for misfits,’ finds a home in the Valley
By Hannah Bevis For the Valley Advocate The floor of Interskate 91 South is often filled with young skaters teetering around the track, but the athletes on it now are sure on their skates, focused and ready to battle. Two jammers sit poised, their bodies coiled in...
Mixtape: Feeling lucky: ‘Second Tongue’ is the new album from local indie rockers The Lucky Shots
By Jennifer Levesque For the Valley Advocate Local musician Noam Schatz has been playing drums in bands since he was 14 years old. I took a look at his website for his band The Lucky Shots, and I was in awe: The list of bands he’s been in since the ’90s is impressive....
Theater Matters with Jarice Hanson: Budget cuts can’t kill culture: Highlighting two local productions that bring us hope
By Jarice Hanson For the Valley Advocate When Donald Trump announced he was assuming control of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, many nervous jokes were made to cover up the fear of what could come next. My vote for the best parody goes to Eddie Feldmann...
Monte Belmonte Wines: What will Trump’s tariffs mean for wine prices? Local experts voice predictions, as tariffs continue to be a moving target
By Monte Belmonte For the Valley Advocate “Godspeed, everyone. May your supplier discounts be generous, and may wine on the water be saved by the powers that be.” It was a striking quote on a Facebook Group that I follow called the US Wine Trade Alliance. I...
Resonating through generations: Lady Pills releases new concept album, ‘Renowned in the Roaring Twenties’
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer A recording artist is connecting her family’s western Massachusetts roots to her new album. Lady Pills, the solo indie pop/alt-rock project of multi-instrumentalist Ella Boissonnault, released the album “Renowned in the Roaring Twenties”...
The ills of a billion-dollar enterprise: The slow-death of the cannabis industry, and what might be done to reverse the trend
By Gabriel O’Hara Salini For the Valley Advocate The Massachusetts cannabis industry is a billion-dollar enterprise, with over 700 retailers operating across the state. Yet stores are closing, companies are firing their workers and retail and non-retail licenses are...
Reel talent: Easthampton Film Festival returns for fourth year, May 1-4
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Easthampton Film Festival will return for its fourth year from Thursday, May 1, through Sunday, May 4, bringing with it a slate of movies that were created, in large part, by local filmmakers. This year’s lineup includes a screening of...
‘We’re here! We’re queer! We’re ready to cheer!’: New queerleading team hopes to perform at queer sporting events in the Valley
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer A new group of “queerleaders” in Northampton wants to lift up the LGBTQ community — in more ways than one. On Sunday, a group of about 20 people gathered at Veterans Field in Northampton to set up a new team of queer cheerleaders who...
Here to help the community’s artists: Human Scale Art Space aims to advance visual arts in the Pioneer Valley
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer It’s not uncommon for a small nonprofit not to have a physical space. It is, however, ironic when that nonprofit itself is called Human Scale Art Space. The Northampton-based organization Human Scale Art Space aims to advance visual arts,...
Amherst can’t decide where it is: Is town center uptown or downtown?
By SCOTT MERZBACH Staff Writer Those attending a recent ribbon-cutting for the new UMass Downtown retail store and event space in Amherst center were invited to an afterparty at the Uptown Tap & Grille, which despite having a seemingly different geographical...
Women’s history told through clothing: Shelburne Falls Area Women’s Club to host ‘Real Clothes, Real Lives: 200 Years of What Women Wore’ author, April 9
By MADISON SCHOFIELD Staff Writer The Shelburne Falls Area Women’s Club is celebrating its 100th birthday this spring, and will kick off its centennial speaker series with a talk on the history of women’s clothing with Northampton author Kiki Smith on April 9 at the...
‘His notes will linger forever’: Remembering Young@Heart accordionist and Springfield College professor Chris Haynes
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Chris Haynes, longtime accordionist for the Young@Heart Chorus and associate professor emeritus of music at Springfield College, died on Wednesday, March 12. “Chris was somebody who really cared about people, really made sure they were...
Macbeth, up close and personal: Second annual Montague Shakespeare Festival puts a new spin on the ‘psychological dark power drama’
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer By the pricking of my thumbs, “Macbeth” to Franklin County comes! Montague Shakespeare Festival’s production of “Macbeth” will run the weekends of March 28 to 30 and April 4 to 6 at Shea Theater in Turners Falls. The famous Shakespeare...
She’s every woman: Meet the western Mass chapter of the International Order of Mrs. Ropers
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer A character from the 1970s/1980s sitcom “Three’s Company” is bringing people in western Mass (and beyond) together for fun and good vibes. The sitcom, which ran on ABC from 1977 to 1984, was about three roommates (Janet, Chrissy and Jack)...
What is possible when you get to the root?: The peer-run Wildflower Alliance redefines mental health care, leaves the system in the dust
By Melissa Karen Sances For the Valley Advocate Her phone pinged and a grey bubble rose to the surface: “Are you ready to come back?” The answer was supposed to be yes. She should return and recover. All she had to do was find the right cocktail, her doctor had said,...
Theater Matters with Jarice Hanson: Finding comfort in being together: Local productions inspire hope and unity
By Jarice Hanson For the Valley Advocate If we’ve learned anything since the Inauguration of the current President, it’s that chaos can make you feel hopeless and helpless. But in such trying times, theater and the ability to join together for a common goal can be...
Monte Belmonte Wines: Cheers to DEI: Must-try wines from Black winemakers, both at home and abroad
By Monte Belmonte For the Valley Advocate Diversity. Equity. Inclusion. The leader of the free world is working diligently to rid the USA of DEI. And many organizations, large and small, public and private, are either obediently heeding our leader’s directives, or...
Vinyl addict since 1984: A review of two vinyls: J Prozac’s “Obsession” and Oh He Dead’s “Ugly”
By Jennifer Levesque For the Valley Advocate After a show in Rhode Island, I once told Thom Yorke (Radiohead, The Smile) that he was my antidepressant. “Good. I’m easier to come off on,” he said, then paused and smirked, “Oh that didn’t come out good, if you know what...
Passionate on and off the bandstand: Jazz community mourns the loss of bassist George Kaye
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Jazz bassist George Kaye, longtime member of the Valley’s Green Street Trio, died on Monday, Feb. 10, at the age of 73 after a period of failing health. “He was a very deeply caring person,” said Ruth Griggs, president of the Northampton...
Video killed the streaming subscription: Visions Video opening next month in Northampton with thousands of titles to rent
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer A new video store is coming to downtown Northampton. That’s right — a video store, in 2025! Visions Video is slated to open at 183 Main St. (in the former location of Spill The Tea Sis Apothecary) in mid-March. The volunteer-run store...
Lights, camera, Eastworks: Photographer and model couple open a new studio in Easthampton
By ALEXA LEWIS Staff Writer The story of David Heisler and Crystal Truehart Heisler is something straight out of Hollywood: A model and a photographer meet on the set of “The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency” reality TV show, fall in love and spend years building...
Inside Wemelco, a Wonka works for weed: The manufacturing process of a thriving local cannabis company
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer The Easthampton-based cannabis manufacturer Wemelco Industries has seen notable growth in its first few years of operation — which is ironic, considering one of the only things it doesn’t do with cannabis is grow it. Wemelco manufactures...
‘If you can hit one note and hit it hard’: Western Mass Sacred Harp singers ready for biggest annual event
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer On Saturday, March 8, and Sunday, March 9, the Western Massachusetts Sacred Harp Community (WMSHC) will host their biggest annual event, the Western Massachusetts Sacred Harp Convention, at Bombyx Center for Arts & Equity in Florence...
‘There’s a majesty to grief’: Poet and UMass professor Peter Gizzi wins prestigious 2024 T.S. Eliot Prize for Poetry
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Peter Gizzi, professor of poetry at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, recently won the 2024 T.S. Eliot Prize for Poetry, one of the world’s most prestigious poetry awards. Gizzi’s book “Fierce Elegy” beat nearly 200 other...
Wheely funny: Chuckling Charlie Comedy Bus brings laughter through Northampton
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer All the world’s a stage — but for two local comedians, their stage is a green and black bus. The Chuckling Charlie Comedy Bus, the creation of Northampton comedian and comedy producer Tim Lovett, has brought laughter to locals since last...
Artwork from the ashes: Heather Maloney’s new album, ‘Exploding Star,’ was almost too personal to share
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Heather Maloney almost didn’t release her upcoming album, “Exploding Star,” to the public. An album born of grief and loss was too raw, too personal, to go public, she felt, so she kept it for herself. But when her closest friends and...
Bluegrass lovers, rejoice: Monthly CitySpace Bluegrass jam session starts Feb. 1
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Bluegrass music (like this reporter) is native to the American South, but starting next week, it’ll have a new home here in the Valley. CitySpace in Easthampton will host CitySpace Bluegrass, a new monthly bluegrass jam session for...
‘The road to hell starts with good intentions’: New opera tells the story of Northampton’s notorious revivalist preacher, Jonathan Edwards
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Jonathan Edwards, one of Northampton’s most famous residents, was a revolutionary preacher whose legacy has endured through centuries. He was the first minister in Northampton to baptize African Americans, yet he did not free those he...
Looking into the depth: Works by the late artist Daniel Feldman to be exhibited at Gallery A3 in Amherst
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer The late artist Daniel Feldman died in November at the age of 67, a few months before an exhibition of 14 of his works at Gallery A3 in Amherst was slated to open. When that exhibition, “Depth Be Depth,” opens on Thursday, Feb. 6, it will...
Knowledge is power, period: Turners Falls menstrual cycle educator offers holistic approach to pelvic health
By ERIN-LEIGH HOFFMAN Staff Writer To Julia Demillones Moore, knowledge about periods is power. Moore, who goes by “Julia Moon Beam” online, is a menstrual cycle educator and a pelvic steam practitioner from Turners Falls. Through her two businesses, Wise Gal Period...
Can’t take that away from me: With Jan. 20 on the horizon, the Queer Joy Collaborative sings, dances and fights for its life
By MELISSA KAREN SANCES For the Valley Advocate Glitter. Sparkle. Bedazzle. Shine. When Mara Levi and Nova Wehman-Brown started dreaming of a Winter Ball, these four words came to mind. The executive director and the board president of the Queer Joy...
The future is bright … and weightless: An eye-opening exploration of everything and nothing at a spa in Easthampton
By Bob Flaherty For the Valley Advocate My journey. Where it begins and ends I have no idea. I do know that I could use some healing along the way, I’m just not sure what it is I have. Although, yes, I am acutely aware of my mousetrap nervous system and my constantly...
Monte Belmonte Wines: A toast to Champagne
By Monte Belmonte For the Valley Advocate Champagne, with its effervescent, aspirational qualities, levitating its drinkers towards the hope of wealth and good cheer, has become a staple when the clock strikes 12 on the last night of the year. The tiny bubbles of...
Mixtape: A collection of albums for the end of the year
By Jennifer Levesque For the Valley Advocate As the year comes to a close, I have to say, I’m still very grateful for the gift of music. So here’s an end-of-the-year mixtape befitting this time of year, a taste of what I’ve been listening to lately. Joshua David...
Theater Matters with Jarice Hanson: As the curtain falls on 2024: Remembering three great losses to the Valley theater family
By Jarice Hanson For the Valley Advocate If you ask any actor or person who works in the collaborative arts, they’ll tell you that one of the best parts about working in a creative field are the bonds that form with other actors, production personnel, and even theater...
Love is in the airwaves: Queer dating radio show creates connections and community
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Finding love is all about finding someone on your wavelength. A radio show at the University of Massachusetts Amherst wants to help the local queer community make romantic connections, one guest DJ at a time. On the show “Queer Yenta...
Get a whiff of this: ‘Flora & Fromage’ unites nature, art and food for an olfactory party in the Paper City
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer When the weather outside is frightful, warming up indoors, surrounded by plants, food, art and live music, is so delightful. Such is the idea behind Flora & Fromage, an upcoming plant-themed art and food experience at Mill 1 in...
Eat to the beat: New event series in a new venue mixes music, meals, and job training
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer At an upcoming new concert series at a recently opened venue in Holyoke, guests can listen to live music while they eat themed meals and help local students build career skills. The series, Feast & Harmony, will debut next week at De...
Cooking made simple: Classes at the Baker’s Pin demystify the secrets and tricks of great recipes
By NAOMI SCULLY-BRISTOL For the Advocate Walking into the Baker’s Pin, you are greeted by cheerful decor, beautiful colorful pots and an array of cooking gadgets. It is a home cook’s paradise with everything you could possibly need, from Le Creuset pots to artisan...
‘The magic that existed back then’: Academy of Music to screen time capsule film of New Year’s Eve 1984 concert at The Rusty Nail
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer It’s been 40 years since the band NRBQ played at Sunderland’s The Rusty Nail on New Year’s Eve, but a devoted fan and friend of the band kept the night alive with his concert footage. Later this month, the Academy of Music will screen...
A celebration of history-making women: The Rockwell Museum exhibits over 200 of Anita Kunz’s portraits in ‘Original Sisters’
By DON STEWART For the Advocate She’s the first woman, and the first Canadian, to present a solo exhibit of her work at the Library of Congress, and two of her paintings can be found at Washington’s National Portrait Gallery. You’d recognize Anita Kunz’s often...
Drum roll, please: Longtime UMass percussion instructor Thom Hannum inducted into Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Thousands of University of Massachusetts Amherst students have learned from percussion instructor Thom Hannum, whose 40-year career at the college included a tenure as the assistant director, then associate director, of the Minuteman...
Scary and true: Half-hanged Mary and the real women behind the area’s most compelling ghost stories
By Melissa Karen Sances For the Valley Advocate “And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.” — Friedrich Nietzsche I have never liked ghost stories. But when I heard about Half-Hanged Mary of Hadley, I was spellbound. Not that long ago, and...E-Edition
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