Music
by Kristin Palpini | Dec 14, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Music
Elvis isn’t dead, he’s been hanging with Santa at the North Pole. On Saturday the Florence VFW is hosting an all-ages yuletide shindig featuring Lord Elvis, Johnny Memphis Band, Court Etiquette, and Christmas karaoke. Flo Ho Ho — Elvis Meets Santa: 12/19 at 7 p.m. $5,...
by Gary Carra | Dec 7, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Music, Nightcrawler
Gathering of the Vibes founder Ken Hayes recently announced that after achieving 20 years and record breaking attendance this past summer, he has decided to take 2016 off. “This is not the end my friends,” he wrote in an open, online letter to the Vibe Tribe. “It’s...
by Gary Carra | Nov 30, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Music, Nightcrawler
By definition, alchemy is a medieval chemical science and speculative philosophy aiming to achieve the transmutation of base metals into gold. Whether it be with the band the Alchemystics band he co-founded back in 2003, the band Bay Rd he inspired while working at...
by Kristin Palpini | Dec 7, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Music
When rock guitars meet punk riffs and reggae soul you get Danny Pease and The Regulators with The Hornitz. Check out their music which has strong roots in reggae and ska rhythms. The Hornitz is a human beatbox — so, that’s pretty cool — but there will also be horns,...
by Hunter Styles | Dec 7, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Music
Tom Hooper’s 2012 film adaptation of the iconic musical Les Misérables left many viewers with mixed feelings. Hugh Jackman’s big sideburns? Revolutionary. Russell Crowe’s singing? Misérable. Fortunately, there’s a fresh way to dive into Claude-Michel Schönberg’s...
by Amanda Drane | Dec 7, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Music, Scene Here
AMANDA DRANE PHOTO Outside the Nest, a house/underground music venue on a side street off Belchertown Road in Amherst, a cloud of smokers greet me. I follow the train of people kicking off their boots and shoes at the bottom of the basement stairs where a living room...
by Hunter Styles | Dec 7, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Music
It’s well-nigh impossible for music critics to describe James McMurtry’s three decades of songwriting without using the word “Americana.” That’s because it’s hard to think of a musician better able to craft albums that employ roots rock, folk, country, and blues in...
by Kristin Palpini | Dec 7, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Music, Stage
The wind gets cold, the winter holidays draw near, and Pioneer Valley Ballet presents its annual performance of the Nutcracker ballet. The Nutcracker is the classic tail of a weirdo godfather bestowing gifts on wealthy kids at a party. One of the toys, a nutcracker,...
by Advocate Staff | Nov 30, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Music, Stage
Super Troupe Pilobolus Dance Theatre has been praised with innumerable adjectives over its 34-year history: endearing, emotional, witty, hilarious, colorful — and my favorite, from The Los Angeles Times: “physically awesome.” Founded in 1971 by Dartmouth College...
by Advocate Staff | Dec 2, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Get Out With Staff Picks, Music
The Demse Legacy • Sunday About six months ago, beloved Valley reggae band The Alchemystics lost leader Demse Zullo and roadie Brian “Budzy” White in a car accident. While coping with their loss, the band surged ahead into festival season. Now, they’re taking a minute...
by Kristin Palpini | Nov 30, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Music
It’s fitting that the album art for Kindling’s new Galaxies EP shows a color-tinted lunar landscape, because this four-track collection lifts off with a boom and a shockwave, like a shuttle launch at Cape Canaveral. From the first moment of play, singer and band...
by Gary Carra | Nov 23, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Music, Nightcrawler
What was supposed to be a triumphant new chapter in a prolific career turned tragic. Then a tribute. For more than two decades, Keith Hopkinson’s howl could be heard soaring over such circuit regulars as The Smacktones and Black Cat Frenzy. On Friday, Nov. 20, his...
by Hunter Styles | Photos by Dan Little | Nov 23, 2015 | Articles, Music
Surrounded by bodies, soaked in sweat and blasted with music, it’s easy to let go and just dance. If you’re not a denizen of the club scene (or if it’s been a few decades), glance at the faces and free-flowing forms of the dancers we photographed on a recent Saturday...
by Amanda Drane | Nov 23, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Music, News
Roster changes in the musical line up at the Waterfront Tavern in Holyoke fueled rumors about the establishment that were spreading across the Internet like a celebrity nip slip last week. Three metal/rock shows slated for December were cancelled at the Waterfront,...
by Advocate Staff | Nov 25, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Get Out With Staff Picks, Music
DJ Studebaker Hawk • Saturday Let’s face it — Thursday and Friday night’s activities (and workouts) will likely be lost to a tryptophan-induced food coma. Turkey dinners will become leftover turkey sandwiches for lunch and come 8 p.m. Friday evening it will be a...
by Emily Atkinson | Nov 23, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Music
“I don’t want to say stupid,” says Adam Ives, laughing, “but stupid.” I’m in the middle of a conversation about songwriting, sitting in a Northampton ice cream parlor with Rool Bunk, a rock-punk band made up of Ives and his bandmates Jasper Coles and Nate Jones. Ives...
by Amanda Drane | Nov 23, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Music
For many, dancing is a slight rock of the hips that could easily be confused with scratching an itch. This was not the case with the late “Dancing Larry” Howes. Larry was the hallmark of a good party and the king of local dancefloors. His appreciation for area...
by Advocate Staff | Nov 18, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Film, Get Out With Staff Picks, Leisure, Music, Stage
Rhythm Inc With Total Collision • Saturday This Thanksgiving week, Rhythm Inc and Total Collision — featuring members of the Springfield-based Fear Nuttin Band — will remind the Valley we have some awesome reggae-hip-hop fusion to be grateful for. The two groups will...
by Gary Carra | Nov 16, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Music, Nightcrawler
Myelodysplastic syndrome — commonly referred to as MDS — is literally bad to the bone. It affects bone marrow resulting in an inadequate supply of healthy white and red blood cells in the process. Scene stalwart Ed Vadas is presently combatting said condition....
by Kristin Palpini | Nov 16, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Music, News
These are the best kind of neighbors — the kind that don’t actually live next door. And The Neighbors is a little Appalachia mixed with the grit of the Lower East Side. On Saturday the acoustic duo, with Dave Houghton of Fancy Trash and Debra DeMuth, is holding a...
by Kristin Palpini | Nov 16, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Music, News
Dark Star Orchestra, a Grateful Dead cover band that plays the Dead’s concerts instead of their albums will be in Northampton Tuesday. Dark Star, Nov. 24, 8 p.m. $27.50. Calvin Theatre, 19 King St., Northampton, (413) 586-8686.
by Hunter Styles | Nov 9, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Leisure, Music
Donald Sonn strums his acoustic guitar and taps his microphone. “Can people hear me?” he asks. I can, but I’m 10 feet away. Toward the back of the room, three dozen people are looking around and talking to each other, beers in hand. A few audience members are watching...
by Advocate Staff | Nov 11, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Get Out With Staff Picks, Leisure, Music, News
Bo Burnham at the Calvin • Sunday Bo Burnham turned heads five years ago when, at 20 (he looked 16) he cracked up crowds of all ages with his self-deprecating, oft-dirty, and clever music-based comedy. On Sunday, he makes his way to his native Massachusetts for an 8...
by Gary Carra | Nov 9, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Music, Nightcrawler
Oklahoma-based singer-songwriter John Moreland stops by Noho’s Parlor Room this Friday, Nov. 13, in support of his latest sonic labor of love. The new disc is called High on Tulsa Heat, and its arrival earlier this year was eagerly anticipated thanks in great part to...
by Gary Carra | Nov 3, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Music, Nightcrawler
Springfield-based metal-meisters Shadows Fall have had the hardcore community scratching its collective, shoulder-length locks-laden heads in recent months. Shortly after announcing an “indefinite hiatus,” frontman Brian Fair clarified that the sonic suspension may...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 26, 2015 | Arts, Music, News, Uncategorized
On Friday, UMass Amherst Fine Arts Center welcomes five-time Grammy winner Dianne Reeves. The jazz singer, accompanied by an award-winning quintet, is on tour performing work from her first new album in five years, “Life is Beautiful,” including covers of Bob Marley,...
by Gary Carra | Oct 26, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Music, News, Nightcrawler
While new wave icon Howard Jones’ Nov. 4 Iron Horse show will be engaging, it will not be Engage, the crowd-funded multimedia project he recently performed in London, LA, and New York that includes interactive smartphone apps for audience members, specially...
by Amanda Drane | Oct 21, 2015 | Arts, Get Out With Staff Picks, Music, News
Llama Lasagne’s Ladies Night • Oct. 29 Local band Llama Lasagne — a conglomeration of musicians from The Mary Jane Jones, Alchemystics, and more — is hosting a Ladies Night event at the Depot at Union Station in Northampton. A portion of Ladies Night ticket sales will...
by Gary Carra | Oct 19, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Music, Nightcrawler
She’s spent many a Saturday night in New York City. Kinda comes with the turf when you sing lead vocals in the Saturday Night Live Band as Christine Ohlman did in the ’90s — an honor that literally gave her a front row seat to Sinead O’Connor’s papal paper rip and...
by Hunter Styles | Oct 13, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Leisure, Music, News, Wellness
Feel that chill in the air? It’s only a matter of weeks before we’re all hibernating on the couch, looking out the window at the deep freeze and wondering where all the long, fun days went. Don’t spend the winter as a sad blanket case. There’s still time to bust out...
by Story and Photos
Amanda
Drane | Oct 13, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, News, Stage
Within seconds of meeting each other, tap and jazz dancer David Bovat and percussionist Jeff Hinrichs are moving and grooving. Hinrichs lays down a quick tempo on the djembe, which makes a deep, hollow sound, and Bovat’s tap shoes start click-clacking in double time....
by Kristin Palpini | Oct 13, 2015 | Arts, Music, News
Hunter — Folk rock I first listened to Hunter about a month ago. The tune was goofy and fun, but it didn’t immediately grab me. I thought that was it for Hunter and me, but I was wrong. The siren song got me. Lead singer Hunter Stamas Facebook-messaged the...
by Gary Carra | Oct 13, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Music, Nightcrawler
Were it not for the marking of a certain sonic milestone, The Lonesome Brothers’ appearance at the Iron Horse this weekend couldn’t be more business as usual. Another weekend, some original tunes from their catalog of more than 100, another venue. “Basically, the gist...
by Amanda Drane | Oct 6, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, News
Valley musician Mikey Sweet spent two weeks hitchhiking around the Northeast last month, holding a sign reading: “broke musician, need money to finish album.” After a storied 14 days’ worth of busking, gigging, and drawing attention to his Kickstarter campaign, Sweet...
by Gary Carra | Oct 6, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Music, Nightcrawler
Fans of suds ’n’ sounds will find no shortage of occurrences in which to quench their multi-sensory cravings this weekend. On Saturday, Oct. 10, at the King Phillips Stockade at 1200 West Columbus Ave., in Springfield, Log Cabin/Delaney House and Samuel Adams will...
by Gary Carra | Sep 29, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Music, Nightcrawler
Bay State quartet Darlingside have become veritable media darlings in their just over half a decade of existence. Their lush, harmony-laden amalgam of indie folk rock garners kudos as steadily and readily as “Dump Trump’’ petition signatures at a Cinco De Mayo party....
by Kristin Palpini | Sep 29, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Film, Leisure, Music, News, Stage
What’s on tap for arts and culture over the next few months in the Pioneer Valley: Party Animals How do you describe The Surrealist Cabaret by the Royal Frog Ballet? You let the frogs do it. From the event’s website, The Surrealist Cabaret “is a walking...
by Kristin Palpini | Sep 29, 2015 | Arts, Music, News
Don’t Stop Believin’ in Classical Music The Springfield Symphony Orchestra will kick off the new season on Oct. 3 with an opening night reception at the Springfield Sheraton Hotel. Following the party, the orchestra will perform works by Dvořák, Sibelius, and Bartok....
by Kristin Palpini | Sep 22, 2015 | Arts, Music, News, Scene Here
Bulbs flash. Beats drop. Bass thuds in my ribcage. On the dance floor, bolts of light swirl together in neon colors, and the dancers are a galaxy of iconic sci-fi stars. A tall young man with long hair and a Jedi cloak whips his red double-bladed lightsaber in...
by Gary Carra | Sep 22, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Music, Nightcrawler
Most folks remember Gary Biardi as a man whose love of the outdoors was rivaled only by his passion for music. This Sunday, Sept. 27, no less than two dozen of the Valley’s most local notables — including Mark Schwaber, Alex Meisner, J.J. O’Connell, and Jeff Turcotte...
by Kristin Palpini | Sep 22, 2015 | Arts, Leisure, Music, News
Back to The Big E Life is a little sweeter around Big E time — and it’s not just because the air becomes infused with plumes of powdered sugar. Each year, The Big E in West Springfield brings with it big fun, big stars, and if you’re over 30, big (and completely...
by Amanda Drane | Sep 22, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, News
Kalliope Jones’ story about how the local band lost a music competition following a judge’s suggestion the all-female teen band be more “sultry,” was a familiar one to rocker June Millington. She recalls how one review of a gig called her band Fanny “excellent,” but...
by Gary Carra | Sep 14, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Music, Nightcrawler
There may be record sunshine outside this September, but inside the area music circuit, the forecast is for winds of change. Not the least of which can be found in Colorway, a fairly new vehicle for the words and music of scene stalwart Alex Johnson. The band will be...
by Kristin Palpini | Sep 14, 2015 | Arts, Film, Music, News, Stage
Herencia Latina Pioneer Valley is a celebration of the region’s Latino American heritage. The Pioneer Valley History Network is working in collaboration with Latino organizations, local libraries, museums, and colleges to bring a schedule of programs, activities, and...
by Kristin Palpini | Sep 8, 2015 | Between the Lines, Music, News
Music is like a garden; water it, tend to it, and it will be a blooming beauty that can attract visitors from miles around. But forget to water it, let the weeds take over, and you’re left with a field of crackling, dusty sticks that at best annoy your neighbor. Local...
by Gary Carra | Sep 8, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Music, Nightcrawler
Dennis Miller has a great line concerning the masses and social media: “Never have lives so less lived been so well chronicled.” While that idea is equal parts funny and true, the first annual Springfield Steampunk Festival was conceived in precisely the inverse...
by Hunter Styles | Sep 8, 2015 | Arts, Music
Albert Cummings Someone Like You (Blind Pig) Singing the blues sends you down a deep well of tradition, and Massachusetts-born roots rocker Albert Cummings dives in headfirst. His effusive and fun-loving seventh album, which barrels down the road packing songs of love...
by Advocate Staff | Sep 8, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, News
T housands of votes later, readers have whittled the best bands in the Valley down to four groups that will battle it out for a recording session at Rotary Records in West Springfield, $500 at Falcetti Music of Springfield, and gigs at Falcetti’s new performance space...
by Amanda Drane | Sep 1, 2015 | Arts, Music, News
And The Kids Amourasaurus at the Pines Theatre, Northampton, Aug. 30, 2015 I arrived to a clogged line outside the Pines Theatre at Look Park in Northampton. I would have been restless standing there in the heat if not for the Winterpills’ weepy, wrenching harmonies...
by Amanda
Drane | Sep 1, 2015 | Arts, Leisure, Music, News, Wellness
Sometimes you just gotta dance. No one gets this quite like you, college student. Many more seasoned adults are too tired or they just downright don’t want to be around a bunch of sweaty people anymore. I don’t ever want to grow up and out of my desire to flail in...
by Gary Carra | Sep 1, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Music, Nightcrawler
Bands and eight balls. How cliche can you get? But egg ball? Do tell, Rubblebucket! “It’s basically a combination of dodgeball and volleyball,” the band explains of their favorite downtime game in the premiere webisode of Pamper The Band. And that’s exactly the type...
by Gary Carra | Aug 25, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Music, Nightcrawler
Since he’s a lifelong Valley resident — not to mention a veritable scene stalwart — one would think Jeff King would know his way around the area by now. The Crawler caught up with the journeyman musician to inquire about his recent radio appearance, however, and it...
by Hunter Styles | Aug 25, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music
Beach House Aug. 19, 2015 at Pearl Street Nightclub, Northampton A sweat lodge triggers mystical experiences, or so they say. I haven’t tried it, but Pearl Street’s crowded and steamy concert by Beach House last Wednesday got me pretty close. My glasses fogged up upon...
by Kristin Palpini | Aug 25, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, News
by Amanda Drane | Aug 19, 2015 | Arts, Music, News, Scene Here
PHOTO CREDIT: DANIELLE DESJARDINS At 9:30 p.m. on a Friday, the crowd at Hinge on Main Street in Northampton is packed like sardines, and the show doesn’t start for another half-hour or so. “Excuse me,” says a woman trying to push past those of us standing in front of...
by Gary Carra | Aug 19, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Featured, Music, Nightcrawler
The Apple Jam Roots Music Festival stems from what was once little more than a backyard picnic on a family property. On the back of the sonic spread that accompanied the annual Russell-based shindig, however, Apple has blossomed into a coveted festival stop for many a...
by Hunter Styles | Aug 19, 2015 | Arts, Music
Mac Demarco Another One (Captured Tracks) The shambling, gap-toothed Canadian rocker Mac Demarco makes what some have called “slacker rock,” and although that’s not a genre you see advertised in music stores, one listen to his fourth studio album confirms that...
by Gary Carra | Aug 12, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Music, Nightcrawler
Several songs into their Aug. 2 Hartford, Connecticut concert, the nu-metal shock rockers of Slipknot had a choice to make. Their bassist, Alessandro “Vman” Venturella, had just collapsed due to an “unknown medical emergency” (later to be diagnosed as severe...
by Gary Carra | Aug 4, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Columns, Music, Nightcrawler
She married into the first family of jazz, forever linking her to the Big Easy. In recent years, however, Kristin Neville says that she has reconnected with Basketball City U.S.A. And when community leader Evan Plotkin informed her that Springfield’s Hoop City...
by Hunter Styles | Aug 4, 2015 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music
Uncle Jerry’s Bands A psychedelic Saturday at the Gathering of the Vibes Fun fact: Bridgeport, Connecticut is the only city in America where Hula-Hoops cause more accidents than cars do. At least, that’s how it is once a year, at the sprawling fiesta in Seaside Park...
