Staff Picks
by Advocate Staff | Sep 29, 2023 | Arts, Featured, Staff Picks, Uncategorized
By STEVE PFARRER Staff Writer From the pages of a 17th century Algonquin-language Bible, to a 2021 painting that celebrates the majesty of whales, a new exhibit at the Mead Art Museum at Amherst College devoted to Native American art is built around the theme of...
by Advocate Staff | Sep 22, 2023 | Arts, Featured, Music, Staff Picks, Stage, Uncategorized
By STEVE PFARRER Staff Writer Max Roach is celebrated as one of the most influential drummers in jazz history, a pioneer of Bebop who led groundbreaking ensembles in every decade of his long career. As a drummer and a composer, he’s credited with making drums a more...
by Advocate Staff | Sep 8, 2023 | Arts, Featured, Leisure, Staff Picks, Uncategorized
By DON STEWART For the Advocate A short drive from downtown Lenox, you travel past ornamental wrought iron gates and enter into the former Gilded Age estate of “Brookhurst.” You’re first greeted by a voluptuous two-and-a-half-ton reclining female figure sculpted by...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 25, 2023 | Arts, Featured, Music, News, Staff Picks, Stage, Uncategorized
By STEVE PFARRER Staff Writer Joe Farnsworth was 10 or 11 when he got the chance to meet a drumming legend: Max Roach. It was at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, in 1979, where Roach taught. Farnsworth, who grew up in South Hadley, remembers how one of his...
by Jarice Hanson | Aug 25, 2023 | Arts, Featured, Staff Picks, Stage, Theater Matters
By JARICE HANSON For the Advocate This has been a summer of some outstanding theater opportunities for audiences to become reacquainted with familiar company names that may have been on hiatus over the past couple of years (due to that pesky pandemic that has kept...
by Robin Goldstein | Aug 25, 2023 | Featured, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, Staff Picks, Wellness
By ROBIN GOLDSTEIN For the Advocate When you were studying for your driver’s license exam, you might have had to memorize the claim that a 12-ounce beer, a 5-ounce glass of wine, and a 1.5-ounce shot of tequila would each get you equally drunk. In the years since, you...
by Melissa Karen Sances | Aug 25, 2023 | Featured, Staff Picks, Wellness
By MELISSA KAREN SANCES For the Advocate Ten heavy bags stood at attention on Theresa Allen’s front lawn, while 7 women surrounded a card table just off the driveway, wrapping their hands and gloving up. My new cardio kickboxing instructor greeted me warmly and...
by Jennifer Levesque | Aug 25, 2023 | Arts, Featured, Mixtape, Music, Review, Staff Picks, Stage, Uncategorized
By JENNIFER LEVESQUE For the Advocate Years ago, the late musician Ted Pratt made a Facebook post stating he wanted to start a thrash band and call it “Uzi Jacuzzi.” Intrigued, vocalist and guitarist Tristan Jorud reached out to Pratt and the two got together that...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 11, 2023 | Arts, Featured, Staff Picks, Stage, Uncategorized
By STEVE PFARRER Staff Writer Edgy. Sardonic and deadpan. Willing to joke about difficult subjects. Willing to joke about himself. As Sam Morril sees it, pretty much anything is fair game for comedy, at least as an antidote to the news and to life in general. “It’s a...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 4, 2023 | Arts, Featured, Staff Picks
By STEVE PFARRER Staff Writer As a painter, he’s got a great eye for color, lots of energy, and a self-taught technique that lends itself to subjects like music, pop culture, history, current events and fantasy. He’s also got a colorful pen name, so to speak, to go...
by Advocate Staff | Jul 31, 2023 | Food + Booze, Review, Staff Picks, Uncategorized
By DOMENIC POLI STAFF WRITER To all of you out there reading this online or in print, there is something I desperately need to confess: For a portion of my July, I have been drinking on the job. But, in my defense, my editor told me to. The number of craft breweries...
by Advocate Staff | Jul 17, 2023 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Staff Picks, Stage
By EMILY THURLOW For the Advocate Whether he’s sporting villainous Maleficent-style horns, channeling his inner witch dressed as Winifred Sanderson, twirling in a red-and-black polka-dot a-line dress or lounging around in a raglan T-shirt, Aaron Johnson is still,...
by Advocate Staff | Jul 17, 2023 | Columns, Featured, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, Review, Staff Picks, Uncategorized
By ROBIN GOLDSTEIN For the Advocate I don’t know anything about weed gummies. I warned my editors about this. They shrugged and reminded me that I was a food columnist, so gummies were my territory. I nodded slowly. My gummy quest began with an educational visit to a...
by Advocate Staff | Mar 5, 2020 | Articles, Featured, Staff Picks
Loundon Wainwright III at the Iron Horse // Saturday There are few songwriters who have raided their family history as much as Loudon Wainwright III — and even fewer who have done it as successfully. Like a guy on the proverbial psychiatrist’s couch, the veteran...
by Advocate Staff | Feb 27, 2020 | Articles, Featured, Staff Picks
Celseigh’s Album Release Party at the 413 // FRIDAY Doom ballad folk and outlaw country inspired artist (and Valley Advocate Sessions alumna) Celseigh will be releasing her debut album, “Ghosts’ Stories,” at the 413 in Easthampton this Friday. The show will also...
by Advocate Staff | Feb 20, 2020 | Articles, Featured, Staff Picks
Fundraiser for The Wet’suwet’en Nation at Majestic Saloon // FRIDAY The Majestic Saloon and Lupinewood, a trans sanctuary in Greenfield, are holding a fundraiser for the Wet’suwet’en Nation, an indigenous group in the British Columbia region. The Wet’suwet’en Nation...
by Advocate Staff | Feb 13, 2020 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Staff Picks
Shea Lobby Series Presents: Sweet Lightning, Wallace Field, and Hawthorn // SUNDAY Boston-based duo Hawthorn, made up by Heather Scott and Taylor Holland, blend their voices expertly in arrangements that tackle themes of maternity, divorce, parenting, and healing from...
by Advocate Staff | Feb 6, 2020 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, Staff Picks
Left Hand Backwards, Lobotomobile, The Freqs, and Sciencefight at 13th Floor Music Lounge // SATURDAY Palmer-based punk and metal group Left Hand Backwards celebrates its 10th anniversary as a band this Saturday in Florence at the 13th Floor Music Lounge. Joining them...
by Advocate Staff | Jan 16, 2020 | Articles, Featured, Music, Staff Picks
Saturns Return: An Immersive Movement Experience // FRIDAY The Root Cellar in Greenfield is hosting an event titled “Saturns Return: An Immersive Movement Experience,” which, according to the Facebook event, includes a hero’s journey, dancing, live music, advice for...
by Advocate Staff | Jan 10, 2020 | Articles, Featured, Staff Picks
Bodies in Motion Festival 2020 in Northampton // THURSDAY-SUNDAY For the second January in a row, the Bodies in Motion Festival brings a wide range of dance performances, workshops, residencies, and other artistic events to Northampton’s Community Arts Center at 33...
by Advocate Staff | Jan 2, 2020 | Articles, Featured, Staff Picks
Ray Mason at Bread Euphoria // SATURDAY Kick off the New Year with one of the Valley’s best-seasoned singer-songwriters — Ray Mason — along with his iconic Silvertone guitar. Mason has been performing in the western Massachusetts music scene for decades and this...
by Advocate Staff | Dec 27, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Staff Picks
Moon Hooch at Hawks & Reed // FRIDAY Moon Hooch makes a big sound with just a few instruments. The band is made up of a drummer and two saxophonists, and when my friend described them to me a few years back, I thought, how much can you do with that arrangement?...
by Advocate Staff | Dec 19, 2019 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, Staff Picks
Books, music and a birthday at Federal St. Books // SATURDAY There are few better things to celebrate than the re-opening of a bookstore, and such a celebration comes to us this weekend when Federal St. Books has its grand reopening under the ownership of Hillary...
by Advocate Staff | Dec 12, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Staff Picks
Lush Honey, Spinelli, and Honeycomb at the Sierra Grille // THURSDAY The Buzz, A Honey Pot Production along with Reanimate the Bay State will be hosting a show at the Sierra Grille in Northampton this Thursday featuring soul and funk quartet Lush Honey, guitar,...
by Advocate Staff | Dec 5, 2019 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, Staff Picks
Mad Habits, Ananda Luna, and The Hanged Man at Majestic Saloon // SUNDAY This Sunday at Majestic Saloon in Northampton will feature the musical stylings of progressive folk quartet Mad Habits, experimental and world fusion artist Ananda Luna as well as Bella’s Bartok...
by Advocate Staff | Nov 29, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Staff Picks
Jalbatross at Bishop’s Lounge// FRIDAY Shake off your Thanksgiving food coma with the 7th Annual Jalbatross Post-Thanksgiving music party. The band is led by brothers Ryan Jalbert (the Motet) and Colin Jalbert joined with local musicians Darby Wolf and Reed Sutherland...
by Advocate Staff | Nov 21, 2019 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, Staff Picks
The Leafies You Gave Me Album Release Concert // SATURDAY Writer by day, surrealist operatic musical powerhouse by night Chris Goudreau is one of the core members of The Leafies You Gave Me, a 10-piece music and drama group that prides itself on putting on a...
by Advocate Staff | Nov 14, 2019 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, Staff Picks
Ona Canoa EP Release Show at the Shea Theater // SATURDAY Advocate Sessions alumni and folk trio Ona Canoa will be releasing their first record this Saturday, a debut extended play (EP) titled “Good Dream.” With that milestone in the bag, they’ll be celebrating the...
by Advocate Staff | Nov 7, 2019 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, Staff Picks
Lilith of the Valley: Sea of Change // SATURDAY “Lilith of the Valley,” a music series celebrating female artists, musicians, and business owners in the Pioneer Valley (presented by PRIA Music Marketing), returns for its sixth series this Saturday at Bishop’s Lounge...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 31, 2019 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, Staff Picks
The Scary Jane Jones at Progression Brewing // THURSDAY On Halloween night, be prepared to lose your soul to The Scary Jane Jones, the All Hallows Eve alter ego of local vintage soul band The Mary Jane Jones, which is putting on a special spooky show of two sets at...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 24, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Staff Picks
LuxDeluxe at Abandoned Building Brewery // SATURDAY Some debate who was greater, the Stones or the Beatles? But for those who want a little taste of both, you can check out LuxDeluxe at their Halloween show at Abandoned Building. They’ve got the harmonies, bright but...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 17, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Staff Picks
Smokey Robinson at Symphony Hall in Springfield // FRIDAY Legendary singer and Motown hero Smokey Robinson is heading to Springfield this Friday for a performance at Symphony Hall. Known for hits such as “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me.” and “The Tracks of My Tears,”...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 10, 2019 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, Staff Picks
The Royal Frog Ballet’s Surrealist Cabaret // FRIDAY, SATURDAY, SUNDAY Framed as a sunset walk through Park Hill Orchard in Easthampton, the Royal Frog Ballet’s Surrealist Cabaret is a collection of performances which in the past have included music, puppetry,...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 3, 2019 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, Staff Picks
Mill River Rounders at Mill 180 Park // Friday The Mill River Rounders will be bringing its blend of banjo, washtub bass, and guitar old-timey/bluegrass stylings to Easthampton’s Mill 180 Park this Friday night. Mill 180 features lawn games and a cafe, which works...
by Advocate Staff | Sep 26, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Staff Picks
Spanish guitarist Tony Silva at Progression Brewing // THURSDAY Easthampton resident and phenomenal Spanish guitarist Tony Silva is one of the Valley’s true artistic gems. He’s been playing acoustic guitar for more than 40 years and his influenced by everything from...
by Advocate Staff | Sep 19, 2019 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, Staff Picks
Out! For Reel LGBTQ Film Fest // SATURDAY Out! For Reel screens films featuring LGBTQ issues throughout the year, and this latest collection looks to be a great one. Showing both shorts and a featurette, the evening at the Academy of Music will have a film about a...
by Advocate Staff | Sep 12, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Staff Picks
Millpond.Live & Easthampton Irish Festival // SATURDAY This Saturday marks the return of Easthampton’s Irish Fest to close out this season of Millpond.Live. The free outdoor music series at Millside Park will bring a blend of Irish, Scottish, and French Canadian...
by Advocate Staff | Sep 5, 2019 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, Staff Picks
Midsommar: Director’s Cut at Amherst Cinema // THURSDAY My favorite film of the summer is director Ari Aster’s sophomore film, “Midsommar,” a folk-horror movie in the vein of classic 1973 British horror flick, “The Wickerman.” Without spoiling too much, this is a...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 15, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Staff Picks
The True Jacqueline, Hot Dirt, and Brief Irmen // SATURDAY Some of the Valley’s best local bands are set to play the Ashfield Lakehouse this Saturday. There’s alternative/ noise rock band The True Jacqueline as well as Hot Dirt, which combines progressive and math...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 8, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Staff Picks
Free Millside Movies: The Goonies // SATURDAY Everyone knows the best things in life are free, and movies are no exception. Why spend your money at the theater when you could get this dose of nostalgia for free? Take your kids to experience the Goonies’ treasure hunt...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 1, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Staff Picks
Ray Mason at the Whately Public Library // TUESDAY The Pioneer Valley’s own local legend, Ray Mason, who is also an Advocate Sessions alum, will be performing this upcoming Tuesday at the Whately Public Library as part of its summer concert series. The outdoor show is...
by Advocate Staff | Jul 25, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Staff Picks
Massachusetts Renaissance Faire in Cummington // FRIDAY & SATURDAY I’ve never actually been to a Renaissance Faire before, and this one seems like a great one to check out. There will be live jousting, fire breathers, and, I assume based on all images I’ve ever...
by Advocate Staff | Jul 18, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Staff Picks
Colorway’s Last Show // THURSDAY, 7/18 If you haven’t heard Colorway yet, or if you’re a diehard fan, this is a must-see show before Alex Johnson heads off to Japan. 6:30 – 8 p.m. Free. Florence Civic Center, 90 Park St., Florence. info@colorwaymusic.com. — Dave...
by Advocate Staff | Jul 11, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Staff Picks
Folk Duo Tours to Shows by Bike // THURSDAY Fiddler Lissa Schneckenburger and her husband Corey DiMario are playing a series of shows they plan to get to on their bikes. They’ll be loading up their electrical gear, child, and instruments onto cargo bikes and peddling...
by Advocate Staff | Jul 5, 2019 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, Staff Picks
Brazilian folk-pop with Sessa at Historic Northampton // SATURDAY Historic Northampton will kick off its Parsons Lawn Concert Series with Brazilian folk-pop artist Sessa this Saturday, who will be accompanied with three vocalists and a percussionist. Sessa is a...
by Advocate Staff | Jun 27, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Staff Picks
Happy Valley Guitar Orchestra at Hawks & Reed // FRIDAY, June 28 The Valley’s own premier guitar orchestra extraordinaire will be performing a show in Greenfield this Friday at Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center. The guitar orchestra is made up of 15...
by Advocate Staff | Jun 20, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Staff Picks
Sam’s Folk Club: 1967 // FRIDAY You won’t need a TARDIS or a Delorean to travel back in time to the 1960s on Friday. The Shea Theater in Turners Falls and Eggtooth Productions will be hosting its swingin’ 1960s folk club as part of its Sam’s Club series. It’s a...
by Advocate Staff | Jun 13, 2019 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, Staff Picks
Drag Brunch with Hors and Friends for Franklin County Pride at Hawks & Reed // SATURDAY You can support Franklin County Pride and your local drag queens on Saturday morning in downtown Greenfield with a special drag brunch featuring the always magnificent and...
by Advocate Staff | Jun 6, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Staff Picks
Ona Canoa’s “Resonate” show at Pushkin Gallery // SATURDAY Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center is starting a new “Resonate” series, which takes place in the three-story marble building at Pushkin Gallery in downtown Greenfield. Western Mass folk trio Ona Canoa is...
by Advocate Staff | May 30, 2019 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Staff Picks
Global Groove Fest // FRIDAY Multi-instrumentalist Matthew King organized a mini festival celebrating the musical roots of Caribbean culture. King’s musical project, soulful fusion band TapRoots, are slated to perform. Also on board to perform, the Valley’s ska jazz...
by Advocate Staff | May 23, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Staff Picks
X at Gateway City Arts // SATURDAY Legendary punk band X is heading to Gateway City Arts in Holyoke this weekend. Never heard of X? Get ready to hear one of the most influential first wave punk bands of the late 1970s, which continues to play songs new and old to...
by Advocate Staff | May 16, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Staff Picks
Acid Dad, Receivers, Phenomena 256, and Hot Flakes at Hawks & Reed // SATURDAY It’s a night of psychedelic rock n’ roll, experimental music, and a little bit of emo thrown in for good measure at Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center in Greenfield this Saturday....
by Advocate Staff | May 9, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Music, Staff Picks
Weege & The Wondertwins Album Release Show // FRIDAY, 5/10 Weege & The Wondertwins’ sophomore album “Do I Seem Weird Lately?” is a gem to your ears. It’s strong and sophisticated and one of those albums you can put on to instantly change your mood. On Friday,...
by Advocate Staff | May 2, 2019 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, Staff Picks
Motherhood Out Loud at STCC // FRIDAY-SATURDAY Stagestruck columnist Chris Rohmann recently wrote about this production and described this play as 14 vignettes that “traverse the full terrain of the mom experience, from the throes of labor to the empty nest.” While...
by Advocate Staff | Apr 25, 2019 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, Staff Picks
Opal Canyon album release @ The Parlor Room // FRIDAY, 4/26 A little bit country, a little bit psychedelic rock and a lot of heart and soul. Valley supergroup Opal Canyon are releasing their debut album, “Beauty and Loss,” this Friday at The Parlor Room. The group is...
by Advocate Staff | Apr 18, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Staff Picks
Christa Joy & the Honeybees / Rosie Porter & the Neon Moons at the Ashfield Lake House // SATURDAY, 4/20 Two great local country-folk singers will be performing at the Ashfield Lake House this Saturday from 8 to 11 p.m. Both Christa Joy and Rosie Porter are...
by Advocate Staff | Apr 11, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Get Out With Staff Picks, Staff Picks
Kalliope Jones & Moving Day at the Stone Church // FRIDAY, April 12 Two great local bands and past Advocate Sessions groups will be performing at the Stone Church in Brattleboro this Friday. Kalliope Jones is a teenage post-rock group with rich vocal harmonies and...
by Advocate Staff | Apr 4, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Staff Picks
DakhaBrakha @ Gateway City Arts // TUESDAY, April 9 When I got the press release for this show a couple weeks ago, I was immediately intrigued by their name and their look. World music quartet, DakhaBrakha from Kiev, Ukraine, are bringing their unique style to Western...
by Advocate Staff | Mar 28, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Staff Picks
The NoHo Hoedown at the Iron Horse // FRIDAY The newly created Valley Twang Cooperative is bringing a night of local roots music to the Iron Horse Music Hall on Friday featuring three bands. There’s rockabilly/ country group Flathead Rodeo, Americana acoustic string...
by Advocate Staff | Mar 21, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Get Out With Staff Picks, Staff Picks
Goblet and Jeopardy at The Perch // THURSDAY Mar. 21 Thrashy Thirsty Thursday! The top floor of the Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center in Greenfield is a nice open spot for some pits. Western Mass bastard thrasher’s Goblet and Brattleboro’s thrash metalist’s...
