Uncategorized
by Advocate Staff | Apr 16, 2026 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, News, Uncategorized
By Domenic Poli Staff Writer A dream came true last year for Jamie Manning when he spent two days recording an original song in England after winning a competition that garnered 5,500 entries from — one could say — here, there and everywhere. The Greenfield resident...
by Advocate Staff | Apr 16, 2026 | Articles, Arts, Featured, News, Uncategorized
By Carolyn Brown Staff Writer It is rare to encounter a gigantic stuffed snake in a library, but a new exhibition makes it possible, showcasing the creature alongside other works crafted from scraps and repurposed fiber materials. The Fiberistas’ exhibition, “Bits and...
by Monte Belmonte | Apr 16, 2026 | Columns, Featured, Uncategorized
“That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” I’ll take some poetic license with ol’ Will Shakespeare: “That which we call a rosé by any other name would smell as sweet.” But here’s the thing: rosés aren’t always sweet, either in smell or in...
by Advocate Staff | Apr 8, 2026 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, News, Uncategorized
By Carolyn Brown For the Valley Advocate The Academy of Music recently launched two initiatives to make performances more accessible to guests with disabilities: a capital campaign to raise money for an assisted listening system, and a partnership with Valley Eye...
by Advocate Staff | Apr 8, 2026 | Articles, Arts, Featured, News, Uncategorized
By Carolyn Brown For the Valley Advocate On a recent Saturday morning in Florence, two friends were arguing over who would be the first to hug the other. “I’m gonna hug you, bro!” said Aaron Cantor. “I’m gonna hug you, bro!” said Joseph Goldin. The friends were...
by Advocate Staff | Apr 1, 2026 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, Uncategorized
By Sheryl Hunter For the Valley Advocate The lineup of the 2026 Green River Festival is evolving in the wake of international travel restrictions implemented by the Trump administration. DSP Shows recently announced that Nigerien band Etran de L’Aïr and Colombian...
by Advocate Staff | Apr 1, 2026 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, News, Uncategorized
By Carolyn Brown For the Valley Advocate Acclaimed folk-blues singer-songwriter Chris Smither, who lives in Amherst, never expected to be cast in a Netflix movie — and he certainly never expected to be part of a project that won an Oscar. “It’s pretty special, all the...
by Advocate Staff | Mar 20, 2026 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, News, Uncategorized
By Carolyn Brown For the Valley Advocate Growing up in western Massachusetts, local musician and “artivist” Indë Francis, who performs mononymously as Indë, lacked role models who could help them understand their identities. Now, with their new album, they’re honoring...
by Advocate Staff | Mar 20, 2026 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, News, Uncategorized
By Carolyn Brown For the Valley Advocate The roots music festival Back Porch Festival will return for its 12th year from Friday, March 27, to Sunday, March 29, with more than 60 performers at 12 venues throughout downtown Northampton. Two of those venues — Haze and...
by Advocate Staff | Mar 20, 2026 | Articles, Featured, Music, News, Uncategorized
By Carolyn Brown For the Valley Advocate Singer-songwriter Cass McCombs has gotten his fair share of critical acclaim. The Fader, a New York-based music and culture publication, called him “one of the greatest lyricists of our time.” BrooklynVegan, a New York...
by Advocate Staff | Mar 12, 2026 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, News, Uncategorized
By Sam Ferland For the Valley Advocate Most new businesses use scissors at ribbon cuttings to celebrate opening. When that business is a heavy metal music venue and bar combo, now open in the heart of Easthampton, it’s only fitting to use a sword instead. That...
by Advocate Staff | Mar 12, 2026 | Articles, Featured, News, Uncategorized
By Melissa Karen Sances For the Valley Advocate Sixteen years ago, Newton-born actress Amy Poehler’s character, Leslie Knope, the perpetually perky deputy director of the popular NBC mockumentary sitcom, “Parks and Recreation,” took her gal pals out for...
by Advocate Staff | Mar 6, 2026 | Arts, Featured, Uncategorized
By Carolyn Brown For the Valley Advocate Victor E. Everwin knew he might die at the Dark Magic School reunion — and he welcomed it. Fourteen years ago, he’d entered a time loop fueled by a “Dark Pact,” and only winning the “Most...
by Jarice Hanson | Mar 6, 2026 | Arts, Columns, Featured, Stage, Uncategorized
By Jarice Hanson For the Valley Advocate With Women’s History Month soon upon us, it makes sense to call attention to women who have changed the course of history. Names like Carrie Chapman Catt and Alice Paul may not be instantly recognizable, but when Shaina...
by Advocate Staff | Mar 6, 2026 | Featured, News, Uncategorized
By Sam Ferland For the Valley Advocate There are few people that get to say they turned their passion into a living. Sam R. Webber meticulously assembled his 1950 Harley Davidson Panhead seven years ago with parts he collected from various locations,...
by Advocate Staff | Mar 6, 2026 | Columns, Featured, Uncategorized
By Monte Belmonte For the Valley Advocate Western Mass. is known for a lot of things. Colleges. Asparagus. Apples. Lesbians. Basketball. But wine? Not as of yet. Beer? For sure. With stalwarts like Berkshire Brewing Company, The Northampton Brewery and The...
by Yana Tallon-Hicks | Mar 5, 2026 | Columns, Featured, Uncategorized
By Yana Tallon-Hicks For the Valley Advocate Dear Yana, I’m in a committed relationship with someone I care about deeply, and I’ve crossed a line I never thought I would — I’m having an affair. I love my partner and we have a real life together. And still, I’ve...
by Advocate Staff | Feb 20, 2026 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, News, Uncategorized
By Carolyn Brown For the Valley Advocate Nearly two years after reopening its doors following significant renovations, The Iron Horse Music Hall has turned its attention to improving its financial stability and recently launched a capital campaign with a...
by Advocate Staff | Feb 20, 2026 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, News, Uncategorized
By Erin-Leigh Hoffman For the Valley Advocate Greenfield residents Mark Schwaber and Ada Langford are spinning something new on Avenue A — a record store and cafe with a focus on community building around physical media in a sober and inclusive setting....
by Advocate Staff | Feb 20, 2026 | Columns, Featured, Music, Uncategorized
By Jennifer Levesque For the Valley Advocate Kaspar Hauser Live at Zone Art Center, Springfield, MA 4-24-1982 A few months ago I received a CD in the mail from Georgia. I ended up putting it aside for far too long. I already had a lineup of reviews to...
by Advocate Staff | Feb 5, 2026 | Articles, Arts, Featured, News, Uncategorized
By Carolyn Brown For the Valley Advocate Trips to South America helped a pair of lifelong best friends from Northampton realize a love of learning Spanish. Now, they’re turning that passion into an app to help other people learn the language and make connections. Reed...
by Advocate Staff | Feb 5, 2026 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, News, Uncategorized
By Carolyn Brown For the Valley Advocate The Valley has several of performance opportunities for adults, but a local festival wants to instead turn the spotlight on young performers. The Youth Performance Festival (YPF) will return for its seventh year this week with...
by Advocate Staff | Feb 3, 2026 | Articles, Arts, Featured, News, Uncategorized
By Carolyn Brown For the Valley Advocate Michael Cohen’s friends knew him for two things: making a life in pottery and being the life of the party. “He was very funny,” said Harriet Cohen, Michael’s ex-wife. “He could crack a joke … and he was much loved by everyone...
by Advocate Staff | Jan 23, 2026 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, News, Uncategorized
By CAROLYN BROWN For the Valley Advocate Last month, local folk singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Diana Daniels performed at the Parlor Room as part of First Night Northampton, an event in which she was one of more than 100 performers playing throughout...
by Melissa Karen Sances | Jan 15, 2026 | Articles, Arts, Featured, News, Stage, Uncategorized
By Melissa Karen Sances For the Valley Advocate Actor Kimberly Gaughan remembers taking her first step onto the stage. Technically, it was her mother’s aerobic step — it was the early ‘90s, after all — and its neon-pink-and-teal-striped surface beckoned her to rise....
by Advocate Staff | Jan 2, 2026 | Articles, Arts, Featured, News, Uncategorized
By CAROLYN BROWN For the Valley Advocate Fifteen years ago, Gabriel “Gabe” Levey’s life took a drastic turn when he had a seizure — his first of many. But rather than letting the diagnosis silence his career as a performer, the Northampton-based clowning...
by Melissa Karen Sances | Dec 31, 2025 | Articles, Arts, Featured, News, Uncategorized
By Melissa Karen Sances For the Valley Advocate If “Frankenstein” is ultimately about creation — and pulling back the curtain between marvel and manipulation — it’s only fitting that CinemaStorm’s upcoming screening of Guillermo del Toro’s movie will itself be an...
by Advocate Staff | Dec 29, 2025 | Articles, Arts, Featured, News, Uncategorized
By DON STEWART For the Valley Advocate A century ago, when women could be arrested for smoking in public and the manufacturing and distribution of alcohol was illegal, there was an artistic and social revolution in this country. You can view a wealth of Jazz Age...
by Melissa Karen Sances | Dec 26, 2025 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, News, Uncategorized
By Melissa Karen Sances For the Valley Advocate The black-and-white buddy comedy “Tallywacker” opens on Aleister, its star, a young man with brittle bone disease sitting in a wheelchair in downtown Northampton. Locals will recognize the actor as Jeremy Dubs, who is a...
by Jarice Hanson | Dec 26, 2025 | Arts, Columns, Featured, Theater Matters, Uncategorized
By Jarice Hanson For the Valley Advocate I recently noticed an article in a magazine for high school teachers titled: “The Last Real Thing: Why Theatre Might Be the Most Important Class of the 21st Century.” The author, Zach Dulli, claimed in his Nov. 22 article that...
by Advocate Staff | Dec 24, 2025 | Articles, Arts, Featured, News, Uncategorized
By Melissa Karen Sances For the Valley Advocate For Yana Tallon-Hicks, the “V-Spot” has been the epicenter of her career. The column she began for the Valley Advocate in 2010 has since spawned a sex therapy practice, her first book and a Tedx Talk in Vienna — not to...
by Advocate Staff | Dec 24, 2025 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, News, Uncategorized
By Erin-Leigh Hoffman For the Valley Advocate As Turn It Up! approaches its 30th anniversary, the music store is falling into the hands of a new, but not unfamiliar, owner. Founders Patrick Pezzati and Chandra Hancock are selling the business, which has locations in...
by Jennifer Levesque | Dec 24, 2025 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, News, Uncategorized
By Jennifer Levesque For the Valley Advocate Burial Grid “NORD Compendium” I’ve been following Adam Kozak’s musical career since we were both in high school. Dare I say, close to 25 years later, Kozak is still one of my favorite local musicians. His latest conquest,...
by Monte Belmonte | Dec 24, 2025 | Articles, Arts, Featured, News, Uncategorized
By Monte Belmonte For the Valley Advocate Perhaps Christmastime still has enough magic in it that small gestures toward peace can make us believe that peace is possible. And if that small gesture is drinking wine, count me in. Max Hastings in his book Catastrophe...
by Advocate Staff | Dec 19, 2025 | Articles, Arts, Featured, News, Uncategorized
By CAROLYN BROWN For the Valley Advocate Though filmmaker Rio Contrada no longer lives in Florence, he’s got plenty of love for his hometown — and he’ll be showing it off when he brings his debut feature-length film back to the Valley next week. Contrada will screen...
by Advocate Staff | Dec 12, 2025 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, News, Uncategorized
By CAROLYN BROWNFor the Valley Advocate After 18 years at the helm of the Academy of Music, executive director Debra J’Anthony has announced her retirement. J’Anthony started in her role at the Academy of Music in March of 2008. Her previous role was executive...
by Advocate Staff | Dec 12, 2025 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, News, Uncategorized
By ERIN-LEIGH HOFFMAN For the Valley Advocate MONTAGUE — As Turn It Up! approaches its 30th anniversary, the music store is falling into the hands of a new, but not unfamiliar, owner. Founders Patrick Pezzati and Chandra Hancock are selling the business, which has...
by Advocate Staff | Dec 11, 2025 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Music, News, Uncategorized
By MELISSA KAREN SANCESFor the Valley Advocate After two years of silence, the voices of the the Amherst Area Gospel Choir will rise again. On Saturday, Dec. 13, the group will present the Black Gospel Christmas Story at the Wesley Methodist Church in Hadley. The...
by Advocate Staff | Dec 5, 2025 | Arts, Featured, Music, Uncategorized
By CAROLYN BROWNFor the Valley Advocate Socks in the Frying Pan, the high-spirited, traditional music-playing trio from County Clare, Ireland, known for combining virtuosic musicianship with humor and charm and fervor for their roots, will soon grace the Iron Horse...
by Advocate Staff | Dec 1, 2025 | Articles, Arts, Featured, Uncategorized
By CAROLYN BROWN For the Advocate A dress designed in Holyoke recently made its way to the New York City premiere of “Wicked: For Good.” Fashion designer Joseph Charles, who co-owns Paper City Fabrics in Holyoke, created a dress for “Oz” collector and historian Tori...
by Advocate Staff | Dec 1, 2025 | Arts, Featured, Uncategorized
By Carolyn Brown For the Valley Advocate Thirteen-year-old Victoria Narvaez of Florence knows she’s a star — and she has a new song to prove it. Narvaez released her debut single, “I’m A Star,” at a listening party at her family’s business, Goodworks Coffee House in...
by Advocate Staff | Dec 1, 2025 | Arts, Featured, Uncategorized
By Domenic Poli For the Valley Advocate Those who missed the theatrical debut of “Swamped,” the new play written and directed by Wendell resident Court Dorsey, at the Wendell Meetinghouse in October can see it be performed in December in Hadley. “Swamped” centers...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 31, 2025 | Arts, Featured, Uncategorized
By CAROLYN BROWN For the Advocate When daily life seems to be speeding up, who wouldn’t love to learn “how to embrace the nuances of our experience, the beautiful and the ugly, with grace and reverence?” Or share a “cathartic experience of transcendence” in a safe and...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 31, 2025 | Featured, Uncategorized
By Allie Martineau and Brianna McCormickFor the Valley Advocate At the unofficial Northampton dog park on Burts Pit Road, tiny rocks trickle down the steep walking trail, followed by dogs of all sizes panting their way into the forest. As the trail levels out, the...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 23, 2025 | Arts, Featured, Uncategorized
By EMILEE KLEIN For the Valley Advocate Ken Crowley, Kaitlin Haslam and Ally Crowley are just like any other Granby family. But when they cross a wooden bridge by a willow tree somewhere in the town’s forest, suddenly, Ken, Kaitlin and Ally are no longer. But on this...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 23, 2025 | Featured, Food Booze and Beyond, Uncategorized
By Sam Ferland For the Valley Advocate The Oz (pronounced ounce) Club is the newest cannabis dispensary in Easthampton, a new branch from two owners who are already familiar with the cannabis industry. The dispensary located at 17 East St. not far from Route 5 has...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 23, 2025 | Arts, Featured, Uncategorized
By Samuel Gelinas For the Valley Advocate Love him or hate him, Donald Trump has a point: brutalism is “unpopular.” Last month the president and former luxury real estate developer issued an executive order calling for future federal buildings to steer clear of...
by Monte Belmonte | Oct 23, 2025 | Featured, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, Monte Belmonte Wines, Monte Belmonte Wines, Uncategorized
By Monte Belmonte For the Valley Advocate Cork taint! It’s just fun to say. But when it comes to drinking wine, it is a less fun experience. When casual wine drinkers think of wine “going bad,” they often talk about it turning to vinegar. If wine is way too old or...
by Jarice Hanson | Oct 23, 2025 | Arts, Featured, Stage, Theater Matters, Uncategorized
By Jarice Hanson For the Valley Advocate While the Berkshire Theatre Critics’ Association will be doling out the “Berkies” for outstanding performances and productions early next month, three of the major Berkshire theater anchors are concluding the 2025 summer season...
by Jennifer Levesque | Oct 23, 2025 | Arts, Featured, Mixtape, Music, Uncategorized
By Jennifer Levesque For the Valley Advocate There are some bands whose music stand the test of time. Whether it’s their toe-tapping melodies or poignant lyrics, some songs always resonate with new audiences. In the late ’70s when rock and pop music were getting a...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 10, 2025 | Arts, Featured, Uncategorized
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer A colorful exhibition of surrealist artworks layered with personal and cultural symbolism, “How to Bear the Unbearable Body: The Artwork of Emily Orling,” is up at the A.P.E. Gallery in Northampton through Saturday, Nov. 1. Though the...
by Advocate Staff | Oct 2, 2025 | Arts, Featured, Uncategorized
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer It’s not often that you see tattoo art on display in an art gallery, but a University of Massachusetts alum will soon change that with an upcoming exhibition. Alex Leon Sherker’s art show “Who Are You? Who Am AI?” will be at the Augusta...
by Advocate Staff | Sep 19, 2025 | Arts, Featured, Uncategorized
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Park Hill Orchard in Easthampton will host its eighth biennial Art in the Orchard exhibition, a half-mile sculpture trail on the orchard’s grounds, until Sunday, Nov. 30. The orchard itself is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, but the...
by Advocate Staff | Sep 12, 2025 | Featured, Uncategorized
By STEVE PFARRER For the Valley Advocate Along with Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and Kwame Ture, Rosa Parks is one of the celebrated names of the civil rights movement: the Montgomery, Alabama woman who refused to move from her seat on a bus in 1955, sparking a...
by Advocate Staff | Sep 12, 2025 | Arts, Featured, Music, Stage, Uncategorized
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer The Northampton Jazz Festival will return on Friday, Sept. 26, and Saturday, Sept. 27, for live jazz at a variety of downtown Northampton venues. This year’s headliner will be New York Voices, a vocal jazz quartet that began as an...
by Advocate Staff | Sep 5, 2025 | Featured, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, Uncategorized
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Foodies, rejoice: Taste of Northampton is almost here again — and it’s even bigger than last year. The food festival Taste of Northampton will return this year on Saturday, Sept. 13, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 14, from 11...
by Advocate Staff | Sep 5, 2025 | Arts, Featured, Music, Stage, Uncategorized
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer If you could exist inside any memory from your past as it happened around you, would you? The new opera “The Onion,” about an eponymous AI device that can bring back memories in an immersive way, will premiere at Amherst College’s Holden...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 29, 2025 | Featured, Stage, Uncategorized
By Hannah Bevis For the Valley Advocate All hope seems lost. The hero, the crowd favorite, Pedro “The Shot-Caller” Dones, lies defeated in the center of a wrestling ring. The crowd lining the walls of the upstairs room of the Pulaski Club in Easthampton is hushed as...
by Monte Belmonte | Aug 29, 2025 | Featured, Food + Booze, Food Booze and Beyond, Monte Belmonte Wines, Monte Belmonte Wines, Uncategorized
By Monte Belmonte For the Valley Advocate The somewhat suspect science that has told us for many years that “a little wine is good for you” seems to be going the way of leeching. When it comes to reliable medical advice, there has been some bad news for wine lovers....
by Jarice Hanson | Aug 29, 2025 | Arts, Featured, Stage, Theater Matters, Uncategorized
By Jarice Hanson For the Valley Advocate One of the most common terms in theater parlance is the “old chestnut.” This is a type of show that has been around a long time and often has themes, music, or values that are guaranteed to encourage potential audiences to...
