Back Porch Festival returns with 60-plus performers at 12 Northampton venues
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...
The Rockwell captures the riotous color, glamour and sophistication of the Jazz Age: More than 140 original works electrify the galleries
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...
Grappling with how society responds to disability: Rock-and-roll musical comedy ‘Tallywacker’ filmed in Northampton, Easthampton and Greenfield
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...
The V-Spot with Yana Tallon-Hicks: My partners want to date each other
Hi Yana, I started dating my boyfriend Jules (they/them) in March of this year and we've been having a lovely time. They've been polyamorous for a while and we've agreed on a non-hierarchical relationship. It's been quite easy, and very dreamy to build a relationship...
Theater Matters with Jarice Hanson: What do kids learn when they study performing arts?
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...
Our pleasure-positive sex column, the ‘V-Spot,’ is back: Here’s a refresher on the author, Yana Tallon-Hicks
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...
From manager to owner: Turn It Up! music store founders sell business to longtime employee
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...
Mixtape: The darkness is coming: New releases from Burial Grid and Eyrie House Ruins
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,...
A toast to tranquility: Supporting farmers, winemakers from Ukraine with spirits from State Street
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...
Rio Contrada’s debut film ‘Splinter’ screening in Northampton benefits local mental health services
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...
‘I have enjoyed it all, truly’: Academy of Music’s Debra J’Anthony announces her retirement
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...
Sessions
Check out our most recent performances in the playlist below, or click here to dig into interviews and related material!
O’ Cannabis!: An interactive map of marijuana moratoriums and bans in Pioneer Valley
What color is your community?
Grappling with how society responds to disability: Rock-and-roll musical comedy ‘Tallywacker’ filmed in Northampton, Easthampton and Greenfield
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...
The V-Spot: How to break the habit of not having sex
Is there an answer to finding ways to overcome the constant struggle of life and keep our sexual connection strong?
End of summer mixtape: A selection of some of my favorite recent releases from Oozie, VIDEORENTAL and Pamela Means
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...
Last-Minute Gift Guide: Learn to Homebrew at Beerology
It’s likely you know someone who wants to know more about brewing and wine making, and the perfect gift for them might be signing them up for classes to learn just that.
Stagestruck: Turning in the Keys
After a boundary-busting 30-year run, the Ko Festival of Performance is coming to a close with two final shows: a meditation on legacies and “an environmental, cultural and spiritual parable of domination and resilience.”
