Time to swing: Jazz drummer and South Hadley native Joe Farnsworth returns to the Valley for a concert honoring his idol, Max Roach
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...
Stagestruck: Curtain Up on Stage 3
While most theaters in our area remain closed, others are looking past Zoom for ways to offer in-person performances. Last week, as I was thinking about this tipping point between lockdown and relaunch, I got an unexpected invitation.
Stagestruck: In the Zoom Room, Part 2
Until the theaters open up again, a lot of hope, and a lot of creativity, reside in the Zoom Room. This week we can tune in to a play written for and about that now-ubiquitous cyber-stage, and an original video production that harks back to an era when live theater was still the predominant entertainment medium.
Stagestruck: In the Zoom Room, part 1
Phase Two of Massachusetts’ staged reopening started this week, lifting some restrictions on public activities such as dining, swimming and hairdressing (really??) but not on live performance. That no-no doesn’t lift till Phase Four, which won’t come along till late July at the earliest. Meanwhile, there’s Zoom.
Monte Belmonte Wines: Uncorked on Netflix
Written by Prentice Penny, Uncorked will, at the very least, teach you how to read a basic wine label. And it might touch that part of your heart that makes you miss your mama.
Stagestruck: Summer Stages – The prospects for live performance
The images flashing behind the glass wall of your TV or computer just can’t replace the permeable fourth wall of live performance. As summer approaches, theater folks are longing for the proverbial smell of the actors’ greasepaint and the roar of the in-person crowd. And some theaters are delivering.
A horrifying chapter from U.S. history: “Wilmington’s Lie” details white supremacist attack on African Americans in 1898
“Wilmington’s Lie” is one of the most disturbing and frightening books I’ve ever read. It should be required reading for whites who scoff at the idea of white privilege.
The virtual parlor room: Live-streamed shows organized by Signature Sounds net musicians $37,000
There are eight more shows scheduled at the moment between April 23 and May 21, including one with Northampton singer-songwriter Heather Maloney and another with Grammy winning singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Tim O’Brien.
‘We are still here’: Cancer Connection offers phone, online support during difficult time
As deadly as it has been, COVID-19 doesn’t have the historical track record of what has consistently been America’s second leading cause of death: cancer. Yet the novel coronavirus has certainly made matters more difficult for people struggling with cancer and for...
Valley Show Girl: Eavesdrop folk pop trio open up about their personal musical inspirations
I caught up with them recently to dive into their personal musical tastes and backgrounds. The trio pulled back the curtain a little to reveal what is on the inside of their inspiration.
Monte Belmonte Wines: #Pantsdrunk or “I could drink a case or two”
To ponder the memories that waft from a glass of wine. To savor what matters most. And it’s given some of us more time to get pantsdrunk with the people we love.
Sessions
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Basemental: For the Love of Buskers
In order to obtain a busking permit in Northampton, one must trek to the Department of Public Works, located on Route 9 close to Florence, and fill out an application with information such as your place of residence and pay a $25 fee every year.
The V-Spot: I Want a (Not Too) Open Relationship
Hi Yana!I’m a lady in a happy, healthy, committed relationship with a man. We have a good sex life but my sex drive is much higher than his. I’m also really into girls and have wanted to ask him for a long time how he would feel if I was Friends With Benefits with...
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Stagestruck: Happier Valley Comedy – Joy in the unexpected
Scott Braidman is giving me a tour of his workplace, the Hadley headquarters of Happier Valley Comedy, of which he’s the artistic director. It’s a bright, welcoming space in the Mill Valley Commons, a mixed-purpose building fronted by Route 9 and backed by cornfields....











