Traditional Irish band Socks in the Frying Pan brings high-energy music to Northampton
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...
She’d rather entertain: Queer icon Sandra Bernhard brings new show to the Iron Horse next week
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Through five decades in the entertainment industry, comedian, author, actress, and radio host Sandra Bernhard has done a lot – and, next weekend, she’ll bring that experience and love of performing to Northampton. Bernhard will be...
The mane event: New England Morgan Horse Show to return to Northampton
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Equestrians will flock to Northampton later this month to celebrate and show off their skills with Morgan horses, the official state horse of Massachusetts. From Monday, July 21, through Saturday, July 26, the New England Morgan Horse...
World of wonder: Walter Wick’s dynamic photographic illustrations at Norman Rockwell Museum
By DON STEWART For the Valley Advocate The dynamic images of photographic illustrator Walter Wick can be viewed through Oct. 26 in four galleries at Stockbridge’s Norman Rockwell Museum. An older generation may not recognize the Miami-based artist’s name, however....
Life’s a drag!: A day in the life of producer and queen, Magnolia Masquerade
By Hannah Bevis For the Valley Advocate On most days, Andrew Curran, better known as his drag persona Magnolia Masquerade, is a whirlwind of activity, brainstorming ideas for future shows, creating the props that will bring them to life, running the rehearsals with...
Brutal? No, beautiful: Holyoke artist Michael Karmody has found beauty — and a decent living — in concrete creations
By Samuel Gelinas Staff Writer Artist Michael Karmody knows a hard truth about concrete — that it is often associated with sidewalks and jails, not attractive things. But, serious question. What does concrete actually look like? For Karmody, the only serious answer...
Monte Belmonte Wines: What’s going on at Table & Vine in West Springfield?: Something fishy is afoot at the Big Y’s flagship location for fine wine
By Monte Belmonte For the Valley Advocate What is going on at Table & Vine in West Springfield? Given that you are reading a wine column, I assume you partake of the grape. Then you probably know that Table & Vine is the wines, beer and spirits branch of the...
Theater Matters with Jarice Hanson: Audience participation required: Three plays raise questions around moral integrity and point of view
By Jarice Hanson For the Valley Advocate Plays about difficult subjects, like the consequences of personal actions, politics, and social change, require more of the audience in terms of asking them to consider how their own sense of morality and moral integrity...
Mixtape: New heavy music to initiate summer: Reviewing Warm’s ‘Fastidium’ and TueTewsday’s ‘Shoulda Been Larz’
By Jennifer Levesque For the Valley Advocate Warm “Fastidium” The moment I pressed play on this album, I couldn’t stop listening to it. At home, mid-chore, I just sat there in a trance-like state until the last track ended. “Fastidium” is the latest release from local...
‘I’ve met friends in my books’: Eric Carle Museum celebrates author, illustrator Grace Lin with retrospective exhibition
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Florence-based author and illustrator Grace Lin is known for books like “Where the Mountain Meets the Moon” (for which she received a Newbery Honor in 2010), “The Gate, the Girl, and the Dragon,” “The Ugly Vegetables,” and “A Big Mooncake...
A food fest to feel good about: Inaugural Western Mass Vegan Food Fest is this Sunday
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer A new vegan food festival is about to take root in the Pioneer Valley. The inaugural Western Mass Vegan Food Fest will be at Abandoned Building Brewery in Easthampton on Sunday, June 15, from noon to 5 p.m. The vendor lineup includes...
Sessions
Check out our most recent performances in the playlist below, or click here to dig into interviews and related material!
A Cannabis Cafe Could be Coming to Easthampton with New State Regulations
Last week I sat down with Karima Rizk for a cup of coffee in her kitchen in Easthampton to discuss her new business, Cafe Vert. The coffee was like many other homebrewed cups of coffee: it was rich, balanced, and welcoming on the brisk December morning. But unlike...
Artwork from the ashes: Heather Maloney’s new album, ‘Exploding Star,’ was almost too personal to share
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Heather Maloney almost didn’t release her upcoming album, “Exploding Star,” to the public. An album born of grief and loss was too raw, too personal, to go public, she felt, so she kept it for herself. But when her closest friends and...
V-Spot: I Can’t Stop Masturbating to My Toxic Ex
No matter your masturbatory media’s subject matter, my advice for bucking the habit is the same: can you figure out what it is about him and these pictures and videos that turns your crank so hard?
Staff Picks: Saturns Return, Black Refractions, Mary Jane Jones, a dictionary talk for word nerds
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...
How to Fight Big Beer
Drinking craft beers is our one means of skirting the vortex of beer mega-mergers.
Stagestruck: The Artist and the Rebel
Andy Warhol visited Iran in 1976. What if, in the ferment that preceded the Islamic revolution in 1979, the presence of the world-famous artist had inspired an insurgent group to kidnap him in order to gain publicity for their cause – their own 15 minutes of fame?
