Monte Belmonte Wines: Everything you ever wanted to know about cork taint: To wine snobs, cork taint smells like wet newspaper
By Monte Belmonte For the Valley Advocate Cork taint! Itâs just fun to say. But when it comes to drinking wine, it is a less fun experience. When casual wine drinkers think of wine âgoing bad,â they often talk about it turning to vinegar. If wine is way too old or...
Holy Smokes Theatre lands in the Valley: Newly relocated theater company to stage queer âerotic horror comedyâ at Easthamptonâs CitySpace this weekend
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Holy Smokes Theatre, which used to be based in southern New Hampshire, now has a home in the Pioneer Valley â and theyâre debuting a new show here this weekend. The theater company, led by founder Wren Hannah, will premiere an original...
âSpace is the placeâ: Sun Ra Arkestra plays the Academy of Music, May 18
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Legendary Afrofuturist bandleader, composer, and musician Sun Ra had an eye on the cosmos. Though he passed away in 1993, the members of his 13-person musical ensemble, the Sun Ra Arkestra, have since kept his legacy alive through shows...
Block and roll: Roller Derby, the âsport for misfits,â finds a home in the Valley
By Hannah Bevis For the Valley Advocate The floor of Interskate 91 South is often filled with young skaters teetering around the track, but the athletes on it now are sure on their skates, focused and ready to battle. Two jammers sit poised, their bodies coiled in...
Mixtape: Feeling lucky: âSecond Tongueâ is the new album from local indie rockers The Lucky Shots
By Jennifer Levesque For the Valley Advocate Local musician Noam Schatz has been playing drums in bands since he was 14 years old. I took a look at his website for his band The Lucky Shots, and I was in awe: The list of bands heâs been in since the â90s is impressive....
Theater Matters with Jarice Hanson: Budget cuts canât kill culture: Highlighting two local productions that bring us hope
By Jarice Hanson For the Valley Advocate When Donald Trump announced he was assuming control of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, many nervous jokes were made to cover up the fear of what could come next. My vote for the best parody goes to Eddie Feldmann...
Monte Belmonte Wines: What will Trumpâs tariffs mean for wine prices? Local experts voice predictions, as tariffs continue to be a moving target
By Monte Belmonte For the Valley Advocate "Godspeed, everyone. May your supplier discounts be generous, and may wine on the water be saved by the powers that be.â It was a striking quote on a Facebook Group that I follow called the US Wine Trade Alliance. I initially...
Resonating through generations: Lady Pills releases new concept album, âRenowned in the Roaring Twentiesâ
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer A recording artist is connecting her familyâs western Massachusetts roots to her new album. Lady Pills, the solo indie pop/alt-rock project of multi-instrumentalist Ella Boissonnault, released the album âRenowned in the Roaring Twentiesâ...
The ills of a billion-dollar enterprise: The slow-death of the cannabis industry, and what might be done to reverse the trend
By Gabriel OâHara Salini For the Valley Advocate The Massachusetts cannabis industry is a billion-dollar enterprise, with over 700 retailers operating across the state. Yet stores are closing, companies are firing their workers and retail and non-retail licenses are...
Reel talent: Easthampton Film Festival returns for fourth year, May 1-4
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Easthampton Film Festival will return for its fourth year from Thursday, May 1, through Sunday, May 4, bringing with it a slate of movies that were created, in large part, by local filmmakers. This yearâs lineup includes a screening of...
âWeâre here! Weâre queer! Weâre ready to cheer!â: New queerleading team hopes to perform at queer sporting events in the Valley
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer A new group of âqueerleadersâ in Northampton wants to lift up the LGBTQ community â in more ways than one. On Sunday, a group of about 20 people gathered at Veterans Field in Northampton to set up a new team of queer cheerleaders who...
Sessions
Check out our most recent performances in the playlist below, or click here to dig into interviews and related material!
O, Cannabis! Get Weed Now â No Medical Card Required, if you know where to go
He explains that the place I am in is like a club. There is a âcover chargeâ to get in: $20 for basic admission and $50 for VIP. With the $20 admission, you can select a free gram from any of the available strains or get a cannabis-infused chocolate bar. For $50, you can choose three grams.
Rock for all: Whole Childrenâs resident Friendship Band to perform alongside indie rockers Yo La Tengo at 20th anniversary concert, The Bash, Oct. 23
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer The Northampton organization Whole Children, which serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, will celebrate its 20th anniversary with indie rock band Yo La Tengo at 33 Hawley on Wednesday, Oct. 23, at 6:30 p.m. At...
V-Spot: Are Condoms Even Good?
Condoms are… good when weâre good at using them.
Staff Picks: Ona Canoa, Zoë Darrow, Mandolin Orange, (Sandy) Alex G
Advocate Sessions alumni and folk trio Ona Canoa will be releasing their first record this Saturday, a debut extended play (EP) titled âGood Dream.â
The Beerhunter: From Homebrew to Hotspot
Two Weeks Notice Brewing Company is set to open in Westfield.
Stagestruck: From Silver Screen to Holiday Stage
Two shows based on classic holiday movies are brightening area stages this season. In Pittsfield, Berkshire Theatre Group offers the stage adaptation of the 1954 blockbuster “White Christmas,” and Hartford Stage Company has moved “Itâs a Wonderful Life” into an old-time radio studio.
