Art imitates life: ‘Swamped,’ a play bridging social divides, to be performed in Hadley
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...
New dispensary brings unique outlet model: Oz Club is Easthampton’s fifth cannabis shop
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...
Brutalism’s legacy looms large: With Trump calling for return to classical federal architecture, concrete campus landmarks highlight beauty, function
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...
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! 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...
Theater Matters with Jarice Hanson: Berkshires close an outstanding theatrical season: Signs of rich regional productions ahead
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...
Mixtape: ‘Let the Good Times Roll’: Eddie Japan with Greg Hawkes, playing the music of The Cars
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...
Painting into the depths of motherhood: ‘How to Bear the Unbearable Body: The Artwork of Emily Orling’ is at the A.P.E. Gallery through Nov. 1
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...
You are what you ink: UMass exhibition blurs lines between art, tattoos, and identity
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...
Apples and art, the perfect autumn afternoon?: Eighth biennial Art in the Orchard on view at Park Hill Orchard
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...
The battle for equality goes back nearly two centuries: New book examines efforts by Black Americans to fight segregation in public transport
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...
A farewell tour in four-part harmony: New York Voices headline Northampton Jazz Fest, culminating two days of live music, Sept. 26 & 27
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...
Sessions
Check out our most recent performances in the playlist below, or click here to dig into interviews and related material!
O Cannabis: Bedtime weed to treat insomnia and sleep apnea
Some say it works, and research is being done on connections between weed and sleep.
Sci-fi or not so far-fetched?: New opera ‘The Onion’ explores the power and perils of AI-driven memory retrieval
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...
The V-Spot with Yana Tallon-Hicks: I’m Threatened By My Girlfriend’s Masturbation Habits
Hey Yana, I’ve been in a serious relationship for almost two years now and am only now feeling strong flare-ups of intense insecurity around sex. My partner and I have been having sex every day at least once a day, if not two or three, consistently for the...
Emily Nagoski has done the research: It’s ok to love your body
By Melissa Karen Sances For the Valley Advocate "Emily’s mission in life is to teach women to live with confidence and joy inside their bodies." This sentence mesmerized me. It’s an assured statement about a complicated topic: body image and sexuality, and it is the...
The Beerhunter: 2020 Brew Years Resolutions
Across America, the craft beer scene is fizzing with activity. Food and drink options have expanded at taprooms, many of which are finding ways of attracting a daytime crowd by showcasing new skills like coffee roasting.
Stagestruck: Wit and Wile on the Riviera
As winter approaches, National Theatre Live serves up a summertime tonic (as in, gin and). The live-capture of “Much Ado About Nothing,” Shakespeare’s comedy of wit and wile, screens twice this month at Amherst Cinema, the Valley’s indispensable film house.
