Music in the sky: Summit House Sunset Concert Series returns to its 173-year-old home
By PAIGE HANSON For the Advocate For the first time in two years, The Friends of Mount Holyoke Range have returned the Summit House Sunset Concert Series to its namesake, Skinner State Park’s historic Summit House. The Summit House, which sits at a 935-foot elevation...
Mixtape: Bucket list concerts: Big names on tour this summer
By Jennifer Levesque For the Valley Advocate Everyone should have a bucket list of concerts they want to go to before, ya know, the end — artists you’ve been in love with since you can remember, or just for the ‘Wow, I can't believe I saw them’ factor. If live music...
Monte Belmonte Wines: Not quite wine country: Tasting notes from a trip to Córdoba, Spain
By Monte Belmonte For the Valley Advocate As a self-proclaimed wine snob, I admit that it is shameful that I have never been to any “wine country,” in any country, anywhere. Since grapes can grow in virtually every country, meaning wine could be made in virtually...
Live from Argentina: Acclaimed tango guitarists to play in Northampton for dancers and music lovers alike
By STEVE PFARRER Staff Writer If you go to a milonga, or social dance, to do tango dancing in Buenos Aires, you’ll likely be doing it to live music. In western Massachusetts? No so much. Now, though, Western Mass Tango, which has hosted tango lessons and dances in the...
Rattling those musical bones: Folk/blues veteran Chris Smither releases his 20th album ahead of 80th birthday
By STEVE PFARRER Staff Writer When Chris Smither found his live gigs shut down during the worst months of COVID-19, he figured it might at least be a good opportunity to write some new songs — something the veteran folk/blues singer and guitarist admits is not the...
The Iron Horse rides again: The storied Northampton club will reopen at last, May 15
By STEVE PFARRER Staff Writer In late March, the fabled Iron Horse Music Hall, slated to reopen in mid May, was still a pretty raw construction site. Boards, pipes, boxes, and other materials were piled on the floors, along the walls, and on tables. Extension cords to...
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...
Mixtape: Reviews of 3 new releases and where to catch the bands play
By Jennifer Levesque For the Valley Advocate Hero and the Horror, “Old Ghosts” Western Mass’ Hero and the Horror recently released their first full length album, which was highly anticipated by the local music scene. The band had a handful of shows recently leading up...
Monte Belmonte Wines: Shelburne Falls is western Mass wine country
By Monte Belmonte For the Valley Advocate The Bridge of Flowers may be closed to tourists this year but I can think of another great reason to visit Shelburne Falls — bowling! But this is a wine column. So, I’ll start again. The Bridge of Flowers may be closed to...
Should weed be legal? A Socratic dialogue with a prohibitionist
By Robin Goldstein For the Valley Advocate As an economist studying the weed industry, I end up in a lot of policy discussions with people who do not believe that weed should be legal. Their points are often fair, well reasoned, thought-provoking, and deserve to be...
Theater Matters with Jarice Hanson: Valley theater companies and audiences grow: Attracting new audiences has become an art in itself
By Jarice Hanson For the Valley Advocate In this next year, theater goers from Hartford to the Berkshires are going to have more entertainment choices than they’ve had in many years because attracting new audiences has become an art in itself. Older, more established...
Sessions
Check out our most recent performances in the playlist below, or click here to dig into interviews and related material!O Cannabis: How To Grow Your Own Weed Outside
Does cannabis really grow outdoors in New England? Yes!
Live from Argentina: Acclaimed tango guitarists to play in Northampton for dancers and music lovers alike
By STEVE PFARRER Staff Writer If you go to a milonga, or social dance, to do tango dancing in Buenos Aires, you’ll likely be doing it to live music. In western Massachusetts? No so much. Now, though, Western Mass Tango, which has hosted tango lessons and dances in the...
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.