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...
Theater Matters with Jarice Hanson: Finding comfort in being together: Local productions inspire hope and unity
By Jarice Hanson For the Valley Advocate If we’ve learned anything since the Inauguration of the current President, it’s that chaos can make you feel hopeless and helpless. But in such trying times, theater and the ability to join together for a common goal can be...
Monte Belmonte Wines: Cheers to DEI: Must-try wines from Black winemakers, both at home and abroad
By Monte Belmonte For the Valley Advocate Diversity. Equity. Inclusion. The leader of the free world is working diligently to rid the USA of DEI. And many organizations, large and small, public and private, are either obediently heeding our leader’s directives, or...
Vinyl addict since 1984: A review of two vinyls: J Prozac’s “Obsession” and Oh He Dead’s “Ugly”
By Jennifer Levesque For the Valley Advocate After a show in Rhode Island, I once told Thom Yorke (Radiohead, The Smile) that he was my antidepressant. “Good. I’m easier to come off on,” he said, then paused and smirked, “Oh that didn’t come out good, if you know what...
Passionate on and off the bandstand: Jazz community mourns the loss of bassist George Kaye
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Jazz bassist George Kaye, longtime member of the Valley’s Green Street Trio, died on Monday, Feb. 10, at the age of 73 after a period of failing health. “He was a very deeply caring person,” said Ruth Griggs, president of the Northampton...
Video killed the streaming subscription: Visions Video opening next month in Northampton with thousands of titles to rent
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer A new video store is coming to downtown Northampton. That’s right — a video store, in 2025! Visions Video is slated to open at 183 Main St. (in the former location of Spill The Tea Sis Apothecary) in mid-March. The volunteer-run store...
Lights, camera, Eastworks: Photographer and model couple open a new studio in Easthampton
By ALEXA LEWIS Staff Writer The story of David Heisler and Crystal Truehart Heisler is something straight out of Hollywood: A model and a photographer meet on the set of “The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency” reality TV show, fall in love and spend years building...
Inside Wemelco, a Wonka works for weed: The manufacturing process of a thriving local cannabis company
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer The Easthampton-based cannabis manufacturer Wemelco Industries has seen notable growth in its first few years of operation — which is ironic, considering one of the only things it doesn’t do with cannabis is grow it. Wemelco manufactures...
‘If you can hit one note and hit it hard’: Western Mass Sacred Harp singers ready for biggest annual event
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer On Saturday, March 8, and Sunday, March 9, the Western Massachusetts Sacred Harp Community (WMSHC) will host their biggest annual event, the Western Massachusetts Sacred Harp Convention, at Bombyx Center for Arts & Equity in Florence...
‘There’s a majesty to grief’: Poet and UMass professor Peter Gizzi wins prestigious 2024 T.S. Eliot Prize for Poetry
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer Peter Gizzi, professor of poetry at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, recently won the 2024 T.S. Eliot Prize for Poetry, one of the world’s most prestigious poetry awards. Gizzi’s book “Fierce Elegy” beat nearly 200 other...
Wheely funny: Chuckling Charlie Comedy Bus brings laughter through Northampton
By CAROLYN BROWN Staff Writer All the world’s a stage — but for two local comedians, their stage is a green and black bus. The Chuckling Charlie Comedy Bus, the creation of Northampton comedian and comedy producer Tim Lovett, has brought laughter to locals since last...
Sessions
Check out our most recent performances in the playlist below, or click here to dig into interviews and related material!No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
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...
The V-Spot: We’ve Got Different Love Languages
Hi Yana! My partner and I have been together for three years. In general we have a really great relationship with solid long-term goals in common and enjoy each other in many ways. However, it seems like occasionally we go through long stretches of poor communication,...
Staff Picks: Biking folk duo, Roar! comedy, and the Green River Festival
Fiddler Lissa Schneckenburger and her husband Corey DiMario are playing a series of shows they plan to get to on their bikes.
Brew Kids on the Block: A new Senate bill would allow beer sales at farmers markets
Have you ever wondered why Massachusetts farmers markets don’t allow the sale of beer, even though vendors are typically welcome to sell hard cider and wine? So have state lawmakers.
Stagestruck: Burnett-ing Down the House
Archie Burnett is a living repository of the house dance that coalesced in after-hours dance clubs, and “Life Encounters” is his personal odyssey of discovery and initiation, narrated in onstage vignettes with his intergenerational, international, multiracial troupe.
