Holy Smokes Theatre lands in the Valley: Newly relocated theater company to stage queer ‘erotic horror comedy’ at Easthampton’s 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 — and they’re debuting a new show here this weekend. The theater company, led by founder Wren Hannah, will premiere an original...
In time for downbeat: Jazz record designer Jack Frisch hosts new show on Valley Free Radio to ‘get the music out there’
By STEVE PFARRER Staff Writer Back in the 1980s, Jack Frisch, then in his early twenties, got bitten pretty hard by the jazz bug, taking the ferry from his home in Staten Island, New York, over to Manhattan with some friends and haunting record shops. His interest had...
‘Creole love call’: Gombo launches new music series starting Feb. 2 with jazz reedman Evan Arntzen
By STEVE PFARRER Staff Writer When John Piskor opened his Cajun-style restaurant, Gombo Nola Kitchen & Oyster Bar, in Northampton last year, he said he eventually wanted it to turn it into something akin to a New Orleans cafe, where people come out for a drink and...
‘You don’t look like a doctor’: Documentary film looks at the biases and challenges Black women physicians face
By STEVE PFARRER Staff Writer Dr. Khama Ennis had come a long way in her medical career. Until 2022, the Amherst resident had spent about two decades in emergency medicine, including a number of years as chief of emergency medicine at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in...
Staying in the game: Veteran actors and teachers Raye and Candace Birk are still involved with theater after decades of performance
By STEVE PFARRER Staff Writer Looking for some talented older actors who can play a wide range of roles? Who have decades of experience in theater, film and television? Raye Birk and Candace Barrett Birk are at your service. The Florence couple, relatively new...
A song for the ages: Easthampton Theater Company presents ‘Torch Song,’ an iconic work of queer theater
By STEVE PFARRER Staff Writer Ever since the November 2022 elections, politicians in over a dozen Republican-controlled states have seemed to compete with each other in attacking parts of the LGBTQ community: banning or restricting gender-affirming medical care for...
Is Northampton still lesbian mecca? Why we must keep queer spaces alive in Northampton
By KATE LAUGHLIN and GRACE XU For the Advocate Walking into the Majestic Saloon in Northampton feels like a breath of fresh, albeit heavily perfumed, air. The pink and purple lighting with a constant loop of popular drag queens Trixie and Katya on the TV signals that...
Almost showtime: 33 Hawley, Northampton’s community arts center, is putting on its finishing touches
By STEVE PFARRER Staff Writer It’s been a long run — but the finish line is now in view. The Northampton Community Arts Trust building, largely or partly shuttered for most of this year, is poised to reopen, as work to make the final improvements in the...
Taking up arms to help others: Western Mass Arm Wrestling League puts athletics, theater on display in the name of philanthropy
By EMILY THURLOW For the Advocate A woman dressed in pajamas walks into a Cottage Street bar and challenges a random stranger to an arm-wrestling match. The circumstances sound like the set-up of a joke. It’s not. That woman is Rose Lynch of Easthampton, and over the...
Mixtape: First Night performers, Lexi Weege and JJ Slater’s albums reviewed
By JENNIFER LEVESQUE For the Advocate Notorious for her vocal range, local singer/songwriter Lexi Weege releases her second solo record, “lw.” Weege started performing when she was really young with her mother’s traveling cabaret show. “I was exposed to all types of...
Reviving a local treasure: Parlor Room raising renovation funds to fix up Iron Horse Music Hall; reopening set for May 1
By ALEXANDER MACDOUGALL Staff Writer When Chris Freeman was in eighth grade, his father took him to the Iron Horse Music Hall for his first concert at the venue, where he was immediately entranced by the atmosphere, sitting at one of the tables by the wall plastered...
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.
Fire Letters on the Valley Advocate Sessions Stage
This week’s Advocate Sessions performance is by synth duo Fire Letters, which combines synth pop with alternative rock influences.
The V-Spot: I’m The Other Woman
Relational boundaries are simultaneously important, ongoing, and oftentimes, subjective. Which is to say, you likely don’t have “looser” boundaries than your friend & his wife, but rather “different” boundaries.
STAFF PICKS: Jazz, Folk, Funk, and Tattoos for a Cause
Home Brewed Jazz // SATURDAY Hadley singer-songwriter Jacki Odess-Gillett already has a jazz album under her belt. In 2015, she recorded 10 original jazz tunes with local jazz masters, including Charles Neville, Miro Sprague, Dave Wertman (now deceased), and Billy...
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
Cinemadope: Dog Days
Wendy and Lucy is the story of a young woman and her dog, and the long-lasting repercussions of what can sometimes seem like small decisions.
