by Lauren Simonds | Aug 14, 2019 | Articles, Featured, News
If you can say one thing about the Pioneer Valley, it’s that we love local. We champion and support small business, artists, makers, musicians, farmers, organic food, craft beer and pretty much artisanal anything. My recent expedition to INSA — the adult recreational...
by Dave Eisenstadter | Aug 14, 2019 | Articles, Between the Lines, Featured, News
The suicide death in jail of billionaire and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has sparked confusion and outrage across the nation, and many ill-founded conspiracy theories online. Many are rightly worried that Epstein’s rich and powerful associates who may have...
by Jonathan Kermah | Aug 14, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Music, Review
Twenty-one-year-old Shutesbury rapper and University of Massachusetts Amherst student Christopher Franklin, known as Chris Focus, sprouted his love for hip-hop by accident. At the age of 11, behind the back of his parents, Focus covertly scrolled through YouTube until...
by Advocate Staff | Aug 12, 2019 | Articles, Featured, Podcast
Audio intern Jonathan Kermah interviews 21-year-old Shutesbury rapper Chris Focus about his start as an artist, his evolution, Rosebud Creatives, and more. Listen here: You can hear more of the Valley Advocate’s podcasts at https://anchor.fm/valley-advocate, on Apple...
by Jack Brown | Aug 12, 2019 | Articles, Cinemadope, Columns, Featured, Film
As I was getting ready to write this column, the news came over the radio that filmmaker D. A. Pennebaker had died. Never really a household name, Pennebaker nevertheless contributed to our shared cultural vocabulary in ways that nearly anyone will recognize: if you...
