Arts
Sounds Local: The sounds of summer: A roundup of new releases and shows to celebrate them
By SHERYL HUNTER
We are halfway through summer, and although we have coped with more than our share of heat and rain, we have enjoyed plenty of great music.During these warm weather months, some of our local musicians have released excellent new music, and since you...
Shelburne Falls poet awarded prize
By MERCY LINGLE
When Shelburne Falls resident Maria Williams was writing her newest poetry collection, “White Doe,” she often found herself wondering “Who do you become when the trappings of your life fall away?” This question was influenced by her experiences with...
Sounds Local: Let’s get together and feel alright: Annual Wendell Reggae Fest returns this Saturday at Deja Brew Cafe & Pub
By SHERYL HUNTER
When you listen to reggae music, you’ll find that your spirits are immediately uplifted. The music’s positive lyrics, rhythmic beats and bass-heavy sounds contribute to its relaxing quality. If you want to experience some of this feel-good, danceable...
Sounds Local: Robin Lane to perform in Shelburne Falls, Holyoke
By SHERYL HUNTER
Robin Lane has worked in many musical styles throughout her lengthy career. There were the folk stylings of her early years when she was part of the Laurel Canyon scene and the new wave punk-influenced sound of her band Robin Lane and the...
Tony Sarg, who invented the Macy’s Parade balloons and dominated world of illustration in the early 20th century, in spotlight again at Rockwell Museum
By DON STEWART
He is credited as the inventor of the comical, and quite enormous, gas-filled dirigible, since 1927 the symbol of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parades. Called “the father of modern American puppetry,” his productions toured the country and his staff later...
A world of music in Turners Falls: Second annual Antenna Cloud Farm Music Walk presents six bands on Saturday
By JULIAN MENDOZA
Following the Antenna Cloud Farm Music Walk’s successful debut last year, organizer Michi Wiancko is “trying to go as deep as possible” this year, to present the “highest-quality experience.”The second annual Music Walk, part of the Gill-based...
Sounds Local: After 40 years, surely they are giants: They Might Be Giants returns to Franklin County with a show at Tree House Brewing Company on July 6
By SHERYL HUNTER
The alt-pop band, They Might Be Giants, is a longtime favorite here in western Massachusetts. They have played in Northampton many times over their lengthy career and even headlined the Green River Festival in 2003. The duo of John Linnell and John...
Books you will want in a place you will love: New location of The Raven bookstore opens at the Mill in Shelburne Falls
By BELLA LEVAVI
John Petrovato thinks that successful bookstores can be anywhere. “People love traveling for a good bookstore,” Petrovato said. With this idea, Petrovato went on a search for a year, looking for the perfect remote location for his new shop. He settled...
Sounds Local: Your summer festival checklist: Preparing for a good time at the Green River Festival, and more
By SHERYL HUNTER
The Green River Festival is on everybody’s mind, so let’s discuss how to prepare for the big weekend again. I’ve put together some tips to ensure you have the best festival experience, whether at the Green River Festival or any festival you might...
Walking the earth, with a bit of swagger: Documentary film profiles the groundbreaking all-female rock band Fanny
By STEVE PFARRER
June Millington is a familiar name in the Valley music scene, a veteran guitarist and educator who since the early 2000s has overseen numerous programs at The Institute for the Musical Arts (IMA), the Goshen center dedicated to supporting women and...
Presiding photographer: Retired judge’s photographs line western Mass. courthouses
By DOMENIC POLI
Memories come flooding back to retired Judge David Ross as he strolls the halls, offices and rooms at Orange District Court. Following 24 years on the bench, the Amherst resident hung up his black robe for good on April 28.But the stories he...
Who run the world: Jacob’s Pillow honors 50 years of hip hop with many leading ladies
By MELISSA KAREN SANCES
When it was time for the hip hop tribute at this year’s Grammys, Black Thought took center stage to introduce his girl:“Fifty years ago, a street princess was born to be an icon. The art form took the entire world by storm. How’d she do it? Her...
Sounds Local: Big names playing Tree House Brewing this summer
By SHERYL HUNTER
Enjoying live music outdoors is one of the best things about summer, and this year the experience promises to be better than ever thanks to Tree House Brewing Company in South Deerfield. The popular brewery is hosting a summer stage music series that...
Back to the stage: Real Live Theater returns from the pandemic with staged reading and a new summer production
By STEVE PFARRER
Like many theater organizations, Real Live Theater (RLT) was shut down from producing live performances for over two years due to the pandemic.But the Valley performance ensemble, now celebrating its 10th anniversary, is swinging back into action,...
Artspace Community Art Center receives grant to build ceramics studio
By MARY BYRNE
With the help of a $14,000 matching state grant, Artspace Community Art Center on Mill Street can begin the planning and feasibility stage of creating a clay studio. “People of all skill levels – children all the way up through elderly – can make...
Poet’s Seat Poetry Contest adult winners
2023 adult winners“Holiday”By Caroline JenningsNo one wants to hear that you lifted heras gently as you knew how onto the chairset in the tub, and that she was already shiveringfrom cold, from shame, from sheer exhaustioneven though you had found the...
Talking ‘regenerative grazing’ with an expert
By TINKY WEISBLAT
In recent years, we have been told that beef and dairy cattle are in part responsible for global warming. They emit methane, mostly through belching.Lynne Pledger of Shelburne Falls tells a different story. “People have gotten the message, which has...
Sounds Local: Folk tales for all folks: The West by Northwest New England Festival focuses on folk all weekend long
By SHERYL HUNTER
Get ready to immerse yourself in three nights of music, drama and dance – at three locations – when the West by Northwest New England Festival takes place this weekend, June 9 through 11. The festival will feature different performances each night,...
Poet’s Seat Poetry Contest youth winners
12 to 14-year-old winners“Space” By Ruby Rowan-DeckerSpaceYou take up so much spaceSometimes sunshine,sometimes rainNowI’m drainedYou trainThem to followAnd wallowAnd weep when you doTo cut their words for yoursTo slip and seep intoThe cracks.Take it...
Two artists plunge into nature at Salmon Falls Gallery in Shelburne Falls
By BELLA LEVAVI
Nature is the inspiration for many artists. Two artists, Rosa Beryl and Carin Teresa, have solo shows on display at Salmon Falls Gallery in Shelburne Falls, both drawing from their love of nature.“The plant queendom has guided me through some of...
