Arts
Sounds Local: A songwriter’s debut, decades in the making: Jenny Burtis steps into the spotlight with “Woodbird”
By SHERYL HUNTER
TI pulled a woodbird from a treeShe spoke right to the soul of meShe saw me burning burning- Jenny Burtis, “The Burning”When Jenny Burtis releases her debut album, ”Woodbird,” this weekend, it will be the culmination of many years of...
‘The Road Towards Home’ by Corinne Demas
By TINKY WEISBLAT
Despite the recent spate of films featuring older heroines in search of adventure (“80 for Brady” comes to mind), the average bookshelf doesn’t have a lot of stories revolving around people in late middle age. “The Road Towards Home” (Lake Union...
Memories of Harry Belafonte
By RABBI BOB ROTTENBERG
When I was a teenager living with my parents in New York City, an amazing thing happened.Harry Belafonte and his young family moved into our Upper West Side Manhattan apartment house, and our families became close friends.It was the late 1950s, and...
Sounds Local: Summer kicks off with new fests and blues legends
By SHERYL HUNTER
As Memorial Day approaches, so does the arrival of summer. The summer of 2023 will make up for the previous three years when COVID heavily impacted the music scene. There are many concerts and festivals on tap with something to fit every budget and...
Triumph, tragedy of Paul Goesch on display at Clark Art Institute
By DON STEWART
He was the German architect who never built, yet his designs have been influential for generations. Even when shut off from society for almost half his life, he continued to paint and draw, producing some 2,000 images. Although at one time German art...
Requiem for Matthew Shepard: Da Camera Singers will perform acclaimed oratorio examining legacy of young gay man murdered 25 years ago
By STEVE PFARRER
A little less than 25 years ago, Matthew Shepard, a young, gay University of Wyoming student, was severely beaten by two other young men outside of Laramie, Wyoming, who then left him to die by tying him to a fence alongside a pasture at night in...
Celebrating the life of a local artist
By BELLA LEVAVI
Delores “Del” Viarengo, a 32-year Heath resident who passed away in December, will be remembered in a retrospective this week with over 80 pieces of her art on display. “But Is It Art: A Retrospective of Del Viarengo’s Creations,” organized by the...
Book Review: ‘The Masters of Medicine’
By TINKY WEISBLAT
Andrew Lam of Longmeadow has many vocations. He is a retina surgeon and teaches ophthalmology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.Before he went to medical school, he trained as a historian – and he continues to write historical books...
Sounds Local: Love Crumbs and Cloudbelly collaborate on powerful new music, NFT
By SHERYL HUNTER
It’s been two years since the indie folk-rock band Love Crumbs released any new music, and now the wait is finally over. The band, which features Michael Dubuque on guitar, Ali McTavish on vocals and Scott Wolfram on bass, will release a new single,...
A legacy of local family farming captured on film
By EVELINE MACDOUGALL
Fifty years ago, a newcomer to Franklin County undertook a monumental project. For those who admire family farms, self-sufficient lifestyles, and superb cinematic experiences, those elements are rolled into one thanks to longtime Bernardston resident...
As nature intended: Group exhibit ‘Engaging Nature’ in Leverett features landscape paintings made outdoors
By STEVE PFARRER
Until recently, it hasn’t seemed like much of a spring: a lot of damp or rainy days, overcast skies, and cold nights.But the weather has warmed up this week, just in time to be a fitting backdrop to an art exhibit designed to celebrate...
Orange man’s new book of poetry inspired by dream world
By JULIAN MENDOZA
ORANGE — With his first book of poetry now out in the world, Orange resident Alex Arnot is ready for the public to peer into his own.“Dreamscape Voyage,” published by Athol-based Haley’s Publishing in mid-February, “gives us in the beauty of lyrical...
Sounds Local: Valley musicians to celebrate life and music of Kate Lorenz
By SHERYL HUNTER
On Saturday, May 20, friends, fans, family and fellow musicians will gather at the Shea Theater Arts Center in Turners Falls to celebrate the life and music of Kate Lorenz. A vibrant force on the local music scene for many years, Lorenz, 42, died in...
Book review: ‘Meet Your Maker’ by Christine Noyes
By TINKY WEISBLAT
“Meet Your Maker” is the third mystery novel Christine Noyes of Orange has produced featuring a disabled FBI analyst named Bradley Whitman. It is a well crafted procedural and Noyes knows how to build suspense.The story begins as Bradley’s friends and...
Franklin County Communty Chorus returns to stage on Sunday
By MARY BYRNE
The Franklin County Community Chorus is returning to the stage on Sunday for what is expected to be one of its biggest concerts since before the COVID-19 pandemic.“This is a really great concert,” said Paul Calcari, director and founder of the choral...
Young@Heart Chorus gets ready to present its spring concert, ‘The Love Show’
By STEVE PFARRER
They’re back. And they’re in love.The Young@Heart Chorus, which celebrated its 40th anniversary last November at a sold-out concert at the Academy of Music in Northampton, will return to the Academy this Sunday with a new program dubbed “The Love...
Sounds Local: Eloise & Co. bringing eclectic dance style to Turners Falls
By SHERYL HUNTER
Eloise & Co. say fans refer to their music as “kinetic Celtic music” because of the danceable joy it brings them at live shows. With a description like that, how can you resist checking out this duo when they perform at the Great Falls Coffeehouse at...
Lute player returns to Orange
By DOMENIC POLI
Europeans settled in Orange in 1746, around the time the lute was phasing out of the world’s musical landscape. But the plucked string instrument will make a comeback, however brief, at the end of this month.Seth Warner, who teaches instrumental...
Book review: “Freedom from Psychiatric Drugs”
By TINKY WEISBLAT
“Freedom from Psychiatric Drugs,” by Chaya Grossberg Chaya Grossberg is easy to talk to. She makes her living talking and listening to people. We spoke last week in anticipation of her first author appearance in Franklin County.Grossberg, who lives...
Delving into uncomfortable past: Nora Krug exhibit at Rockwell Museum explores family history from Nazi era
By DON STEWART
Discovering the works of illustrator and author Nora Krug is an enlightening revelation. The German expatriate, a professor at New York’s Parsons School of Design, has written and created art for three books and provided drawings for as many more for...
