Thursday, November 19, 2009
In its first production since its transition in June from a nonprofessional to a professional company, Commonwealth Opera will present Mozart's "Cosi fan tutte" this weekend at the Academy of Music in Northampton. The shift in the troupe's status has brought changes that will "thrill" audiences, says Eve Summer, assistant executive director of the company and stage director for "Cosi."
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Neatly tucked between a popular cinema and a busy coffee shop in downtown Amherst, is a surprising exhibit of new, enigmatic abstract paintings by Belchertown artist Brent Klockars.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Back in 1997, a group of self-proclaimed Deadheads - that is, devoted followers of the band The Grateful Dead - decided to parlay their admitted fanaticism into personal artistic expression - forming a tribute band, the Dark Star Orchestra.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
While still very young, Dave Harris-Fried wanted a guitar but his parents wouldn't buy one. "They thought I'd play for a little bit and then lose interest and be done with it," said the 40-year-old photographer from Buckland. "Finally, they relented ... and bought me a flute."
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Dave Houghton is a local singer and songwriter who gives it his all, all the time. I first saw him perform in Northampton circa 2002 at a low-key open mic, where he kicked the room alive with his immediate intensity; soon after, he started his trio, Fancy Trash, which used non-rock instruments like acoustic guitar and upright bass to make a passionate racket.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Kurt Vile, celebrated indie songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Philadelphia, started off playing banjo and making low-fi recordings, and that hazy, homemade sound is still there on his brand-new Matador album, "Childish Prodigy." Murky and sparkling at the same time, his recordings blur lines between folk and rock; sometimes he sounds like M.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Northampton's own Mike Hooker Experience is an eight-piece, classic-rock outfit that supplements the traditional guitars, vocals, bass and drums (Mike Hooker, Mike Jennings, Dave Stern, Vic Sloan) with a bit of flute, alto sax and keyboards (Priscilla Ross), a touch of tenor sax and cowbell (Paul Collins), a dash of trombone (Corrie Smith) plus a helping of congas, bagpipe and glockenspiel (Fra
