Rubblebucket’s Dream Picnic returns to Gateway City Arts in Holyoke on Saturday, September 21, at noon. More than 20 artists, handpicked by Rubblebucket’s Kalmia and Alex, will fill indoor and outdoor stages during the all-day show. As the bandmates said in a press statement on the eve of their third annual Picnic, ”We are so thankful we get to keep doing this!!!”
The Outerspace Stage features Rubblebucket, STRFKR (indie rock from Portland, Oregon), And the Kids (Northampton trio conquering the larger world), Guerilla Toss (boisterous Boston-based art rock band), Sidney Gish (Boston singer/songwriter/one-woman-band with a string of great self-released albums and singles), Toth and Kalbells (solo projects from Rubblebucket’s Alex and Kalmia) and Sun Parade (local rockers).
The Innerspace Stage shows off an array of area bands, including Home Body (Greenfield avant-electronic-pop duo), Carinae (Hadley indie rock with some psychedelic sprinkles), Sodada (atmospheric alternative Northampton duo), Raspberry Jam (Greenfield jammy indie-rock) and Mica (Northampton “dirge queen”).
Be Here Now Village will feature experimental music from Bonnie Kane’s ThEx and an “ambient healing sound space” that includes a daytime Sound Bath by Samer Ghadry. Plus food trucks, local vendors, the Dream Picnic Thrift Shop, yoga, and a late-night after-party.
All ages are welcome, but anyone under 18 must be with a parent or legal guardian throughout the event. Children under 5 are free to attend.
Local pop/rock band King Radio, led by founder/singer /songwriter Frank Padellaro, performs their carefully arranged original pop songs (joined by a string section for the first time since 2004) at Click Workspace in Northampton on Friday, September 20, at 7 p.m.
Cat Power, aka transfixing vocalist/songwriter Chan Marshall, is on tour for her 2018 album “Wanderer,” and she takes the stage at the Academy of Music in Northampton on Friday, September 20, at 8 p.m.
Mark Sherry’s Valley Music Showcase continues its fourth season of new-ish area bands battling it out for prizes and the chance to make it to the finals. This round features The Green Sisters (acoustic Americana from Hubbardston), Sedagive (western Massachusetts rock), Nikita (psychedelic “future-funk” from Hartford), POSSM (The Professors of Sweet Sweet Music, playing indie alt-rock/reggae, from Hartford) and Jeremiah Hazed (jam rock funk from Salem, Connecticut). Steve Rodgers, the previous edition’s first place winner, plays an opening half-hour set. At New City Brewery in Easthampton on Friday, September 20, at 8 p.m.
If you were a fan of the memorable but short-lived Boston-based UHF music video channel V66, get thee to the Bing Arts Center in Springfield to see the documentary “Life On the V: The Story of V66,” on Saturday, September 21, at 8 p.m. On hand for the screening will be director Eric Green and soundtrack composer Henning Ohlenbusch (who will perform an unplugged version of his original song “V66”).
Vocalist/songwriter/guitarist Brandee Simone returns to the magical (and remote) Dream Away Lodge in Becket to play a full set of original music, including songs from her upcoming album Medicine Dreams, on Sunday, September 22, at 8 p.m. As a friend once said about the fabulous faraway restaurant/venue, “When you think you’re lost, you’re almost there.”
1990s R&B superstars Boyz II Men (“End of the Road,” “I’ll Make Love To You,” “A Song for Mama,” “4 Seasons of Loneliness,” “Motownphilly,” “On Bended Knee” and many more) appear at Springfield Symphony Hall on Sunday, September 22, at 8 p.m.
Old-school indie faves Built To Spill perform their 1998 album “Keep It Like a Secret” in full (and more) at Gateway City Arts in Holyoke on Tuesday, September 24, at 8 p.m. Starting off the night’s triple-bill are Prism and Paul & the Tall Trees.
Singer/songwriter Robbie Fulks is always engaging and masterful, and he brings his original country music to the cozy, perfect-for-listening Parlor Room in Northampton on Wednesday, September 25, at 7 p.m.
Learn about the legendary Washington, D.C., punk scene (Bad Brains, Minor Threat and more) at the Massachusetts premiere of the documentary “Punk the Capital” at the Academy of Music on Wednesday, September 25, at 7 p.m. Filmmakers will be there for a post-screening Q&A.
The Ingrid Laubrock Quartet (tenor/soprano saxophonist Laubrock, guitarist Brandon Seabrook, bassist Michael Formanek, and drummer Tom Rainey) starts off the latest season of the Pioneer Valley Jazz Shares concert series with a show at The 121 Club (inside Eastworks) in Easthampton on Wednesday, September 25, at 7:30 p.m.