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By STEVE PFARRER

In late March, the fabled Iron Horse Music Hall, slated to reopen in mid May, was still a pretty raw construction site.Boards, pipes, boxes, and other materials were piled on the floors, along the walls, and on tables. Extension cords to power saws...

By STEVE PFARRER

Ada Limón made history in 2022 when she became the first Latina to become U.S. Poet Laureate. And last year, she became just the second national poet laureate to have her term extended for another two years.Now Limón, a MacArthur Fellow and the winner...

By STEVE PFARRER

Among the many features that are part of 33 Hawley, the Northampton Community Arts Trust building that was finally completed in early January following 10 years of construction, there’s probably nothing more important to dancers than the floor of the...

By STEVE PFARRER

Just in time to coincide with Children’s Book Week, a national event established in 1905, the Massachusetts Center for the Book (MCB) has created a children’s literary showcase here in the Valley.The Mass Kids Lit Fest, a new book festival taking...

By STEVE PFARRER

A lot can change in 20 years: Presidents and other politicians come and go, new cultural fads and technologies emerge, clothing styles morph, and music and movies take on different dimensions.In these parts, one tradition hasn’t changed. Since 2005,...

By STEVE PFARRER

Cecilia: A Memoir of Lesbian Love and LossBy Astrid LindstromHeliotrope Press Astrid Lindstrom’s memoir, “Cecilia,” about the loss of her wife following a difficult battle with cancer, is at times a painful read. But it’s also a memorial to her late...

By STEVE PFARRER

’Tis the season of gigs by artists dropping new albums.In early April, the Valley indie-folk band Cloudbelly celebrated a new disc, “i know i know i know,” with back-to-back shows at The Parlor Room in Northampton, and Natalie Cressman & Ian Faquini,...

By STEVE PFARRER

April weather can be fickle, as this week, with some warm, sunny days to start, followed by a few days of clouds and rain, has shown.But if you can’t get out into nature as much as you’d like, you can still see plenty of artwork in the region, which...

By STEVE PFARRER

Dear Oliver: An Unexpected Friendship with Oliver SacksBy Susan R. BarryThe Experiment, LLCSusan Barry, a former Mount Holyoke College professor of neuroscience, behavior, and biology, was born with a significant case of strabismus — crossed eyes —...

By STEVE PFARRER

Editor’s note: The performance at Northampton’s A.P.E. Gallery tonight with Fumi Tomita has been canceled. However, Tomita and Allen Fowler will be present for the artist’s reception at the gallery from 5-8 p.m.​​​​​​A new arts celebrationNORTHAMPTON...

By STEVE PFARRER

Madison Cunningham, who comes to Northampton’s Academy of Music April 19, won the 2023 Grammy Award for Best Folk Album, for her 2022 release, “Revealer.”In fact, Cunningham, who grew up in southern California and still lives there, also has won...

By STEVE PFARRER

Not so long ago, there was a general lament sometimes heard among Valley musicians: “There aren’t enough places to play around here.”That might have been true for professional players who wanted to be paid — and maybe, despite the opening of new local...

By STEVE PFARRER

The assignment is pretty straightforward: tell a concise story about your life, in no more than five minutes, that reflects a certain theme.The challenge is in telling that story with enough heart, spirit, verve, humor or whatever else you can conjure...

By STEVE PFARRER

Just days after former folk and Americana performer turned indie-pop singer Caroline Rose played in Florence, Cloudbelly, the Valley indie folk band led by singer-songwriter Corey Laitman, is set to showcase songs from a new album that has a...

By STEVE PFARRER

April is shaping up to be a busy month for the University of Massachusetts Theater Department, beginning with a symposium that honors Latinx theater and closing with a fresh interpretation of a classic Shakespeare comedy.On April 8-9, theater...

By STEVE PFARRER

As part of a funding program for municipal and nonprofit performing arts centers, the Massachusetts Cultural Council is awarding over $150,000 to 10 arts organizations and centers in the Valley.The awards — part of $3.66 million in funding the MCC is...

By STEVE PFARRER

EASTHAMPTON — Easthampton Theater Company (ETC), which since forming in late 2022 has staged two sold-out productions at the Blue Room at CitySpace, has formed a new partnership with the Williston Northampton School — one that will bring both a new...

By STEVE PFARRER

What could be better in winter than a trip to the Caribbean? Warm but not overly hot temperatures, beautiful sandy beaches, crystalline waters — sounds like paradise.But as a current exhibit at the Mead Art Museum in Amherst shows, paradise for some...

By STEVE PFARRER

There’s been a lot written about the problems that have plagued many American workplaces in the wake of the pandemic, from some employees insisting on continuing to work from home to offices that have mirrored the polarization and social conflicts...

By STEVE PFARRER

Can the arts help us reexamine our past and come to terms with injustice? Can music, film and other mediums become instruments for social change by helping us look differently at our history and our beliefs?Those are questions the Power of Truths Arts...

By STEVE PFARRER

The WriteAngles Conference, the Valley literary get-together that has been revived after a five-year absence, has a new keynote speaker.Shanta Lee, an award-winning poet, visual artist, and journalist from Vermont, will give the main address at the...