Arts & Life
You’re up next: Western Mass open mic scene heats up post-pandemic
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...
Back to the screen: Amherst authors’ popular ‘Spiderwick Chronicles’ gets a new streaming adaptation
By STEVE PFARRER
Call it an encore performance.“The Spiderwick Chronicles,” the bestselling series of fantasy books by Amherst writers Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, has just been turned into a streaming series on The Roku Channel.That comes 16 years after a feature...
Earth Matters: From Big Sits to Birdathons: Birding competitions far and near
By JOSHUA ROSE
A few months ago, headlines flared that Peter Kaestner had seen his 10,000th bird species. This could have been anticlimactic, as Kaestner has been renowned for years among birders for traveling worldwide and seeing more species than anyone.However,...
Get Growing with Mickey Rathbun: What good is an herbarium? Herbariums, like Emily Dickinson’s, are an essential resource for scientists
By MICKEY RATHBUN
The word “herbarium” sounds a bit quaint, even antiquated. We may think of Emily Dickinson’s herbarium, which she created during her year at Mount Holyoke in 1847-48. Although she had begun studying plants at age 9 and was helping her mother in the...
Hitting the ceramic circuit: Asparagus Valley Pottery Trail turns 20 years old, April 27-28
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,...
Guest columnist Richard Szlosek: Bosox at Amherst
By RICHARD SZLOSEK
I was in elementary school in the late 1940s and baseball was one of my chief interests. I was a huge fan of the Boston Red Sox and my heroes were Ted Williams, Johnny Pesky, Bobby Doerr and Dom DiMaggio. I was devastated when the Sox lost the...
Painting a more complete picture: ‘Unnamed Figures’ highlights Black presence and absence in early American history
By CHRIS LARABEE
In partnership with the American Folk Art Museum, Historic Deerfield is presenting an exhibition on the unexplored histories of Black people in early America.“Unnamed Figures: Black Presence and Absence in the Early American North” explores Black...
Earth Matters: Why opposites attract: The magnetism between two things isn’t always fully explicable; sometimes it just feels right
By RACHEL QUIMBY
One of my favorite books from childhood is P.D. Eastman’s “Big Dog, Little Dog,” the story of two bipedal pooches who are best friends. But Fred is tall, and Ted is short; Fred drives slowly and Ted drives fast; Ted plays the tuba, and Fred plays the...
The Beat Goes On: Album release shows by Barnstar! and Lisa Bastoni, a Young@Heart Chorus concert with new special guests, and more
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,...
One upon a story slam: This year’s Valley Voices winners head to a final competition
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...
WMass on display in new movie trailer for Annie Baker’s ‘Janet Planet’
By SCOTT MERZBACH
AMHERST — Mount Pollux in Amherst and The History of Women Mural in Northampton are among area locations visible in a trailer released for “Janet Planet,” the feature film directorial debut by playwright Annie Baker that is expected to hit theaters on...
April is a theatrical month: Latinx Theater Symposium and Shakespeare on tap at UMass
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...
The Beat Goes On: Cloudbelly celebrates a new album in Northampton, Brazilian sounds come to Amherst, and more
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...
A stuffie bond: Arts collaboration brings high schoolers, kindergartners together in Amherst
By SCOTT MERZBACH
Featuring a horn extending from its violet-colored head and a lower body resembling that of a lobster, with elements of a dolphin and turtle thrown in for good measure, the creature is quite a sight in its doll-like form.“It flies. It has wings,”...
Earth Matters: Living in a recycled material world: Hitchcock Center inspires a fossil free future
By MARGAUX PAINE
As the world grapples with environmental challenges, the Fossil Free Zones initiative, championed by the Leave it in the Ground Initiative (LINGO), takes inspiration from the transformative work at The Hitchcock Center for the Environment. The center...
A workplace from hell: Amherst filmmaker Matt Heron-Duranti is part of the team behind independent film “Another Day in America”
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 employees insisting on continuing to work from home to offices that have mirrored the polarization and social conflicts plaguing...
Arts Briefs: Rising indie pop star Caroline Rose comes to Florence, UMass Amherst hosts a literary festival, and more
Verse and melody, in an unusual combinationAMHERST — Poets and composers who teach at Amherst College are joining forces March 30 for a special program, “Words and Music: An Arts Faculty Showcase,” that will feature four musical premieres alongside...
Book Bag: ‘I Could Have Been More Wrong’ by Kevin McCaffrey; ‘Fugitive from Injustice’ by Robert T. McMaster
By STEVE PFARRER
I Could Have Been More WrongBy Kevin McCaffrey; Four Winds Press Kevin McCaffrey brings something to his poetry that other poets might consider employing more often: a sense of humor.In “I Could Have Been More Wrong,” McCaffrey, a South Hadley...
Tropical paradise? Not so much: Spring exhibits at Mead Art Museum examine the effect of tourism in the Caribbean, Native American art, and more
By STEVE PFARRER
What could be better in winter than a trip to the Caribbean? Warm but not overly hot temperatures, plenty of sun, crystalline waters — sounds like paradise.But as a current exhibit at the Mead Art Museum in Amherst shows, paradise for some can mean...
Book Bag: ‘One of a Kind: The life of Sydney Taylor’ By Richard Michelson; ‘Joyful Song: A Naming Story’ by Lesléa Newman
By STEVE PFARRER
One of a Kind: The Life of Sydney TaylorWritten by Richard Michelson, illustrated by Sarah Green; Calkins Creek Amherst poet and children’s author Richard Michelson has often delved into history in some of his books for young readers, such as “The...
