Life Kit
New Years Resolution Planner
Here’s a fabulous collection from NPR’s Life Kit that will help you take your goals off hold. It has modules on all sorts of projects, habits or skills that you may wish to work on this year — things like getting into birding, becoming a better auntie or uncle, starting exercise, learning a heritage language, and more.
In Residence: Art for the Soul Gallery Artists
Gallery A3, Amherst
Thursday, Jan. 4 – Saturday, Jan. 27
Opening Reception: Jan. 4 from 5 – 7 p.m.
Here’s a wonderful local arts collaboration. Art for the Soul is a lovely gallery in Springfield in Tower Square. Gallery A3 is a contemporary fine art gallery in Amherst. This month, you’ll find works by Art for the Soul Gallery Artists at Gallery A3 including pieces by Charlie Gould, Lorraine MacAlpine, Paul Midura, and Ryan Murray.
NightWood
The Mount, Lenox
Friday, Jan. 5 and Saturday, Jan. 6
We have two remaining chances to see this year’s NightWood — the innovative and immersive sound and light experience set against the backdrop of Edith Wharton’s historic home. Wander the illuminated 3/4-mile route through the woods and gardens for an otherworldly experience that evokes wonder and awakens the imagination.
Grace – Jeff Buckley Tribute
with James Bird opening
Bombyx, Florence
Saturday, Jan. 6 at 7 p.m.
2024 will mark the 30th anniversary of the release of GRACE, Jeff Buckley’s first and only full length album. With his tragic death at the age of 30, many of his fans never got the opportunity to witness him live. “GRACE – Jeff Buckley Tribute” honors his memory by performing the music as close to its original format as possible.
James Bird is a facilitator, poet, and multi-instrumentalist musician hailing from Shelburne Falls who invites the magic out of seemingly ordinary moments, using improvisation or one of his many mythic songs, weaving atmospheres that invite us to feel and to remember.
ARHS: Cabaret!
The Drake, Amherst
Saturday, Jan. 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Head to Amherst for an entertaining evening of skits and small group musical performances, featuring students from Amherst Regional High School. A pair of MCs will weave together musical acts from a variety of genres, showcasing the many talents of the students. They’re particularly excited to present this long-running annual tradition at The Drake this year.
Jose Gonzalez & Banda Criolla
Celebracion Baile / Fiesta Dia de los Reyes!
The Marigold Theater, Easthampton
Saturday, Jan. 6 at 8:30 p.m. (doors open at 7 p.m.)
Here’s a fabulous way to celebrate Three Kings at the perfect place for a dance party. Guitarist, composer and virtuoso Cuatro player, Jose Gonzalez, is one of the top performers of contemporary Latin music. His eleven self-produced recordings have been featured on NBC, PBS, CNN, cable TV, as well as four “Putumayo World Music” CDs.
As They Saw It: Women Artists Then & Now
Springfield Museums
Through Jan. 14
Make time to catch this exhibit before it closes. It celebrates the vision and creativity of American women artists working across three centuries and emphasizes varied experiences and approaches to artmaking, while pushing back against the underrepresentation of women in the arts. Over 60 works were organized by an all-women curatorial team and drawn from the collections of three partner museums — the Springfield Museums, Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts and Cooperstown’s Fenimore Art Museum.
The Clark
Free Admission January – March
Williamstown
What a fabulous gesture! The Clark is welcoming the new year with free admission for all so you can explore the permanent collection galleries or wander the walking trails across their 140-acre campus. Right now, there are two exhibitions in honor of the fiftieth anniversary of the Clark’s Manton Research Center — 50 Years and Forward: British Prints and Drawings Acquisitions and 50 Years and Forward: Works on Paper Acquisitions. Don’t miss the chance to see some very exceptional works that are rarely displayed.
Ex Luce ensemble presents What Is a Voice?
All Saints' Episcopal Church, South Hadley
Sunday, Jan. 7 at 4 p.m.
Soprano Ana Arnaz and violinists Colleen Jennings and Amanda Stenroos will present “a curative concert of diverse sound worlds and repertoire.” The program will include works by Bela Bartok, Kaija Saariaho, Kenji Bunch, and György Kurtág, as well as ancient and folk music for two violins, voice and a combination of the three.
Great Hall Exhibit: Junior Duck Stamps
Great Falls Discovery Center, Turners Falls
Through Jan. 16
Remember Fargo by the Coen brothers? Throughout the movie, Norm Gunderson, husband of detective Marge Gunderson, is hard at work on a painting of a duck that he will enter into a national stamp design competition. In real life, the Duck Stamp competition is a big deal. There’s even a Junior Duck Stamp contest that seeks to build awareness of the importance of preserving wetland habitats. The top Massachusetts youth entries for the 2023 Junior Duck Stamp competition are on display at the Great Falls Discovery Center.