NEPM Book Club: Fire Exit
Thursday, Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. on Zoom
Do you love to read? Of course, you do. Do you like to talk about what you read? If so, you should be part of the NEPM Book Club. It’s a fun quarterly virtual meet-up that brings people together to chat about new, diverse and interesting fiction. Next week, Book Club host Erin O’Neill will lead a discussion about Fire Exit by Morgan Talty which tells the story of Charles Lamosway, who has watched the life he might have had unfold across the river on Maine’s Penobscot Reservation. He caught brief moments of his neighbor Elizabeth’s life ― from the day she came home from the hospital to her early twenties. But there’s something deeper and more dangerous than the river that divides him from her — the secret that Elizabeth is his daughter.
Incident at Our Lady of Perpetual Help
Majestic Theater, West Springfield
Playing through Sunday, Feb. 16
Set in 1973, this play is a wild and tender comedy that focuses on the cash strapped O’Shea family. 19-year-old Linda O’Shea, the narrator of the story, tries to tell us about a family crisis of biblical proportions when a simple conversation between her and her younger sister, about the birds and the bees, was overheard by the parish priest. Before or after the show, treat yourself to a superb meal at bnapoli Italian.
Temporarily Ours
Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton
Opens Friday, Jan. 24
This new exhibit features eight contemporary artists working in Cuba, Iran, Pakistan, Palestine, and the United States. Through photography and film, each artist reveals some of the innovative ways communities have maintained a sense of belonging in the face of adversity. Many of the artists in this show highlight people who have temporarily made public spaces their own. Others allude to oppressive realities but choose to focus on resilience and creativity. And, did you know that this gem of a museum is open to all?
Free Day 2025
MASS MoCA, North Adams
Saturday, Jan. 25 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Reception in the R&D Store from 5 – 6 p.m.
Free for all, MASS MoCA’s annual community celebration, rocks the galleries with thematic museum tours, art-making in Kidspace, workshops, and performances. You can catch a dance class, attend a concert in Jeffrey Gibson’s “Power Full Because We’re Different” installation, watch a silk screen printing demo, learn about hiking in winter, and more. Plus, of course, you can explore the large-scale, immersive installations that can only exist in a place like MASS MoCA.
The Met Live in HD: Aida
The Mahaiwe in Great Barrington, Hampshire Mall in Hadley, Beacon Cinema in Pittsfield, Memorial Hall Theater in Shelburne Falls, West Springfield 15
Saturday, Jan. 25 at 12:30 p.m.
Operatic history in the making — soprano Angel Blue makes her long-awaited Met role debut as Aida, the Ethiopian princess torn between love and country. It’s one of opera’s defining roles. Choose your local cinema, grab a comfy seat and get ready for Michael Mayer’s spectacular new staging, which will take you inside the towering pyramids and gilded tombs of ancient Egypt with intricate projections and dazzling animations. Check out the entire schedule here.
PanOpera: A Dual Odyssey of Heartbreak: La Bohème and The Tales of Hoffman
33 Hawley Street, Northampton
Saturday, Jan. 25 at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 26 at 3 p.m.
Verismo vs. fantaisie! Contrasting the realism of Puccini with the dazzling imagination of E.T.A. Hoffman and Jacques Offenbach, PanOpera will give two, semi-staged performances of Act III of "La Bohème" and Act III of "The Tales of Hoffman.” PanOpera is a professional ensemble committed to the equitable development of high-quality, diverse, and innovative operatic performances meant to enrich the cultural tapestry of the Pioneer Valley.
Da Camera Singers: Songs for Healing and Hope
Saturday, Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. at Grace Episcopal Church, Amherst
Sunday, Jan. 26 at 4 p.m. at Episcopal Church of Saints James and Andrew, Greenfield
Da Camera’s January program includes choral music from many time periods and genres, with compelling texts that will bring healing and hope to the audience. Composers include Elaine Hagenberg, Adrian Willaert, Thomas Tallis, Andrew Birling, Giovanni Pierluigi Palestrina, Salamone Rossi, Heinrich Schütz, Randall Thompson, local New Englanders Lissa Schneckenburger and Peter Amidon, and others.
Madison Curbelo with Lucia Dostal
The Drake, Amherst
Saturday, Jan. 25 at 8 p.m.
Madison Curbelo is a Puerto Rican acoustic pop singer-songwriter from Westfield. She creates songs that tell stories from her favorite films, books, and the daily struggles of a “girly in her twenties.” From producing in her bedroom to performing in the top 9 of season 25 of The Voice, Madison’s career is only just beginning. Lucia Dostal is a musician and songwriter from Northampton who specializes in folk, soul and indie pop styles.
Rival Galaxies, Frost Heaves & Hales
The Rendezvous, Turners Falls
Saturday, Jan. 25 at 9:30 p.m.
Two bands — Rival Galaxies and the Frost Heaves & Hales — are throwing a Post-Inauguration Hangover Party at The Voo. Bursting onto the local Pioneer Valley scene, Rival Galaxies is an energetic dance band that combines the sounds of ‘80s New Wave synthesizers with the punk-rock energy of live drums, bass and guitar. The Frost Heaves & Hales have been dispensing adventurous, inventive rock’n’roll with mix of energetic indie, dreamy psychedelia, and fuzzed-out Americana up and down the Pioneer Valley since 2005. The show has no cover and all donations will benefit the ACLU of Massachusetts and Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts.
The Surprizing Work of God: 9 Scenes from the Life of Jonathan Edwards
Bombyx, Florence
Sunday, Jan. 26 at 4 p.m.
Jonathan Edwards preached America’s best-known — and most notorious — sermon “Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God” in Northampton in 1742. His preaching was a primary driver of the First Great Awakening, a wave of religious fervor that swept the Connecticut Valley in the 18th century. His commitment to Enlightenment ideals underlay a theology of inclusion, leading him to admit Africans and Native Americans to the church. However, unsurprisingly, like most of his contemporaries, he did not free his slaves. This folk-opera explores the contradictions in Edwards’ thought and influence.
Genticorum
Iron Horse, Northampton
Wednesday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m.
With Juno and ADISQ nominations, and four Canadian Folk Music Awards, Genticorum is one of the leading groups in Quebec's traditional music scene. In twenty-two years, the trio has carved out a place for itself on the international traditional, folk and Celtic music scene. Known for their energy and stage presence, but also for their refined and precisely executed arrangements, the group has already performed nearly two thousand concerts in twenty countries. Have a listen.
Gilded Echoes: The Tiffany Influence in Josh Simpson’s Glasswork
Springfield Museums
Open through Sunday, Feb. 23
Shelburne Falls glass artist Josh Simpson found early inspiration in the work of Louis Comfort Tiffany. As a young glassmaker, he was captivated by the iridescent qualities of Tiffany & Company’s renowned Favrile glass and sought to replicate these exquisite glowing qualities, achieving luminous results. Over time, Simpson expanded on Tiffany’s work, developing new methods and formulas that pushed the boundaries of glassmaking. This is a companion exhibit to Tiffany’s Gardens in Glass. Catch them both while you can!