By Carolyn Brown For the Valley Advocate Decades ago, Will Matthews was a kid at Amherst Regional High School who listened to ...

By Bob Flaherty For the Valley Advocate   “Hi. My name is Aaron Damon-Rush and I’m attempting to set a Guinness World record.

The Valley offers many opportunities for artists — but as one local writer knows, stepping outside the area can help, too. Northampton writer, teaching artist and graduate instructor Richie Wills was ...

Alongtime member of and influential figure in the Valley’s jazz scene recently hit the national spotlight. Paul Arslanian, co-founder of the Northampton Jazz Workshop, has been named one of 33 “Jazz ...

Brooklyn-based artist Finnegan Shannon, who is disabled, has often wondered what it would be like to experience art without limitations. Shannon, who has trouble standing and walking and experiences ...

In the spring of 2013 at an empty sober house in Boston, Jason Pascucci came to in his own private hell. A brown leather belt lay next to him, still wet with his own saliva, after he’d tied it around ...

Celebrating a 40th anniversary of any kind is a huge milestone in life. When it comes to an artistic form, there’s typically a slew of work to look back on and enjoy. For the Donut Kings, they have ...

“That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” I’ll take some poetic license with ol’ Will Shakespeare: “That which we call a rosé by any other name would smell as sweet.” But ...

A dream came true last year for Jamie Manning when he spent two days recording an original song in England after winning a competition that garnered 5,500 entries from — one could say — here, there ...

On a recent Saturday morning in Florence, two friends were arguing over who would be the first to hug the other. “I’m gonna hug you, bro!” said Aaron Cantor. “I’m gonna hug you, bro!” said Joseph ...

Sixteen years ago, Newton-born actress Amy Poehler’s character, Leslie Knope, the perpetually perky deputy director of the popular NBC mockumentary sitcom, “Parks and Recreation,” took her gal pals ...

With Women’s History Month soon upon us, it makes sense to call attention to women who have changed the course of history. Names like Carrie Chapman Catt and Alice Paul may not be instantly ...