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Posts published in “Music”

Hard to Miss, Impossible to Forget: Maggie Rogers Releases Third Studio Album, ‘Don’t Forget Me’
Courtesy of John Ellison

Hard to Miss, Impossible to Forget: Maggie Rogers Releases Third Studio Album, ‘Don’t Forget Me’

By Isabel Birge on April 19, 2024 |

Arts and Culture, Music and Pop Culture

Self-described “witchy feminist rockstar” Maggie Rogers is hitting the road again.

I discovered Rogers by chance in early 2019, shortly after her first studio album, “Heard It in a Past Life” came out. Since then, Rogers has released two albums, “Notes from the Archive: Recordings 2011–2016” (2020) and “Surrender” (2022). During this time, I have grappled with simultaneously wanting to gate-keep Roger’s musical genius and impose it on all of my family, friends and acquaintances. Despite my greatest efforts, I have been unable to keep Maggie Rogers to myself.

After Years of Deconstructing the Genre, Shygirl Breathes New Life Into Club Pop

By Maggie Needham on March 11, 2024 |

Arts and Culture and Music

Just dance. Please don’t stop the music. The whole club was looking at her. Tonight’s going to be a good night. 15 years ago, pop music was concentrated on the elation of dancing, drinking and desire in the club. Now, Shygirl is part of a wave of artists bringing it back with her new EP, “Club Shy,” a delightfully crafted collection of songs that revel in their danceability. 

Romance, Comedy, and Fantasy in Valley Light Opera’s ‘Iolanthe’
Photo by Georgia Pickard

Romance, Comedy, and Fantasy in Valley Light Opera’s ‘Iolanthe’

By Georgia Pickard on December 8, 2023 |

Arts and Culture, Music and Theater

On Nov. 3, the Valley Light Opera (VLO) opened their fall opera “Iolanthe” by Gilbert and Sullivan at the Academy of Music, marking the organization’s sixth staging of the comic operetta since 1976. The production boasts delightful performances from Valley Light Opera veterans Elaine Crane and Thom Griffin, and captivating ensemble numbers that kept the audience laughing.

Kara Jackson’s Debut Album: A Stirring Reflection on Love and Loss

By Olivia Petty on May 15, 2023 |

Arts and Culture and Music

In her debut album, Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love? 23-year-old Smith alum Kara Jackson grapples with colossal concepts of love, death, and self-worth, delivered with delicate hands and an eternally powerful voice. The prior Youth Poet Laureate has incorporated her skillful penmanship into a new medium, her hard-hitting lyrics underscored by smooth acoustics and flourishing arrangements of guitar, piano, and banjo. Pitchfork awarded her “Best New Album” with a whopping overall score of 8.2, a testament to her impressive musical abilities.

Houndmouth Live at the Academy of Music
Photos provided by Abbey O'Meara

Houndmouth Live at the Academy of Music

By Elizabeth Van Arnam on May 15, 2023 |

Arts and Culture and Music

Attending a two-hour concert for a band when you only know one of their songs could be a letdown. However, if that band is Houndmouth, you won't be disappointed. The American alternative rock band played a nineteen-song set at Northampton’s own Academy of Music on April 27, 2023. Though the theater only holds 800 concertgoers, Houndmouth brought the audience to their feet, and me to their Spotify “This Is Houndmouth” page.

Marching to The Beat of a Different Drum; A Night of Ska at Race Street Live
Photo Courtesy of Olivia Petty

Marching to The Beat of a Different Drum; A Night of Ska at Race Street Live

By Olivia Petty on April 27, 2023 |

Arts and Culture and Music

On Sunday night, April 16, The English Beat closed a warm spring weekend with a lively performance at Race Street Live in Holyoke, MA. Hailing all the way from Birmingham, England, frontman Dave Wakeling is the only original member left of what used to be known as The Beat, the iconic ska-soul-punk fusion band that defined the genre back in the 1980s. At 67 years old, Wakeling has been touring with a backup band of ska musicians in an effort to keep “the beat” alive and well. Holyoke was one among many stops on their current US tour. 

Joy and Collaboration: Indie Band Moxie’s WOZQ Homecoming
Photo courtesy of Smith WOZQ

Joy and Collaboration: Indie Band Moxie’s WOZQ Homecoming

By Suzanna Strauss on April 21, 2023 |

Arts and Culture, Music and What Say WOZQ

It’s November of 2019 and indie pop artist Samia headlines WOZQ’s annual fall concert, with indie rock band Moxie opening. I am a first year with choppy bangs just getting involved with the radio station, excited to go to my first WOZQ concert. The indie rock band Moxie goes on at 8:00 p.m., to an energetic Davis Ballroom full of Smithies. Rei Kimura, on vocals and guitar, guides the crowd through their 30-minute jam-packed set, making sure to get everyone involved with Daniel Snyder’s rhythmic drumming by giving a clapping beat to follow. Leander Holzapfel’s riffs and Inky Cohen’s smooth bass capture the crowd, especially on ‘Blue Skies,’ their 2018 hit about naivety, which many Smithies sing along to, word for word. I walk away from this performance exhilarated, not only by how much this band rocks but especially by finding out that they are about my age.