BY DAVE MADELONI NORTHAMPTON — If our city were to crown a King of Transperformance, it could easily bequeath the throne to either King Radio or Lord Russ. Both have had absolutely majestic performances year after year, and each has nobility etched right into their name. This year’s “Nohobility” Transperformance — with its emphasis the [...]

Winterpills to open for all-star band; doors open at 5:30 p.m. BY DAVE MADELONI NORTHAMPTON — The Baseball Project is playing the Iron Horse on Friday night. Not the Football Project. Not the Basketball or Tennis Project. What is it about our national pastime that stirs and inspires folk and rock songwriters, while other sports [...]

A look at street musician culture in Northampton. Videography by NM intern Eddie Hand, a UMass-Amherst journalism student from Acton, Massachusetts.

Once upon a time in the early ‘90s, the western Mass. indie music scene was a vibrant, buzzing place to be. Rumors floated through the air (and in the “industry” thanks to a Billboard article in 1992) constantly that the next big scene after Seattle was Northampton. To a degree, that hype was well-founded: Bands [...]

Naia Kete and her brother, percussionist Imani Devi- Brown, have been playing music together since they were children. Progeny of the Black Rebels, a reggae and world roots family band based in the hilltowns of western Massachusetts, the two siblings are taking their act on the road along with bass player Lee Madeloni, a young [...]

Alex Chilton never became a household name, except in the households of hip musicians. Chilton, who passed away on St. Patrick’s Day at the age of 59, was revered by peers, but never quite found an audience as large as his talent. He was just 16 years old when he fronted the Box Tops, who [...]

Cow Island, the Florence-based honky tonk and roots label, moved to Austin, Texas last week for the annual South By Southwest Festival (SXSW). The label showcased ex-Paladins’ frontman Dave Gonzales’ new honky tonk outfit Stone River Boys at Opal Divine’s, the venerable Austin music venue, on March 15. The label will be releasing the Stone [...]

Throughout March, local radio station WRSI celebrated Women’s History Month by having historians introduce tracks from some pioneers of women’s music along with a synopsis of their impact on popular music. One of those experts was June Millington, who happens to be both a historian and a pioneer, having founded along with her sister Jean, [...]

Former Northampton resident finds audience and inspiration in the UK It’s a long way from Cambridge Mass to Cambridge, UK, but that is how far Brooks Williams traveled to give birth to Baby O! Although it’s the first album he recorded there, Great Britain has been a second home of sorts to Williams for several [...]

Earthquakes, pandemics, brown-outs and antiquated equipment part of the back-story on Prophet’s 2009 release Chuck Prophet traveled all the way to Mexico City in hopes of channeling its culture and energy for what was to become his critically acclaimed 2009 CD, ¡Let Freedom Ring!. What he didn’t bargain for was a pandemic, earthquake, and daily [...]