wknd-20250306 by repubnews

BACK PORCH FESTIVAL

Celebrity chef Alton Brown brings ‘Last Bite’ tour to The Bushnell in Hartford, D4

More than 60 artists to perform across Northampton

BACK PORCH FESTIVAL

By K eith O ’C onnor Special to The Republican

They are going to need a bigger porch.

This year’s Back Porch Festival — organized by Signature Presents and The Parlor Room Collective — runs Friday through Sunday and features more than 60 artists performing in 10 venues across downtown Northampton.

“We grow bigger each year with more bands with different types of music to enjoy and added venues in which to enjoy the performances. We cover all kinds of music from — blues to bluegrass, from country to folk, from Cajun to zydeco, from Latin to soul and more. And we bring in bands from all over the United States for what is the only big winter music festival in New England,” Jim Olsen,

festival director and president of Signature Sounds, said in an interview with The Republican.

It all kicks off Friday with an all-star tribute to Neil Young at the Academy of Music featuring Winterpills, Cloudbelly, Billy Keane, Suitcase Junket and others. The headlining shows at the Academy of Music continue Saturday with a Bluegrass Spectacular

“We cover all kinds of music — from blues to bluegrass, from country to folk, from Cajun to zydeco, from Latin to soul and more.”

JIM OLSEN, FESTIVAL DIRECTOR AND PRESIDENT, SIGNATURE SOUNDS

Clockwise from top left: Lucinda Williams, Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms, Jenna Nicholls, the Stompbox Trio, Chatham Rabbits and Jake Klar are among the artists performing at this weekend’s Back Porch Festival, taking place in 10 venues across Northampton.

March warms up with comedy offerings

George Lenker LIVE WIRE

WHILE MOST OF this winter was fairly mild, the season had a last laugh during the final two weeks of February with more than enough snow, ice and freezing temperatures.

But now that March is here, we can hopefully shake off any winter doldrums by having some laughs of our own. And MGM Springfield’s

ROAR Comedy Club has plenty of acts to help us.

The March lineup at ROAR kicks off this weekend with Matthew Broussard on March 7-8. Broussard somehow leapt to comedy from a job as a financial analyst. He looks more like a TV anchorman than a standup comedian, but don’t let his square

The Pixies will be on tour in 2025 and the agenda includes a show in Boston. Here, Black Francis of the Pixies performs at the Victorious Festival 2024 on Aug. 24 in Portsmouth, England.

THE PIXIES

Influential punk rock band formed in Mass. shares new tour dates

By David C ifarelli dcifarelli@masslive.com

An influential alternative rock band with Massachusetts ties has added 14 new shows to its North American agenda.

The Pixies announced new shows for the band’s “2025 North American Tour” in an Instagram post recently.

“We’ve added a third leg to our North American tour this summer, with support from Spoon and Fazerdaze,” the post reads.

The new tour dates include shows in several major cities, such as San Diego, Austin,

Houston, Pittsburgh, Chicago and Atlanta. Tickets for the new shows are now available for purchase.

The Pixies are currently on tour in Europe. The band’s European leg will wrap up in Manchester, England, on May 24. The band will kick off its North American leg in Las Vegas, Nevada, on June 13.

The Pixies will play at MGM Music Hall at Fenway in Boston on July 18 and 19.

After the band wraps up in North America, the Pixies will travel to Japan, Australia

jawline and shock of coiffed hair fool you. His comic wit often hits the bullseye, and the target is often himself. Broussard’s self-deprecating humor has been showcased on such shows as “Conan,” and “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” and he has also appeared in sitcoms such as

“The Mindy Project” and “The League” He’s also been featured in a Comedy Central special and acted in several films.

Next up, on March 14-15, Karen Morgan takes the ROAR stage. Morgan, like Broussard, came to comedy from a very different field. A

HARTFORD

This is ‘Last Bite’ for chef Alton Brown Celebrity

By K eith O ’C onnor

Special to The Republican

From the “first bite to the last,” television personality, author and famed foodist Alton Brown has cooked up a buffet of new surprises for what he has declared his last tour.

“Alton Brown — The Last Bite” makes its way into The Bushnell in Hartford on Sunday as part of a more than 60-city national tour that began February in Florida and ends in May in Texas.

Showtime for the 2 hour and 30 minutes show is 7:30 p.m.

Brown, who has more than 8 million social media followers, has created some of the most popular and successful live, interactive culinary variety shows ever. His “Edible Inevitable,” “Eat Your Science,” and “Beyond the Eats” tours performed in more than 200 cities with more than 550,000 fans in attendance.

Brown’s 10th book, a collection of essays and ruminations, “Food for Thought,” was just published by Gallery Books. Before performing

chef’s final tour comes

to The Bushnell in Hartford

to sell-out crowds around the country, Brown started his career directing televi sion commercials when he got the “crazy” idea to go to culinary school and reinvent the cooking show. The result was “Good Eats,” an irrev erent, science-forward pro gram with Brown as its star. Some 256 episodes aired across 16 seasons. He also hosted the iconic programs: “Iron Chef America,” “Food Network Star,” and “Cutthroat Kitchen.” Among his various honors are a pair of James Beard awards and a Peabody. He lives in Atlanta with his wife, the designer Elizabeth Ingram. Tickets — ranging in price from $35 to $79 — are available online at bushnell.org. VIP tickets, priced at $200, are in limited supply and include a brief Q&A session with Brown in the theater and a signed copy of his new book.

On a tightly scheduled media day recently, Brown gave The Republican 15 minutes to ask questions about the tour and his career.

TUESDAY

Chicopee Elks #1849

431 Granby Road, Chicopee 413-592-1849

Bingo Tuesday

Doors Open at 4PM

2 Progressive Jackpots

6:15PM Early Bird

6:20PM Start

Min. Entry Package $15

Open Seating

2 Halls for Players Handicap Restroom 1st Floor

WEDNESDAY

Polish American Citizens Club 355 East Street, Ludlow, 583-6385

Bingo Wednesdays 6:30-9:30pm

Doors Open at 4pm.

Minimum Admission $50

1 - 1199 Progressive Betty Boop 50/50 Prize $900

2 - $500 Cover Alls

3 - $400 Special Games All regular games $100 with 80 people or More. All Cards

THURSDAY

Fairview Knights of Columbus 1599 Memorial Drive, Chicopee (413) 532-2011

DOORS OPEN 4:30PM

MASKS OPTIONAL Progressive Jackpot 6:15pm Early Bird 6:20pm Start

Electronic Bingo Aval. Snack Bar, Open Seating, Handicap Restrooms

Min. Entry Package $15

Alton Brown on stage for his "Last Bite" tour. The celebrity chef will bring his show to The Bushnell in Hartford on Sunday.

(ROD MILLINGTON)

ENTERTAINMENT

2000s band celebrating 25 years with tour

Simple Plan

to play ‘most epic shows’ in milestone event

By David C ifarelli dcifarelli@masslive.com

Simple Plan is celebrating a milestone anniversary by going on the band’s first proper U.S. headlining tour in nearly 10 years.

Simple Plan announced the “Bigger Than You Think” tour on Feb. 25 in honor of the band’s 25th anniversary.

“To mark this very special occasion, we’ll be putting on the biggest and most epic shows of our lives, playing all your SP favorites, including all the hits and songs we haven’t performed live in years,” the band wrote in an Instagram post. “It’s gonna be rad and we hope to see you at the shows!”

The tour will also mark the band’s first U.S. headlining tour in more than eight years, according to Ticket News.

The “Bigger Than You Think” tour will feature special guests 3OH!3, Bowling for Soup and rising pop-rock artist LØLØ.

The 29-date tour will kick off in Seattle, Washington, on Aug. 9 and conclude in Irving, Texas, on Sept. 6.

Simple Plan will perform at MGM Music Hall at Fenway in Boston on Friday, Aug. 29.

Simple Plan will donate $1 from each ticket sold from the “Bigger Than You Think” tour to the Simple Plan Foundation.

“The foundation’s aim is to help young people in need, by easing their difficult passage to adulthood and by supporting the victims of life threatening illnesses,”

ENTERTAINMENT

Rock legend’s first new album in more than 10 years

drops this year

By David C ifarelli dcifarelli@masslive.com

Billy Idol is dropping his first new album in more than a decade.

“Dream Into It,” Idol’s upcoming eighth studio album, will be released April 25, a statement on Idol’s website reads.

Featuring appearances from Avril Lavigne, Joan Jett and

Alison Mosshart of The Kills, the album will be Idol’s first since 2014’s “Kings & Queens of the Underground.”

“Still Dancing” the lead single off “Dream Into It,” is out now.

“‘Still Dancing’ is really a reflection of my whole journey,” Idol said in the online statement. “From the punk

Live Wire

CONTINUES FROM PAGE D3

University of Georgia graduate, Morgan is a former trial attorney but took a 180 and began her comedy career as a finalist on Nickelodeon Television’s “Search for the Funniest Mom in America.” She was featured in two Dry Bar Comedy Specials: “Go Dawgs” and “Rub Some Dirt On It.” Her latest comedy album, “Shiny Happy People Laughing” (named after the REM song with special permission from the band) can be heard Sirius XM Radio. Morgan has also appeared on “The Talk” on CBS and “Gotham Comedy Live.”

March 21-22 will see AJ Wilkerson perform at ROAR. Wilkerson is autistic and uses the neurodiversity of his brain to humorously point out the absurdities of life. He has risen quickly through the comedy ranks, appearing at Limestone Comedy Festival, the Nashville Comedy Festival,

Atlanta’s West End Comedy Festival, and the Rip City Comedy Festival. His videos have reached millions of views on virtually every social media platform, and he can be heard on the Netflix is a Joke Radio on Sirius XM. He also made a cameo appearance in Kevin Smith’s “Clerks III.”

The month’s comedy ends on March 28-29 with Matt Lopes, a Connecticut-based comedian who has gained notoriety from his online presence on TikTok and Instagram, where he has pulled in more than 100 million views. He is the cohost of the “You Should Be Worried” podcast and has performed at venues such as the New York Comedy Club, Helium Comedy Club and The Stand NYC. For more information on upcoming shows and events at MGM Springfield’s ROAR Comedy Club, go online to mgmspringfield.mgm resorts.com/en/entertain ment/roar-comedy-club. html

In concert with the festivities surrounding the 2025 Holyoke St Patrick’s Parade The Ancient Order of Hibernians James A. Curran Division One of Hampden/Hampshire Counties invites the public to attend The Annual

Sunday March 16, 2025At 8:00 a.m. a Memorial Mass at St Jerome’s Church followed by Breakfast at 9:00 a.m. at the Wyckoff Country Club 233 Easthampton Rd., Holyoke Honoring Owen Donohue with the 2025 Hibernian Christian Charity Award; Guest Speaker will be Teri Schindler- writer, director, producer; worked for NBC, HBO, and ESPN; won an Emmy for her work in 2000 Sydney Australia Olympics; founding member of WNBA; First woman to produce live NCAA broadcasts; all American Swimmer; married to announcer Mike Gorman; daughter Kristen and son in law Marc. For reservations call Atty, John J Driscoll at 413-534-0445

March 14.

British singer Billy Idol performs during the Vive Latino music festival in Mexico City on March 16, 2024. (GINNETTE RIQUELME / ASSOCIATED PRESS)

SEE ROCK, PAGE D12

Porch

CONTINUES FROM PAGE D2

featuring The Travelin’ McCourys, Sam Grisman Project, and East Nash Grass. The festival wraps up with its big headliner, Lucinda Williams, which has already sold out.

“What I am excited about for this year is the addition of two really great venues. One is the legendary Iron Horse, which we will be using all weekend, and the other is the Workroom at 33 Hawley, which has a big ballroom-style space to use for music and dance,” Olsen said.

Since the Back Porch Festival coincides with carnival season this year, organizers are throwing a Friday night Mardi Gras Ball at 33 Hawley with two Louisiana bands, a brass band and special lightshow. Libations and Cajun food specialties will be for sale. It will be followed on Saturday night with a Boogaloo Bash featuring three high energy dance bands including the Latin big band Spanglish Fly, roots-rockers Big Sandy & The Fly-Rite Boys, and vintage soul with James Hunter Six. Both events are sponsored by Hope & Feathers Framing. Other venues — including the Parlor Room, Progression Brewing Co., Memorial Hall, Lyman Hall, Bishop’s Lounge, Unitarian Society, and Ana Bandeira — will play host throughout the three-day festival to a variety of artists all day long as part of what is called the Back Porch Ramble. Among the many artists performing will be CJ Chenier & The Red Hot Louisiana Band, GA 20, Chatham Rabbits,

Cedric Watson & Bijou Creole, Huntertones, Billy Keane & Waking Dream, Caleb Klauder & Reeb Willms, New Dangerfield, Big Sandy & His Fly-rite Boys, Caitlin Canty, Kevin Gordon Trio, Spanglish Fly, Ali McGuirk, Fantastic Cat, Johnny Memphis Band, StompBox Trio, and many more including Chris Smither, legendary roots singer-songwriter who will perform on Sunday at the Academy of Music.

Asked why he enjoys performing at the Back Porch Festival, Smither simply answered, “I was invited.”

“This is where I live and I like playing the area. The Back Porch Festival has a long tradition around here. It is just the sort of thing that makes you feel part of the community. I like playing the Iron Horse and many places around Amherst. It is home,” he said.

Smither moved to Amherst 15 years ago via Louisiana and Boston.

“Louisiana wasn’t suited for the kind of music I do. People laughed at the music I was doing. I was playing old blues stuff like Lightning Hopkins, Mississippi John Hurt, and listening to Bob Dylan and

“This is where I live and I like playing the area. The Back Porch Festival has a long tradition around here. It is just the sort of thing that makes you feel part of the community.”

CHRIS SMITHER, WHO IS

ING THIS YEAR’S BACK PORCH FESTIVAL IN NORTHAMPTON

Joan Baez, all these folkies and songwriters. I was playing acoustic guitar and New Orleans has never been a big guitar town and is home to horns and keyboards,” Smither said

“So, I moved to Boston which was pretty good. There was a good folk and blues music scene, and plenty of places and coffeehouses you could play. I was getting gigs and working 2-3 days a week. We moved to Amherst about 15 years ago so that our adopted daughter could attend a Chinese charter school that just opened. We thought it would be a good thing for

her to learn the language she would have been speaking if she hadn’t been adopted,” he added.

While on the Academy of Music stage, Smither plans on playing half a set filled with music from his new album last year called “All About the Bones, and the other half featuring songs from his back catalog that he said “people love hearing” such as “No Love Today,” ”Leave the Light On,” and “Train Home.”

The Back Porch Festival was founded in 2014 as a oneday event at the Academy of Music Theater. It has since grown to a multivenue event featuring the best in American roots music.

Every year, the festival includes a live broadcast of the Back Porch radio show from the Parlor Room before a live audience. It is hosted by Olsen, who has been on the airwaves of WRSI since 1984, serving as the station’s program and music director from 1985-1996. When the station moved to Northampton in 1996 and became 93.9 The River, the Back Porch came with it. The program’s eclectic mix of new and classic country, bluegrass, folk, blues and all forms of American roots music celebrates 30 years next year.

Olsen noted they have created a Back Porch Fest App with can be downloaded on the festival website to help you coordinate and schedule the shows you want to see.

For ticket information, prices, times and schedule visit backporchfest.com.

From left, Cold Chocolate and the Huntertones are among the acts playing this year’s Back Porch Festival.

PLAY-

MASSACHUSETTS

Maple Month is here, with the arrival of the year’s sweetest season having already been celebrated with a ceremonial tree tapping on Feb. 28 at Deer Meadow Farm in Warren.

The tapping, which was organized by the Massachusetts Maple Producers Association, marked the start of the short few weeks during which area farmers and sugarbush operators can harvest sweet gold.

One of the highpoints of the sugaring season in Western Massachusetts is Massachusetts Maple Weekend, which is being held this year March 8-9. It’s a two-day period during which sugarhouses welcome guests and provide an opportunity to watch the process by which sap is turned into syrup. More information about Maple Weekend and activities associated with it is available on the Massachusetts Maple Producers Association’s website at mass maple.org.

Among sugar boiling’s most delicious traditions are the sugarhouse restaurants that some maple producers in the area maintain.

Seasonal venues, typically rustic in style and sometimes remote in location, sugarhouse restaurants are, with a few exceptions, weekend-only operations. Their menus are dominated by maplefriendly breakfast foods, and most such operations also have a particular maple specialty that they promote. Examples of such inventiveness range from maple popcorn and maple cotton candy to soft-serve ice cream flavored with real maple syrup. Visiting a sugarhouse restaurant can be a memorable early-spring day trip but

Maple Month kicks off in Massachusetts

go prepared. Dress for the weather and wear mud-season footgear; be reconciled to wait a bit at the more popular sugarhouse dining spots. And don’t procrastinate, because the season is brief. Nearly all sugarhouse restaurants close their doors by mid-April.

The Massachusetts Maple Producers Association maintain a detailed directory of sugarhouse restaurants on its website.

Side Dishes

• 99 Restaurant & Pub locations have expanded their lunch menu. Now served daily, except Sundays, until 5 p.m., the new midday items include a turkey club sub, a deli-meat-stuffed “Game Day” sub and a chicken parmesan sub

A chicken Caesar wrap, a steak sandwich, and a Reuben sandwich are also now part of the before-5 p.m. roster, as is a luncheon-sized baked scrod entree.

There are 99 locations in

Chicopee, East Longmeadow, Greenfield, Springfield, West Springfield and Westfield.

• Table 3 Restaurant Group, of Sturbridge, has announced its lineup of “Cooking with Rico” events for the rest of 2025. To be hosted at Avellino Restaurant in Sturbridge, the series will feature the recipes of celebrity chefs and cookbook authors like Ina Garten, Emeril Lagasse, Bobby Flay and Julia Child.

The first session, to be held on March 19, will feature Table 3 Executive Chef Enrico Giovanello demonstrating his interpretation of recipes by Lidia Bastianich, the food television personality and cookbook author.

That program, which will begin at 6 p.m., will feature Bastianich’s versions of Italian Chopped Antipasto Salas, Pasta Fagioli and Lasagna Bolognese. Tickets are $52, not including tax or tip.

More information can be had by calling Avellino at 508-347-2321.

• On Monday, March 10, the Publick House Historic Inn and Restaurant in Sturbridge will host its Irish Feast Benefit Dinner.

Held in support of the Federated Church of Sturbridge & Fiskdale and the Harrington Hospital Auxiliary, the dinner will feature two seatings, one at 4:30 p.m.

and a second at 6:30 p.m.

The buffet menu will include corned beef and cabbage, boiled potatoes, carrots and turnips, dinner rolls and Irish soda bread, a choice of beverage, and cupcakes for dessert.

Tickets, which are $17 and $7 for children 12 and

Hugh Robert Off The Menu

Maple syrup comes out of the draw-off tank at Ferrindino Maple LLC in Hampden.

(HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN)

SEE MENU, PAGE D8

Do you remember your first beer?

THERE’S AN OLD one-liner that people say to or about someone who is acting stupidly or immaturely: “Yeah, I remember my first beer.”

But can you actually remember your first beer? I can.

Technically, it wasn’t my first “beer,” but I definitely recall being given a sip of my father’s beer when I was 4 or 5 years old. It’s actually one of my first definitive memories. (I have a couple earlier ones, but the beer one certainly sticks in my brain.)

I remember being excited by getting some beer, but don’t recall if I liked it or not. I think just the idea of getting some of my dad’s favorite beverage was thrilling enough to me. If memory serves, I might have asked for a second sip, but that request was quickly nixed.

It didn’t take me long to get shut off, I guess.

I’m sure a lot of people chose beer as their first alcohol because it’s probably the easiest to access, the cheapest and the most commonplace. It’s more of the drink of the “everyman” as opposed to anything seen as highfalutin or elitist. It’s also not as boozy as spirits, therefore, making it easier on a human body system.

I’m guessing that a lot of peoples’ first beers were imbibed surreptitiously somewhere in some woods or in the backseat of a car as you sit in the parking lot with a friend who just got his or her license. Or maybe it was one that was snuck from your parents refrigerator when they were out on the town for a night. Or maybe it was at an outdoor graduation party in some field.

Many of these first beers were probably obtained and quaffed illegally, of course. It’s long been a rite of passage.

As I mentioned above, my own beer roots were planted by my father. My father really enjoyed a brew or three. Of

I remember being excited by getting some beer, but don’t recall if I liked it or not. I think just the idea of getting some of my dad’s favorite beverage was thrilling enough to me.

course, he didn’t have the luxury of craft beer like we do today, and frankly, the beer he drank was probably some of the least palatable I could imagine.

But he certainly liked his beer. Of course, as I have mentioned before, he grew up 20 miles down the road from the oldest brewery in the country — Yuengling — so he came by his fondness for beer honestly. He also worked as a coal miner in his teenage years — he actually had to quit school during the Great Depression and go to work to help support his family. So I’m pretty sure he might have started having a beer after a hard day in the mines pretty early in his life.

I actually didn’t start drinking as early as most of my friends. Somehow, I was much more disciplined as a teenager than I am now, I actually practiced a more ascetic lifestyle involving spirituality, yoga

• Tony and Penny’s Restaurant in Ludlow will host a Murder Mystery fundraiser for the Ludlow Lions Club on Saturday, March 8, starting at 6 p.m. In addition to some comical mayhem, the evening will include dinner, a cash bar, and a raffle. Tickets are $45 per person and can be purchased online at bit.ly/LudlowLionsClub. Tony and Penny’s Restaurant answers at 413-5836351.

• Spartanburg, S.C.based Denny’s Corp. has announced that it will be adding a surcharge to the price of menu items that come with eggs. The surcharge will be imposed on a market-by-market basis and is describe as a temporary only.

The surcharge is blamed on the egg shortage caused by bird flu. In announcing the decision to impose the upcharge, the company emphasized it was nonetheless committed to delivering “value” to its customers.

• This month’s promo -

Miss the Dunkalatte? The drink will be returning as part of Dunkin’s spring menu offerings. (DUNKIN’)

tional calendar for Burger King restaurants includes deals designed to celebrate two “holidays” during the first half of the month.

On Sunday, March 9, Burger King will offer a free Croissan’wich with the purchase of $1 or more; on National Pi Day (3/14), participating BK locations will be offering a free Hershey Pie with a purchase of $3.14 or more. The period between March 9 and March 14 will also feature daily “deals” on breakfast menu items.

There’s a big “gotcha” involved with all these deals, however. They are only available to members of Burger King’s Royal Perks loyalty program. Burger King, like many brands in the quick service and casual dining spaces, are aggressively driving customers to their digital channels and

loyalty programs in an attempt to boost frequency of visits and average spending during each visit.

• During March, Friendly’s Restaurants will be featuring its Easter Bunny Conehead Sundae.

Made with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, the Easter Bunny is surrounded by blue marshmallow sauce. The bunny himself is styled from banana slices, pound cake cubes, cherries, and M&M candies.

The Easter Bunny Conehead will be available at participating Friendly’s locations through the March 31 or as long as supplies last.

• On Friday, March 28, starting at 7 p.m., the 1761 Old Mill Restaurant in Westminster will be presenting a dinner theater mystery.

Produced in conjunction with Brickroad Productions of Monson, “The Wake of Timothy O’Toole” will feature a cast of laugh-worthy scoundrels, all of whom are scheming to inherit a fortune.

The performance will be preceded by a buffet dinner. Tickets are $50 per person and can be ordered by calling 978-874-5941.

Hugh Robert is a faculty member in Holyoke Community College’s hospitality and culinary arts program and has nearly 50 years of restaurant and educational experience. Robert can be reached online at OffTheMenuGuy@aol.com.

George Lenker Beer Nut

THURSDAY

Mount Holyoke College Dept. of Film Media Theater Presents "Mauritius": Thu.-Sat., 7:30 p.m.; Sun., 2:30 p.m. Rooke Theatre, play delves into the high-stakes world of rare stamps, sibling rivalry and the search for treasure. For more information or to reserve tickets, go online to mhc.ludus.com or contact PerformingArts@MtHolyoke. edu. Tickets are $15 general; $10 students and senior citizens. Lower Lake Road, South Hadley.

FRIDAY

2025 Back Porch Festival: Fri.Sun., Academy of Music Theatre, Signature Sounds Presents and The Parlor Room Collective have announced this year's schedule for the Back Porch Festival. Venues and show times can be found online at backporchfest.com/ schedule. The Back Porch Festival's successful expanded format debuted in 2023, bringing more than 60 bands to 10-plus diverse venues in downtown Northampton. Back Porch is the only multiday festival to take place this winter in New England. The Back Porch Festival kicks off with an all-star tribute to Neil Young on Friday, March 7, at the Academy of Music, 274 Main St., Northampton. For more information, call 413-584-9032 or visit aomtheatre.com.

Friday Fish Fry: Fri., 5-7 p.m., Swift River Sportsman's Club, through April 18. Prices range from $14 for fish and chips to $18 for a fish, shrimp and chip combo. Clam chowder is also available. Come out and enjoy one of the best fish dinners in the area with generous portions. For more information, call the club at 413323-9387. 350 Cold Spring Road, Belchertown.

James Taylor and Simon & Garfunkel Tribute Show with Good Acoustics: Fri., Crestview Country Club. Join in before the show for dinner, served buffet-style, with dessert included. Doors open at 5:45 p.m., dinner begins at 6 p.m., music starts at 8 p.m. For tickets, visit crestviewcc.org/eventcalendar/list/, $67.30 includes dinner and the show. 281 Shoemaker Lane, Agawam, 413-786-2593.

Mount Holyoke College Dept. of Film Media Theater Presents "Mauritius": See Thursday listing "Unamericana" by Inde: Fri.-Sun., Memorial Hall. This art installation and its musical performances are free and open to the public. Learn more at artbyinde.com/unameri cana; "Unamericana" is a three-day public art installation by Indë, a

CALENDAR

CitySpace in Easthampton will present "A Grotesque Love Story," an immersive burlesque performance, on Saturday in the Blue Room. At the heart of this extraordinary spectacle is Lex Grotesque (also known as Jupiter Returned), a Black, transgender-nonbinary, queer educator, activist and self-described witch. Tickets are $20-$25 in advance and $30 at the door, available at cityspaceeasthampton.org. This is an 18+ show. Doors open at 7:30 p.m., with the show starting at 8 p.m.

(SUBMITTED VIA CITYSPACE)

queer Black artivist born, raised, and residing in Northampton, 240 Main St., Northampton.

SATURDAY

2025 Back Porch Festival: See Friday listing Chair Caning & Basket Weaving Classes: Sat., 1:30 p.m. Holyoke Creative Arts Center, restore heirloom pieces or create new ones with traditional crafts of a bygone era: chair caning, rush seating, flat reed seat weaving, and basket weaving. Students can bring their own project or learn on one of the chairs in the HCAC studio. This class is taught open-studio style and is open to beginners as well as advanced students. To register email Admin@HolyokeCAC.org, $115. 150 Front St. Suite 5, West Springfield; holyokecac.org.

Good Acoustics: Sat., 7 p.m. Cultural Center at Eagle Hill, travel back to simpler times with the songs of James Taylor and Simon & Garfunkel, faithfully recreated by Good Acoustics, featuring Mike Smith, Dave Fazio, and Bill DeSanty. Tickets are $35 adults and $30 students/seniors. 242 Old Petersham Road, Hardwick, thecenterateaglehill.org.

The Grotesque Burlesque and CitySpace presents "A Grotesque Love Story": Sat., 8 p.m. Blue Room at CitySpace, Join The Grotesque Burlesque as they return to The Blue Room for a night exploring queer love, magic and

The Western Massachusetts Sacred Harp Convention: Sat.-Sun, 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. BOMBYX Center for Arts & Equity, Free and open to the public. 130 Pine St., Florence. "Windows Into Other Worlds": Sat, 7 p.m. Belchertown High School, The PVS Orchestra presents “Windows Into Other Worlds,” an evening of music celebrating cultures from around the globe. Arrive early at 6 p.m. for a pre-concert talk with Dr. David Schneider, $15-$35 (youth & students $5). 142 Springfield Road, Belchertown.

Wine Dinner: Sat, Shaker Farms Country Club, Doors open at 5 p.m. For more information and to reserve a seat, call 413-568-4087, $85 per person. 866 Shaker Road, Westfield, 413-568-4087, ext. 20.

SUNDAY

relationship through interactive healing burlesque. Doors: 7:30 p.m., Show: 8 p.m., for 18+ only. Advance tickets $20-$25, $30 at the door. 43 Main St., Easthampton; Mount Holyoke College Dept. of Film Media Theater Presents "Mauritius": See Thursday listing New England Mosaic Workshop: Sat., Westfield Athenaeum, an informational and hands-on workshop about the Agawam Artists and Artisans Mosaic will be presented in the Athenaeum's Committee Room, from 10 a.m. to noon. The New England Mosaic is a key element to ACAA's overall mission of promoting and encouraging community participation in the arts. Artists (professional, amateur or any creative community members) obtain one of the small canvases, at no charge, and create whatever artwork they choose to. Each artist is then asked to return their completed canvas to their local library for inclusion in the 2025 Mosaic, which will be unveiled to the public at an event this summer. This year's mosaic theme is "New England Treasures." Acrylic paints and brushes will be on hand at the workshop, for anyone who wants to try some painting on the spot. All creations are welcome. The program is free, and open to the public. Registration information can be obtained online at the Athenaeum's Website. 6 Elm St., Westfield. 413-562-7833 or westath.org. "Unamericana" by Inde: See Friday listing

Friday listing

The Western Massachusetts Sacred Harp Convention: See Saturday listing

Quadrangle

George Walter Vincent Smith

Art Museum: Permanent exhibit: "Ancient Treasures," a display of artifacts from ancient China, Greece, Rome and Egypt. On the first Wed. of every month through the end of 2026, admission to the Springfield Museums is free. For more information, visit springfieldmuseums.org

Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History: Permanent exhibit: more than two dozen Indian motorcycles and related memorabilia.

2025 Back Porch Festival: See Friday listing Forest Park Civic Association Annual Meeting and Potluck Dinner: Sun., 4-6 p.m. Forest Park, Springfield's Forest Park Civic Association (FPCA) will hold its annual meeting and Potluck Dinner on in the ECOS Environmental Center Building on Porter Lake in Forest Park. The featured speaker will be State Rep. Carlos Gonzalez. Updates will be provided on FPCA activities, including the Neighborhood Council Stabilization Grant, and members will vote on the Board of Directors slate for 2025 and revised bylaws of the organization. The FPCA will provide beverages and families are asked to bring dishes for the potluck according to the first letter of their last name: A-H for main dishes, I-S for appetizers, and T-Z for desserts. Membership forms will be available at the meeting for any residents or businesses interested in joining or renewing their membership for 2025. Membership fees begin at $15 per year, Sumner Avenue, Springfield. Mount Holyoke College Dept. of Film Media Theater Presents "Mauritius": See Thursday listing Space2inspire, Reaching for the Stars with Dr. Sian "Leo" Proctor: Sun., 1 p.m. Springfield Symphony Hall, Dr. Sian Proctor will share her unique space story and how she won her seat to space as an artist and poet, and found her authentic voice through a lifelong journey of exploration and discovery. Note that these events have security screenings. Please do not bring backpacks or large bags, Free. 34 Court St., Springfield; 413-7332291 or symphonyhall.com.

"Unamericana" by Inde: See

Michele and Donald D'Amour Museum of Fine Arts: Museum a la Carte: March 6, 12:15 p.m. "Tales from the Science Museum: A Taxidermist, an Oil Company, the World’s Fair & a T-Rex." Cost $4, members free. Presented by Joel Cummings, science docent and planetarium instructor, Springfield Science Museum.

Springfield Science Museum: "The Robot Zoo,” through May 4. Discover the magic of nature as a master engineer. Free with museum admission. Permanent exhibit: State-of-the-art Zeiss Projector and updated International Space Station Exhibit. The live animal center has been reopened as "Living Waters: From Oceans to Valleys." Stars Over Springfield: March 7, 7:30 p.m. Cost $7, members $5. This beginner’s astronomy program featuring a short talk by a local expert, handson activities or demonstrations, a planetarium show with our historic Korkosz starball and brand-new Zeiss projector, and stargazing in our rooftop observatory. Recommended for ages 8 and older. This month’s topic is “Pluto & Friends.” Registration required as space is limited. Visit springfieldmuseums.org.

The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum: Permanent exhibit. First-floor exhibition offers interactive three-dimensional exhibits. Second floor contains Geisel's personal memorabilia. For tickets and more information, go online to springfieldmuseums.org.

Quadrangle admission — $25 for adults, $16.50 for seniors (60+) and college students with ID, $13 for children ages 3-17; free to children under age 3 and members, Springfield residents are free with proof of residency. Welcome Center and Museum store. Tues.-Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sun. 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

and New Zealand. A complete list of tour dates can be found on the Pixies’ website.

The Pixies were formed in Boston in 1986 by vocalist Black Francis (real name Charles Thompson), guitarist Joey Santiago, bassist Kim Deal and drummer David Lovering.

Santiago, who grew up in Longmeadow, and Thompson, who grew up in Greater Boston, met while attending UMass Amherst, according to a 2004 profile from SPIN.

“We each had our own goofy record collections, and we had this dream of starting a band because college wasn’t that interesting,” Thompson told the outlet. “Everything rubbed me the wrong way, whether it was social interaction with other kids or people formulating their intellectual outlook on the universe — everyone was so full of themselves.”

Santiago said that he and Thompson “wanted to do something different” but “didn’t want to be in a band that played covers.”

After Thompson returned from an exchange program in Puerto Rico, he and Santiago dropped out of UMass Amherst to pursue music full-time.

“It was the last day to withdraw to get your full tuition back, and I got my money back and we drove to Boston,” Santiago recalled. “My whole town revolved around people having an education, but I knew Charles had something unique.”

The duo eventually met Deal, who told SPIN she working at a doctor’s office in Brookline at the time.

Lovering joined the group after Deal told him the band needed a drummer.

“I hadn’t played in a number of years. My drums were put away, but then I figured, I’ll give it a shot,” Lovering told SPIN.

After the band’s 1987 demo tape, the Pixies signed to the English independent record label, 4AD. The band released its debut studio album, “Come On Pilgrim,” in March 1987. The Pixies’ first full-length album, “Surfer Rosa‚“ followed in 1988.

The Pixies rode the wave of the 1990s alternative

rock boom that they helped spark. Drawing on elements of punk rock and surf rock, the Pixies’ music was known for influencing similar acts such as Nirvana, Radiohead, Modest Mouse, the Smashing Pumpkins and Weezer.

Some of the band’s biggest hits include “Monkey Gone to Heaven,” “Here Comes Your Man,” “Velouria,” “Dig for Fire,” “Letter for Memphis” and “Head On.”

The Pixies broke up from 1993 to 2004. Upon reuniting, the band released a compilation album titled “Wave of Mutilation: Best of Pixies.”

Deal left the group in 2013 and was replaced by Kim Shattuck. She was then replaced that year by Paz Lenchantin, who became a full member in 2016. Lenchantin departed in 2024 and was replaced by Emma Richardson. Overall, the Pixies have released 10 studio albums, with 2024’s “The Night the Zombies Came” being the band’s most recent effort.

Q. On one of your recent tours, you claimed it would be your last, but it wasn’t. Is the “Last Bite Tour,” as the title implies, really your final tour?

A. I was misquoted. What I really said was that it was the last tour that I was going to do certain things as part of the show. This will be my last big national tour living on a bus for three months. After this, I am going to concentrate on club dates [and] small theaters with 500-800 seats. I’ll be following the Neil deGrasse Tyson tour model and not the Barnum & Bailey model with an 18-wheeler full of stuff.

Q. What kind of special things do you have planned for the “Last Bite”?

A. I always try to follow the model we invented, which is a live culinary variety show.

So, there is a lot of stuff going on — comedy, science, a lot of audience interaction with volunteers on stage, live music but not as much as in the past. And that is because our culinary demonstration in the second act is enormous. It’s the biggest thing we have ever built and it fills the stage, so there is no room for a band. This show is more like [something] fans of my television show ‘Good Eats’ would expect to see. There is a lot more science in the show than has been in any of the others. And, I’ll be honest, honest. I did my first three tours trying to please the audience, but I’m doing this one for myself since it is the last tour of this magnitude.

Q. What did you build that is so large there is no room for a band?

A. I’m not going to tell you. It is a machine. We build these very strange machines for cooking on the tours. The first was an “easy bake oven” that was 12-feet long and 8-feet high. The last was an enormous air fryer and this

one is three times larger and more complicated. I’ve been obsessed with steam since my childhood. All I’m going to tell you is that it’s a machine that cooks something — and a lot of it — by using steam. And that’s more than I’ve told anyone so far.

Q. Why were you unhappy with television cooking shows, ultimately deciding to create your own unique brand for television?

A. They weren’t explaining things. I would watch these shows trying to be a better cook in the late 1980s. And all they would give you were recipes, no one explained why or how. It was really frustrating to me because I felt that I couldn’t become a better cook just accumulating more recipes. I needed someone to explain to me why I was doing these things, and that just wasn’t the mindset at the time on these shows. It was probably because the shows were being run by chefs who either owned or ran a restaurant. They had no interest in explaining why

you do something, they simply wanted to have what they were doing replicated. That is what they want their restaurant workers to do. So, they weren’t naturally teaching anything except probably to give you a little information here and there about an ingredient.

Q. Which of all your own cooking shows is your favorite?

A. “Good Eats,” by far. It was my child, my creation and I wrote and directed it. After that, I appeared on “Iron Chef America,” which taught me more about food than any graduate school could have. Everything else is secondary after those two shows.

Q. Back in 2009, you changed your eating habits and lost 50 pounds in nine months. That had to be hard for someone always around food. What prompted that?

A. Well, I was very overweight. Was it hard? Yes, telling yourself you can’t have

certain things to eat or drink and that you have to change the way you are doing things is hard. I built a diet that wasn’t as much about denial, but on things I had to have and focus on. Of course, some things were highly restricted, like alcohol, which is full of empty calories, but my weakness. I love the taste of it. I could only have one drink a week and one dessert a week. You had to be disciplined, but after settling into the new routine it became easier after a month, and in six months I lost 50 pounds. But I haven’t kept all of it off. There is an essay in my new book about some of the negative things that can result from weight loss. I went too far and lost my mind along the way. I had a very negative psychological experience after losing the weight. I actually found once I lost the weight that I was in more trouble emotionally than when living with being overweight. Now I’m not as lite as I was, but I’m comfortable and in a healthy place.

One of the things nobody

The Pixies — Kim Dear, Joey Santiago, Charles Thompson (aka Black Francis, Frank Black) and David Lovering — in a promotional file photo.

ever talks about is he psychological aspect of losing weight. Everybody makes it sound like nirvana, something so wonderful, with rainbows and unicorns at every turn. But, it’s more complicated than that.

Q. Do you have another television show in the works after the tour?

A. I don’t know if I will do another show. I’m very disenchanted with the way the, quote, ‘television’ business is run now. I have this new book of essays and that is a real innovation for me doing that kind of writing. When the tour is done, I’m going to take a month off, sit very still and figure out what I am going to do next. I love creative freedom and creative autonomy and I get a lot more of that now in live on-stage performances than I do on television. So, if it’s something on television, then it will likely be a show I can produce on YouTube. At my age, I’m not going to be told by some 25-year-old TV executive about what I should

be doing. At this time in my life, for me it’s all about my desire for creative freedom, not exposure, not adoration and not money.

Q. If someone wants to know more about cooking and eating, what would be the top three things you would tell them?

A. I talk about this in my show. The No. 1 thing to being a better cook is to read the recipe. People forget how to read today. Recipes are very powerful instructional pieces, the last bastion of instructional language. You need to simply sit down and read the recipe. It is the single biggest upgrade in your skillset that you can ever do. The other one is to stop looking at food on social media. Social media is like a culinary cancer, destroying our relationship with food, with one another, and destroying our ability to grasp what hospitality really is. As for eating, I’m simply going to say ‘Stop being so damn special.’ Odds are you are not really lactose or glucose intolerant. Unless you really are intolerant to some things, shut up and eat what somebody serves you. If you go to somebody’s

house for dinner and they serve you meat, but you tend not to eat meat, just eat the meat. You are just trying to be difficult. You should be grateful somebody is serving you food. If you have a medical condition, of course, that is different. Most of the people I know who have a list of special dietary needs just want to be difficult. Stop it. If somebody is serving you food, take it with hospitality and graciousness. Otherwise, you are just rude.

Q. What is your favorite food to make, to eat at a restaurant, and to eat on tour?

A. I almost don’t eat anything on tour because I’m too afraid of getting sick. My favorite food to cook is roast chicken. And my favorite food to eat as a restaurant is sushi. I’m a sushi fanatic. But my homemade sushi is terrible.

Tickets to Alton Brown’s “Last Bite” tour in Hartford can be purchased on The Bushnell’s website, bushnell.org

Rock

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rock period through to now. And I’m still looking towards the future, still living the life I set out to live.”

Idol, 69, is an English punk rock singer and actor known

for his work in Generation X and as a solo artist. His biggest hits include “Dancing with Myself,” “Cradle of Love,” “White Wedding” and the Grammy-nominated “Rebel Yell.” He also famously appeared as himself in the Adam Sandler movie “The Wedding Singer.”

its website reads. Simple Plan is one of the most popular bands to emerge from the early 2000s. The band burst onto the music scene with its multiplatinum 2002 debut album, “No Pads, No Helmets … Just Balls.” The album contained the smash hits “I’d Do Anything,” “I’m Just A Kid,” “Addicted” and “Perfect.”

Simple Plan is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a tour.

and daily practicing of guitar. I’m not sure what happened to that guy!

So I really didn’t drink much until I was in my early 20s. And when I started, I didn’t drink beer. I would drink some sort of cocktail or another, usually suggested by whatever woman I was dating. I also drank a little bit of wine, but I wasn’t crazy about it.

But around that time, the craft beer revolution had just started. And right before it really exploded, I started drinking Guinness, Bass and a few different German dark beers.

Then, of course, I had a Sam Adams and a Sierra Nevada and my eyes were forever opened. As more bars added

craft beers, the universe seemed to expand before my very eyes.

My first locally brewed beer, of course, was from the Northampton Brewery — the first local brewery here in Western Massachusetts.

I’m not sure which beer I had. It possibly was Black Cat Stout — or Old Brown Dog (which later became the subject of my second-ever Beer Nut column on Dec. 11, 2003) but I think Old Brown Dog didn’t come around until a few months later, in early 1988. Or it might have been Daniel Shays Best Bitter. I’m afraid all the beers since then might have clouded my memory.

Do you recall your first beer? How about your first craft beer? Tell me your stories at geolenker@yahoo. com.