Friendship Band to perform benefit show
The Friendship Band, an inclusive local band of people with and without disabilities, will join the Soul Magnets on stage to perform a benefit concert, “Friendship Band Friendsgiving,” with local funk group Soul Magnets at the Iron Horse on Monday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m.
Soul Magnets, according to a press release, has “a horn-heavy nine-piece lineup and a set list that slides from funk classics to neo-soul originals.”
The event will support ServiceNet performing arts programming, Whole Children and Milestones, afterschool and weekend programs where people with disabilities shine.
Tickets start at $30 and are available at ironhorse.org.
Eastworks studios open the doors to the public
Dozens of resident artists, nonprofits and businesses at Eastworks will open the doors to the public to showcase their art and workspaces this weekend.
From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 1, and Sunday, Nov. 2, art on display will include photography, paintings, jewelry, fiber art, pottery, prints, stained glass and more. Many studios will have live demonstrations and activities as well.
Food trucks will also be onsite.
Admission is free and open to the public. For a full list of participating artists and a schedule of events, visit eastworksopenstudios.com.
Author discusses book about the viola da gamba
Amherst writer Kitty Burns Florey will speak about her upcoming book “The Music of Eighty: Learning In Old Age” at Amherst Woman’s Club on Monday, Nov. 3, at 1:30 p.m.
The book is about Florey’s experience learning to play the viola da gamba, a centuries-old string instrument. Florey will also provide a demonstration at the event.
The book is set to be released in early January 2026.
This event is free and open to the public; register at amherstwomansclub.org/event-6378772.
‘Noirvember’ kicks off at Amherst Cinema
Amherst Cinema will host its “Noirvember” series, screenings of four neo-noir movies, starting this weekend. These films reimagine the genre of classic noirs while “exploring stories, settings and themes befitting their eras,” according to a press release issued by the cinema.
The series includes “Bound,” which “upends traditional gender roles and brings a queer love story into a thrilling tale of gangsters and ex-cons,” on Sunday, Nov. 2, at 1:30 p.m. and Tuesday, Nov. 4, at 7 p.m.; and “Pale Flower,” about “a yakuza in post-war Tokyo whose shot at redemption only leads him deeper into the criminal underworld,” on Sunday, Nov. 9, at 1:30 p.m. and Tuesday, Nov. 11, at 7 p.m.
For more information on the series, visit amherstcinema.org/series/noirvember.
Come Again Players perform in Greenfield
The Come Again Players will put on a shadow cast performance of the cult classic movie “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” on Saturday, Nov. 1, at 6 and 9:30 p.m.
A shadow cast performance is a unique type of show where the original “Rocky Horror” movie plays on-screen while live actors act it out and lip-sync on stage simultaneously.
The movie, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, is a musical about Brad and Janet, two young people who get a flat tire in the rain and take refuge at a mysterious castle. There, they meet Dr. Frank N. Furter, an evil scientist from another planet who’s just created Rocky, a chiseled blonde man.
Per “Rocky” shadow cast tradition, audiences are encouraged to call out specific lines and use props at certain times in the movie. To that end, the Come Again Players are selling “Certified Rocky Audience Participation Kits” — aka “C.R.A.P. Kits” — that have props like playing cards, toilet paper, noisemakers and toast.
Tickets are $20, and C.R.A.P Kits are $6.69. For tickets and to reserve a C.R.A.P. Kit, visit gardencinemas.net. For more information about the Come Again Players, visit pvshadowcast.org.