In 2020, COVID-19 shut down all manner of arts events, including First Night Northampton, although some of the city’s traditional New Year’s Eve performances were streamed online.
And last year, just a week before live performances were set to resume, the pandemic struck again, as a surge in the Omicron variant led city health officials to cancel all indoor events for First Night Northampton 2022.
Now, knock on wood, organizers of First Night Northampton 2023 are hoping the third time will be the charm.
“I’m optimistic — I think we’ll pull it off this time,” said Steve Sanderson, event producer for the Northampton Arts Council and First Night’s principal planner.
And assuming fortune shines on the annual downtown Northampton block party, now approaching its 40th anniversary, First Night will return with some new wrinkles, including new performers and some brand-new venues, too.
Other well-know festival staples, such as an early evening fireworks display and the raising of the New Year’s ball at midnight on the roof of the Hotel Northampton, will be part of the day’s agenda. Over 70 different events and acts, in 18 different venues, will be staged from noon through about 11:15 p.m.
First Night begins at noon with music by the Expandable Brass Band, which will march through downtown as the musicians play, while members of Show Circus Studio of Easthampton will kick off the indoor performances with a range of acrobatics and other circus arts at the Academy of Music.
The afternoon schedule leans heavily on family-friendly performances, from puppet and magic shows to skilled yo-yo demonstrations. First Night veteran Henry the Juggler will do two shows at the Unitarian Society, while Happier Valley Comedy will offer two different programs in the Workroom Theater at 33 Hawley, including a musical that’s created from scratch — with the audience’s help.
Music’s a big part of the afternoon schedule, too, and Sanderson says he and other planners have opted for some new ways to deliver it.
“We’re putting artists in the windows of two different places so you can watch them from the street as well as inside,” he said. “We wanted to have something of a street festival feel, even if it’s winter.”
Specifically, some bands and musicians will play in the front rooms of Downtown Sounds and at 164 Main Street, site of the former Birdhouse Music, on the corner of Old South Street. There will also be music in Bishop’s Lounge, another new venue, including a possible show on the second floor balcony, to “give things a little New Orleans flavor,” said Sanderson.
One band making its First Night debut, The Rocking Puppies, will play at Bishop’s Lounge at 3 p.m. The Puppies are the father-daughter punk duo of Michael and Pema Crigler of Greenfield, who combine on guitar and vocals. They began playing together for fun when the pandemic rolled in and they were mostly confined to home, Michael Crigler says, and have since gigged around the area; they plan to record an album in 2023.
“Pema and I were looking to do things together, and music seemed like a great fit,” said Crigler, who plays guitar and piano and is teaching Pema, who’s seven, some piano. “Pema started writing songs, and we just built it from there.”
Crigler said his father, Dave, will join them on drums at their First Night gig.
Sanderson said he’s jazzed about hosting the family group: “When I heard about these guys, I said ‘We gotta have them.’ ”
A range of sounds
Other new First Night performers have also made their mark in the Valley, such as jazz pianist and singer Khalif Neville, Spanish guitarist Tony Silva, the psychedelic rock band Carinae, and the Americana group Love Crumbs. But others, such as Akrobatik, a rapper and visiting lecturer at Boston University, are pretty new to the area, though Akrobatik was part of an Arts Council event this summer, “The Power of Truths.”
Akrobatik, whose birth name is Jared Bridgeman, will appear at the Academy of Music with Michael Lawrence-Riddell, head of a Florence education company, Self-Evident Education, that produces multimedia presentations examining slavery and other grim chapters of U.S. history, with an eye to understanding how racism still affects the country today.
“This isn’t about being politically correct,” said Sanderson, who noted that Lawrence-Riddell will unveil a new presentation at the Academy with some MC and musical accompaniment from Akrobatik. “But we figured we could have some education and entertainment together … we like to mix it up and catch you by surprise.”
First Night 2023 will also return to Smith College for the first time in three years, as the school was largely closed to the public during the worst of the pandemic. Sage Hall will host afternoon performances by Mountain River Taiko, a community Japanese drumming group that fuses energetic percussion with rhythm and movement, and by the Happy Valley Guitar Orchestra.
Memorial Hall, meantime, will be the setting for all-acoustic shows, says Sanderson, with performances by artists such as the Northampton Woodwind Quintet, bluesman Mark Nomad, guitarist Tony Silva, and Group Semai, a duo that plays Middle Eastern instrumental music.
“These are all going to be un-mic’d shows,” said Sanderson. “We wanted to have a really intimate setting.”
For a vibe that’s 180 degrees in the opposite direction, the Flex space at 33 Hawley will be given over to dancing beginning at 7 p.m., with three different DJs playing a variety of music — funk, disco, Latin and more — up until a little before midnight.
A number of other past First Night favorites are set to return to the stage: The Northamptones, Northampton High School’s a capella group; The Suitcase Junket, the one-man band of Matt Lorenz; Pamela Means, the jazz/blues guitarist and soulful singer; and The Nields, the longtime folk-rockers, who will play one show for children and another for adults.
Given that COVID-19 is still hanging around — and in some cases nationally, flaring anew — Sanderson says First Night safety protocols are basically built around common sense. Attendees are “strongly advised” to wear an N95 mask or equivalent and to have been vaccinated, though there are no requirements for either. Proof of vaccination will not be required for entry.
“But if you’re not feeling well that day, or a few days beforehand, if you’ve got a cough or a sore throat — stay home,” said Sanderson. A number of performances, such as those at the Edwards Church, will be livestreamed, he noted, “so you can watch them from home.”
“We just want everyone to have a safe and enjoyable evening,” he added.
First Night 2023 pins, ranging from $8 to $20, are available for sale at numerous locations in the area and can also be purchased on Dec. 31 at a few of the performance venues, including First Night headquarters, on the second floor of Thornes Market. Pins can also be purchased online and picked up Dec. 31 at Thornes Market beginning at 10 a.m. All the details are at firstnightnorthampton.org.
Steve Pfarrer can be reached at spfarrer@gazettenet.com.