Ska + nu metal in Easthampton

It’s not often that we get to tell readers to skank to their hearts’ content, but that’s entirely the point of an upcoming event at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 8: namely, “The 1st Annual NU England Ska Summit,” an all-ages festival celebrating ska and nu metal (which the event description jokingly calls “the two most respected genre’s [sic] of music”) at CitySpace in Easthampton.

The event features a lineup of 12 bands from across New England, including That Nu Metal Band (covering bands like Slipknot, Korn, and Limp Bizkit), Backyard Superheroes, Cover Your Idols (covering Bouncing Souls), Skaleton Crew (doing a ska cover of Rage Against the Machine) and more. 

(Skanking, if you’re unfamiliar, is a type of dance move that ska fans do at concerts, kind of like two-stepping at hardcore metal shows.)

Tickets are $20 via cityspaceeasthampton.org.

Showcase of MFA dance work

The Smith College Department of Dance will showcase second-year MFA candidates’ work in the 2025 MFA Dance Concert on Thursday, Feb. 6, through Saturday, Feb. 8, at 8 p.m. in Theater 14 inside the Mendenhall Center for the Performing Arts.

The works include “The Hot Spits” by Caitlin Canty (which “examines the choreography of the female body used in the Horror genre,” and “interrogates the central question: what makes movement scary?”); “The View from Here” by Gabby Carmichael (which “explores memory, absence, and the ways personal and collective histories shape our understanding of time and selfhood … reflecting on collective queer mourning and the politics of grief”); and “tersetwo” by Niki Farahani (“a playful characterization of two people trying to communicate and perform for one another across generational differences … the equivalent of a series of short stories.”).

As a separate performance (but still technically part of the MFA Dance Concert), a 40-minute solo piece by Yun Lee’s will be shown once on Saturday, Feb. 8, at 6:30 p.m. in Mendenhall's Acting Studio I. The piece “channels family memory, history, and remnants of past acts, real and imagined.”

Tickets are $5 to $10 via smitharts.ludus.com or by emailing boxoffice@smith.edu. 

Quebecois “musique” in South Hadley

The acclaimed band Le Vent du Nord – in French, “The North Wind” – will indeed blow into our area all the way from their home of Québec on Friday, Feb. 7, at 7 p.m. at All Saints Church in South Hadley.

The group, according to a press release, is “a leading force in Québec’s exciting and progressive Francophone folk movement,” and their songs feature the hurdy-gurdy, fiddle, button accordion, and guitar.

“On stage these friends create intense, joyful and dynamic live performances that expand the bounds of tradition in striking global directions,” said the release. “This is the modern sound of tradition, a music of the here and now.”

Tickets are $30 in advance via bombyx.live or $35 at the door. Card to Culture tickets are also available.

 

‘Winter Exquisite: Zine & Diorama Fair’

Forbes Library’s Zine Club will host Winter Exquisite: Zine & Diorama Fair at the library on Saturday, Feb. 8, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The fair, which aims to “counter the perceived eeriness of mild Winters by summoning the cold, wind, and snow into the library, and inviting the associated psychological effects of introspection, conviviality, and coziness to do their restorative work,” according to the event description, will feature 20 artist vendors and 12 dioramas with winter scenes. 

There will also be an open mic specifically dedicated to electronic music. Interested electronic musicians (who want to “evoke by way of sound the existential implications of the barren season”) can pre-register to perform at the event’s open mic (12 to 3 p.m.) at forbeslibrary.libcal.com/event/13175251. Admission is free.

Mount Holyoke College Art Museum open house

The Mount Holyoke College Art Museum will host an open house from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 6, to celebrate a newly renovated gallery of art from around the world made before 700 CE.

There will be a celebratory toast from the director at 6 p.m. Guests can also meet members of the curators and collections team. 

Admission is free and open to the public, and there will be refreshments.

Storytelling about food

At the sixth upcoming Field Notes event, held at the Academy of Music on Saturday, Feb. 8, at 4 p.m. and hosted by the South Deerfield farming/food justice nonprofit Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA), audience members will hear stories about how food impacts our communities.

At past Field Notes, stories have included “an adrenaline-fueled race to unload equipment in a lightning storm, a nurse using vegetables to combat diabetes, and a testimony about feeding people in Springfield during the pandemic,” according to the event description.

Audience members will also be able to listen to a Spanish-interpreted version of the show through provided headsets if they select the option when buying their ticket.

Tickets are $10 to $30, sliding scale, via aomtheatre.com, (413) 584-9032 ext. 105, or the Academy of Music box office.