A matter of record(s)

NORTHAMPTON — If you like shopping for vinyl records, this news will be music to your ears: the Downtown Market Vinyl & Vintage Fair will have thousands of records (and other vintage goods from local and regional sellers, of course) for sale at 33 Hawley on Sunday, Sept. 29, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission and parking are both free.

Vendors will include Belltower Records, Dr. Vinyl, Greenfield Records, Hellmouth Used Goods, Sleepy Jean Records, Spin That! Records, Studebaker Hawk, Sunday Vintage, Tag Snapper Vintage, Tidy Cat Vinyl, and Tiny Anvil, among others. DJs will also spin records live throughout the day.

Beating cancer with Broadway

NORTHAMPTON — Speaking of music: musical theater fans in the Valley will be happy to know that Seth Rudetsky (the host of SiriusXM’s “On Broadway”) and Jenn Colella (best known for playing Captain Bass in the musical “Come From Away”) will be performing a benefit concert in Northampton to aid Paradise City Dragon Boat, a racing team (similar to rowing) of cancer survivors and their supporters.

The show, called “Bring It, Broadway,” will be on Sunday, Oct. 13, at 4 p.m. at the Academy of Music Theatre. Tickets are $40 to $100, not including fees, or $10 through the Card to Culture program.

The show will feature Rudetsky accompanying Colella on the piano, plus “lots of show-stopping music and, instead of scripted patter, spontaneous interviews between songs, which makes every concert completely unique,” according to the event listing. Audience members should bring questions for a Q&A. 

Horror movie turned musical

NORTHAMPTON — “Saw The Musical: The Unauthorized Parody of Saw” will hit the Academy of Music on Thursday, Oct. 10, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Just like its name suggests, the show (which originated Off-Broadway in 2023 and is currently on a national tour) is a musical parody of the acclaimed horror movie. It’s campy (but respectful to the original source material) and has overt queer themes — actor Andrew Caira told NPR last November, “This musical is so bisexual. It is beautiful.”

For obvious reasons, the show is not recommended for anyone under 16. (A press release describes it as “a love story with fluidity (and lots more fluids)” with “explicit sexual humor, simulated gore, and coarse language.”)

Tickets are $35 to $135 (or $10 through Card to Culture), not including fees.

Regional art shows 

WARE — Workshop13, an art nonprofit in Ware, is hosting two gallery shows this month that feature local and regional artists. 

“Ware It’s At!” spotlights the town with photos, paintings, and drawings of Ware made by local artists, each matched with an art piece by the late Elizabeth Howe Lincoln, an artist and teacher who lived in Ware. It’s on exhibit at 69 Main St. on Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m.

A short walk away is the Annual Northeast Fine Arts Exhibition, a juried art show at 13 Main St. that will showcase 100 traditional realist works by fine artists in New England. At the opening reception from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28, one artist will win a $1000 Best in Show Award.

The show is on display from Saturday, Sept. 28, through Sunday, Oct. 13, from 4 to 7 p.m. on Fridays, and 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. 

Turning trash containers into art 

BELCHERTOWN — If making visual art (rather than just appreciating it at gallery shows) is your thing, this call for artists may be for you. 

Artists are invited to submit proposals for designs to decorate three 8-foot-by-7-foot-by-22-foot recycling/trash containers at the Belchertown Transfer Station & Recycling Center. The mural designs must be based on the theme “recycle, reuse, reduce, regenerate” and should feature imagery related to Belchertown. (Check out the full Call to Artists at  belchertown.org/513/Municipal-Arts-Program for a more thorough rundown of the guidelines.)

Interested applicants have to answer two questions on a Google Form about their design proposal and their approach to engaging the public with art, then submit a draft design for one container and up to three images of past projects. Each of the three winners will receive $3,500 for their work and up to $500 in paint and painting supplies.

“The goal is to create a more cheerful, pleasant atmosphere by making the containers more visually appealing. We also want the murals to engage residents with the idea that they are part of something bigger and, collectively with their neighbors, their contributions are part of a beginning process, not an end,” according to a press release.

Submissions are due Friday, Oct. 11. The Town of Belchertown plans to have the murals in place by the end of May 2025. 

Family matters

AMHERST — Last but not least: saxophonist, flutist, and composer Jason Robinson will stop at The Drake in Amherst on Thursday, Oct. 17, at 7:30 p.m. as part of a dual album release tour.

Robinson’s newest albums, “Ancestral Numbers I” and “Ancestral Numbers II,” are a reflection on a key element of his family history — namely, the fact that he was one of several people in his family line to be born to a 17-year-old mother.

“My grandmother was 34 when I was born,” Robinson said in a press release. “Growing up it felt kind of odd to have a mom that was so young, just starting her adult life. But at this age I realize how special that was. My grandmother's passing was the instigator for turning my imaginative musical attention toward the idea of ancestry — to my ancestors in particular. The project isn’t really about interpreting the sounds of my ancestors. It's more about making music for them.”

The albums also include pianist Joshua White, trombonist Michael Dessen, drummer Ches Smith, and bassist Drew Gess, who will accompany Robinson for the show.

Tickets are $15 and are available at jazzshares.org.

Carolyn Brown can be reached at cbrown@gazettenet.com.