This past weekend was a big one for music fans in Franklin County as the Shea Theater in Turners Falls celebrated its reopening with “Light Up the Shea,” three nights of music presented by Signature Sounds of Northampton.
When it was announced last spring that WRSI “The River” radio personality Chris “Monte” Belmonte of Turners Falls was taking over leadership of the Shea, area arts fans had high hopes that he would breathe new life into the historic theater and provide a nice boost to the area arts scene – and to downtown Turners Falls as well. Judging from the turnout last weekend, Belmonte and his dedicated team of volunteers are well on their way to doing just that.
The Shea had been closed for a couple of months, and during this time underwent some nice sprucing up. There is fresh bright paint on the walls and a stylish looking lobby. Thanks to artist Peter Kitchell of Ashfield, there are gorgeous lamps hanging from the ceilings (you may recognize these from the art show the Kitchell family held at the Pushkin four years ago) and lattice work and small carved tables near the ticket booth. It’s really quite lovely and provides a welcoming place to relax before show time. Downstairs, there is art adorning the walls, and as Belmonte stressed in his welcoming remarks, these renovations are just the beginning. He and his team are currently raising funds to implement many more improvements. (Look for an Indigogo campaign launch in the near future.)
Friday night started off with DJ Bongohead, a local DJ whose set was spiked with many of the diverse musical styles that Red Baraat, the headline act, incorporates into their sound. The area in front of the stage was cleared out for this show, providing a large space for dancing. And just like at a junior high dance, after a few brave dancers tested the waters, the dance area quickly filled up with swaying bodies.
After welcoming remarks from Belmonte and Josh Goldman, who is treasurer of the board at the Shea and who has been instrumental in much of the work that had taken place at the theater, it was time for Red Baraat to get the party started.
Red Baraat are a seven-piece band from Brooklyn led by dhol drum player Sunny Jain. The group merges north Indian Bhangra music (a celebratory style of folk music that originated in the Punjabi region of India) with elements of go-go, rock, jazz, funk and even a few traces of hip-hop. Fueled by Jain’s dhol playing, the band features a drummer, a percussionist and four different horns to create high energy, powerful music that is impossible not to move to. Think of a Bollywood-New Orleans funk mash-up and you get a sense of what Red Baraat is all about.
The floor was packed with frenzied dancers who jumped, danced and waved their arms in the air to songs like “Shruggy Ji” and “Gaadi of Truth.” At one point, Jain even brought four audience members onstage for a dance contest. Red Baraat’s energy level never dropped and the crowd was with them all the way, proving that National Public Radio was right when they dubbed this group “the best party band in years.” Red Baraat’s raucous energy and sense of fun made them the perfect band to get the re-launched Shea Theater off to a strong start.
I didn’t make it to Saturday’s Speedy Ortiz show, but returned on Sunday to catch Heather Maloney’s performance. It was only fitting that Maloney play the “Light Up the Shea” weekend, as she launched her career in Turners Falls. I remember seeing her playing at places like Burrito Rojo for a handful of listeners, and here she was on Sunday, playing to a sold-out house at the Shea. Maloney said she was happy to be home, having been out on tour for five of the past six months and she was especially thrilled to be back playing for the community whose support has made her career possible.
Maloney initially took to the stage alone (“Heather Aloney,” she called it) with her acoustic guitar and in an unusual move for a performer, took requests from the audience. Maloney’s voice is a powerful, expressive instrument, and when an audience member requested her cover of Joni Mitchell’s “Woodstock,” she sang with such passion and intensity that she received a standing ovation – and this was only her third song in!
Maloney, who now resides in Northampton, was later joined by guitarist Brennan Leeds and multi-instrumentalist Chris Freeman, who is a member of the band Parsonsfield. Her set drew heavily from her latest album “Making Me Break,” her second recording for the Signature Sounds label.
On that album, you can hear some traces of Maloney’s indie-rock influence, but at this show, the songs were performed in a more stripped-down manner and, thanks to Freeman’s influence (he even played the saw on “Otherwise”), some of this material took on a rootsy quality.
Maloney ended her set by telling the crowd about a recent experience she had while on tour in Texas. Her van was broken into and all her gear and merchandise was stolen. She was devastated but launched an online fund raising campaign – and within two hours her fans raised even more money than she needed to replace the stolen items. Maloney was so touched by this gesture that she wrote a song for these fans, but had never performed it in public. While seeing that many of contributions came from her Western Massachusetts-based fans, she decided it was fitting to play it for this crowd. The song, which featured lines like “Baby you were right here, you picked me up again,” was a highlight of a show that had many highlights.
Northampton singer-songwriter Mikey Sweet opened the show with a strong set of his country-folk tunes, playing songs from his upcoming album “Road Dog Gospel” which will be released next month.
Next up at the Shea, it’s former local favorites Darlingside and the David Wax Museum on Saturday, April 2, at 7:30 p.m. Then Parsonsfield will take the Shea’s stage on Saturday, April 30, at 8 p.m.
Tickets are on sale now at: www.ticketfly.com
The Shea isn’t the only place in Turners Falls that offers live music. As always, the Rendezvous has a full schedule of music happening and one show you will not want to miss is The Snaz, the young indie-rock band from Brattleboro who will perform on Friday, March 11, at 9:30 p.m. The Snaz, who many of you know from songs like “Anna” and “Try and Try and Try,” have not had many shows lately as they have been holed up in the studio recording a follow-up to 2015’s “Running Away From Home.” Who knows? Maybe they will even play a few of these new songs at the Voo!
www.thesnazmusic.com
Admission is $5 at the door. Special guest to be announced.
Home Body, the duo of Hayley Morgan and Eric Hnatow, will bring their self-described ‘electric-fever pop’ to the Artisan Beverage Cooperative in Greenfield on Saturday, March 11, at 8 p.m. Home Body has spent the winter writing and recording a new album, so they are ready to come out and play some shows. Come prepared for a night of dancing, and do bring some cash because the Cooperative will be selling their ginger libation and Katalyst Kombucha. This is a free show, but please note that it only for ages 21 and over.
www.hellohomebody.com
The Artisan Beverage Cooperative is located at 324 Wells St. in Greenfield.
Sheryl Hunter is a music writer who lives in Easthampton. Her work has appeared in various regional and national magazines. You can contact her at: soundslocal@yahoo.com