Gaia Roots World Music Ensemble
2025-06-12 18:30 - 20:30 (America/Halifax) | Holyoke Media, 1 Court Plaza, Holyoke, MA, 01040, United States
Join in for a LIVE Gaia Roots concert featuring drummers Aimee Gelinas, Shanti Stark and Dan Cohen with dancers Alpha “Kabisko” Kaba, Miguel Periche and Noel Staples-Freeman and the intergenerational drum group The Valley Rhythm Keepers led by Aimee and Dan of Gaia Roots opening up! This incredible line up will bring traditional West African and Caribbean drum, song, guitar and dance to you all while being recorded on LIVE TV! Bring your friends and family, there is theater style seating in the recording studio. Suggested donation at the door. Email aimee (at) gaiaroots.com for more info. Please RSVP via Facebook “Going” so we can get a head count! Hope to see you there, please share. Doors open at 6:30 so come early!

This project has been supported in part by a grant from the Holyoke Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency

Afro-Caribbean Heritage Festival
2025-06-13 18:00 - 20:00, 2025-06-14 18:00 - 20:00
Drs. Gloria Caballero & Ivor Miller, organizers.
With Lázaro Galarraga (voice), Danys Pérez and dancers with percussion
“Bomba de Aquí” with Brendaliz Cepeda and Saul Peñaloza and friends
June 13-15, 2025
Workshops: Lyman Park, Holyoke, MA. (June 13-14, 4-5PM)
Performances Holyoke Media Center, Holyoke, MA. (June 13-14, 6-8PM)
Service: Congregational Church, Old Lyme, CT. (June 15, 10AM)
We gather in Holyoke, MA., to honor the cultural systems of the circum-Caribbean as an innovating force in Our Americas. This second annual Juneteenth event highlights the spirituality of Caribbean peoples. We recognize Holyoke as an extension of the Caribbean through its contemporary Puerto Rican, Dominican, Haitian, Cuban and other island populations. Our program title, ‘Afro-Caribbean history through the arts’, is inclusive to welcome all to this occasion with some of the best folk artists of this genre, who will guide and teach us about the collective genius of Caribbean peoples, through inherited methods of evoking and memorializing their history within a sacred context.
Our artists are initiates into Afro-Caribbean systems — traditions that have developed over the centuries to teach mutual respect and co-existence — whose performance art sustains collective support
for the expression of visions and sentiments. We are celebrating Juneteenth by embracing the African heritage of the Caribbean as integral to the history of New England. As evoked by Herman Melville in Moby Dick, as exemplified by the DeWolf family of Rhode Island, as well as the Amistad ship in Mystic, Connecticut, the historic wealth of our coastal communities was developed through Atlantic shipping routes and Caribbean plantations. Today, this history is being recovered through research, for example by members of the Congregational Church of Old Lyme, who have worked to identify and memorialize the enslaved Africans and descendants in their community, as reflected in their African burial ground.
Understanding the value of ancestors in our lives (even if to appreciate the traditions and ideas they left for us), the artists will lead us through songs and dance to honor the deceased who impact our lives positively, to evoke their legacies, whether they came from the Kongo, China, Native America, Europe, and to recall how they fought colonial bondage to give us sovereignty. Responding to a sequence of images from paintings created by culture bearers in the Cuban ritual systems, the artists will then evoke the Carabalí people, whose presence in Santiago de Cuba lives through its carnival ‘comparsa’ groups, and in Havana and Matanzas through the Abakuá society for mutual aid.
Then they will evoke the West African deities known as Orishá, who are structured into a group known as the Lukumí Confederation, where they act essentially as a system of Laws to guide and heal those who serve them. Here in the northeast, the closest equivalent might be the Iroquois Confederation, or the Six Nations, an egalitarian society whose ideas have contributed greatly to North American society.

Two Brass Hit: Phil Haynes' Double Trumpet Trios
2025-06-18 19:30 - 21:30
From the Pioneer Valley Jazz Shares Website: ”
A 25 year veteran New York based artist now teaching at Pennsylvania’s Bucknell University, Phil Haynes (June 15, 1961) is featured on more than 85 LP, DVD and CD releases by numerous American and European record labels. The international media have compared his drumming to masters Jack DeJohnette, Roy Haynes and Elvin Jones, and his compositions to Duke Ellington, Charles Ives, Charles Mingus and the Art Ensemble of Chicago. His recording credentials include many of the seminal musicians of this generation: saxophonists Anthony Braxton, Ellery Eskelin, and David Liebman; trumpeters Dave Douglas, Herb Robertson, and Paul Smoker; bassists Mark Dresser, Ken Filiano, and Drew Gress; keyboard artists David Kikoski, Denman Maroney, and Michelle Rosewoman; guitarists Ben Monder, Steve Salerno, and Jim Yanda; vocalists Theo Bleckman, Nicholas Horner, and Hank Roberts; violinist Mark Feldman, and the composers collective Joint Venture. Current Haynes touring ensembles include his: definitive saxophone trio, No Fast Food, featuring NEA jazz master David Liebman; romantic Americana string band, Free Country, featuring vocalist/cellist Hank Roberts; Double Bill, w/trumpeters Thomas Heberer & Herb Robertson with bassist Ken Filiano; plus the romantic piano trio, Day Dream, a cooperative w/ Yamaha artist Steve Rudolph and Drew Gress.
Thomas Heberer (born September 24, 1965, in Schleswig, Germany) is a trumpeter, quarter-tone trumpeter, cornetist, keyboardist and composer, primarily focused on jazz, creative improvised music and contemporary chamber music, has lived in New York City since 2008. During his formative years in Germany, he was a lecturer at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts, and the recipient of both the prestigious “SWR Jazzpreis” and the “Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik.” In addition to recording 100+ projects as sideman, he has released 20 CDs under his own leadership. His current album ‘The Day That Is’ won critical acclaim around the world, ranked among the top jazz recordings of 2021 in The New York City Jazz Record. Collaborators past and present include: Muhal Richard Abrams, Pina Bausch, Han Bennink, Karl Berger, Anthony Braxton, Peter Brötzmann, Eugene Chadbourne, Chico Freeman, Maria João, Joachim Kühn, Steve Lacy, Oliver Lake, Dieter Manderscheid, Misha Mengelberg, Butch Morris, Alphonse Mouzon, David Murray, The Nu Band, Evan Parker, Michael Riessler, Alexander von Schlippenbach, Harald Schmidt, Elliott Sharp, Steve Swell and Aki Takase. Die Zeit critic Konrad Heidkamp called him “The master of German trumpet.”
Nate Wooley (b.1974) was born in Clatskanie, Oregon and began playing trumpet professionally with his father, a big band saxophonist, at the age of thirteen. He made his debut as soloist with the New York Philharmonic at the opening series of their 2019 season. Considered one of the leading lights of the American movement to redefine the physical boundaries of the horn, Wooley has been gathering international acclaim for his idiosyncratic trumpet language. Wooley moved to New York in 2001 and has since become one of the most in-demand trumpet players in the burgeoning Brooklyn jazz, improv, noise, and new music scenes. He has performed regularly with John Zorn, Anthony Braxton, Eliane Radigue, Annea Lockwood, Ken Vandermark, Evan Parker, and Yoshi Wada. He has premiered works for trumpet by Christian Wolff, Michael Pisaro, Annea Lockwood, Ash Fure, Wadada Leo Smith, Sarah Hennies, Martin Arnold, and Eva-Maria Houben. For ten years, he was the editor-in-chief of their online quarterly journal Sound American, which was dedicated to broadening the definition of American music via print and online publications. His essays have appeared in The Baffler, The New York Review of Books, The Nation, and Contemporary Music Review.
Ken Filiano (born 1952) is an American jazz and orchestral bassist based in Brooklyn, NY, and featured prominently on the international new music scene. Since the 1970s, Filiano has played or recorded with Anthony Braxton, Nels Cline, Bill Dixon, Vinny Golia, Fred Ho, Paul Smoker, and Fay Victor, among many. Filiano serves on the teaching roster at the New School in New York, providing master classes in bass and improvisation and maintains an active private studio in Brooklyn. Ken has appeared on literally dozens recordings since the start of the new century, including on trumpeter Bill Dixon’s final recording, ‘Envoi’, as well as albums with Anthony Braxton, Connie Crothers, Herb Robertson, Michael McNeil, Taylor Ho Bynum, Nate Wooley and Anders Nilsson, among scores of others. Filiano’s performances continue to be featured at festivals and clubs around the world, including his presentations for bass soloist, alone.

Masters of Sonic Liberation
2025-06-26 19:30 - 22:00, 2025-07-24 19:30 - 22:00, 2025-08-28 19:30 - 22:00, 2025-09-25 19:30 - 22:00, 2025-10-30 19:30 - 22:00
Masters of Sonic Liberation is a groundbreaking monthly music series aiming to captivate your senses and push the boundaries of sonic creation. Presented by Bonnie Kane and John Loggia of the KaneLoggiaHYPOTHESIS, the series is a gateway to a universe of limitless musical exploration, fueled by the expansive imagination of master musicians who have left the norms and abandoned the pop, easy listening and pre-fab culture, to continually investigate and create music of the greatest depth and personal expression that reaches directly into the algebra of the mind, heart, and soul. You are invited to witness wildly expressive improvisations, scintillating in their immediacy, an expression of the intersection of time and place known as the NOW.
From improvisation and free jazz to noise, avant-garde, electronic manipulations, and modern composition, our lineup encompasses a wide spectrum of sonic expressions that defy conventional categorization. The unifying principle of these artists is their dedication to exploratory, hypothetical, investigational, probing, observational, theoretical, innovative, inventive, radical, avant-garde, anti-normative, alternative, fringe, unfamiliar, unorthodox, unconventional, unusual, eccentric, avant-garde, avant-core, free thinking, way-out music.
Whether it’s a solo performance that pushes the boundaries of traditional instruments, or a dynamic ensemble blending a symphony of unconventional sounds, we present encounters with the avant-garde that will leave you mesmerized. From hauntingly exquisite melodies to ear-bending dissonance, Masters of Sonic Liberation offers an unique live experience with virtuoso artists, where every note is a testament to audacious creativity.
The live shows are streamed at:
https://bit.ly/SonicLiberation_facebook
https://bit.ly/SonicLiberation_youtube
Past performances can be found on Youtube. http://youtube.com/@mastersofsonicliberation
Masters of Sonic Liberation: Where the intangible becomes tangible; where sound becomes magic.

Odyssey Defiance Alliance Presents No Limit!
2025-06-27 19:00 - 21:00
This card is loaded with big-time matchups, intense rivalries, and jaw-dropping action that you won’t want to miss. Every day we’ll be dropping a new match – and trust us, it’s from top to bottom! Tickets are ON SALE NOW! Saturday, June 27, 2025 Holyoke Media – 1 Court Plaza, Holyoke, MA Bell Time: 6:00 PMLive action. Real stories. Wrestling with a purpose.Let’s pack the house and show what Odyssey Defiance Alliance and the Odyssey of Hope Foundation are all about!

BORDERLAND|The Line Within
2025-07-11 18:00 - 21:30
Film screening and fundraiser for the Performance Project and Skylight Productions with a post film conversation with Director Pamela Yates and Director Paco de Onis. Music by Tony Silva and light refreshments.
The United States border is not just a geographic location. The border is everywhere. It lies within every undocumented immigrant family with the threat that at any moment they can be captured, incarcerated, deported; their lives destroyed. BORDERLAND | The Line Within not only exposes the profitable business of immigration and its human cost, but weaves together the stories of immigrant heroines and heroes resisting and showing a way forward, intent on building a movement in the shadow of the border industrial complex, recognizing the human rights of all.
Link to trailer: https://vimeo.com/898357006
Join us on Friday July 11th at 6pm at Holyoke Media (1 Court Plaza Holyoke, MA). The evening will begin with light refreshments and Latin American and Spanish music by Tony Silva, followed by an introduction to the work of the Performance Project and Skylight, and the screening of BORDERLAND|The Line Within. After the film, the director Pamela Yates and producer Paco de Onís will host a conversation/Q&A with the audience and share their insights about the making of the film and the important work being done at the border and across the US.
Tickets $10-$25
Virtual attendance available.
For information call 937-681-8719

Odyssey Defiance Alliance Presents Fractured
2025-07-18 19:00 - 21:00
Holyoke’s newest wrestling promotion is back at Holyoke Media!Live action. Real stories. Wrestling with a purpose.Let’s pack the house and show what Odyssey Defiance Alliance and the Odyssey of Hope Foundation are all about!

Flywheel Arts Collective Presents - Adam Reid & The In-Betweens - Twin Foxes - Freezing Cold - Outro
2025-08-02 19:00 - 23:00
doors 7pm ; show 8pm $10
ADAM REID & THE IN-BETWEENS
(indie/alternative from Western MA)
TWIN FOXES
(emo/shoegaze from Providence, RI)
FREEZING COLD
(Indie/punk boasting members of Sleater-Kinney and Bridge and Tunnel from NYC)
OUTRO
(post punk/psych rock from Western MA)

Pretending Cowboy
2025-08-11 17:30 - 19:00
Join us for the premiere of Pretending Cowboy a film by local film maker Cameron Rist.
Doors at 5:30, Film starting at 6.

Metamorphosis: Echoes, Mirrors, and Portals of Life Unfolding
2025-08-22 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-08-23 19:00 - 21:00
Join coACT’s first QTBIPOC Cohort Original Show – “Metamorphosis: Echoes, Mirrors, and Portals of Life Unfolding” – A vulnerable reimagining of personal stories told through sweet, humorous, and bold ripples and reflections. Join Translate Gender’s trans & nonbinry community theatre collective, coACT, on their first QTBIPOC adult cohort’s original final show. Each year, the participants write and create an original show based on their lived experiences, stories, and imagination! This year’s cohort, made up of queer and trans Black, Brown, and Indigenous adults have collectively created a constellation of unwritten testimonies of transformation, love, grief, self, and pride. A giggle-worthy, joyous, and intimate showcase that will leave you with a heart filled with whimsy, magic, melancholy and interconnectedness.
Tickets are by sliding scale – all proceeds will support coACT as we continue to expand and grow!
Masks are mandatory to attend the show. The venue has ramp accessibility and is ADA compliant. This includes having a lift to the second floor, ramps into the building and the theater and all 5 all 5 bathrooms are handicapped accessible.
Let’s support our communities together!
The coACT Community Theatre Collective supports trans, nonbinary, and gender-expansive youth and adults participants in creating a playful space to share personal and collective narratives, explore identities, and unite around shared lived experiences by integrating the magical tools of theatre.
We engage in acting, theatre play, dramatizing subjective narratives, role-play, improv, and much more. coACT supports participants to gender self-determination, self-expressions, and non- judgmental exploration of multiple identities. Each year, the collective write and create an original play, musical, or showcase based on their stories and shared lived experiences.
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Translate Gender is a trans-led, consensus-run non-profit organization. Supporting trans, nonbinary, and gender expansive community members to find our power and autonomy.
For more programs & community gathering:
Visit Our Website
Instagram

Holyoke Media Membership Mixer
2025-09-18 17:00 - 19:00
Join us for an evening of community, connection, and celebration at Holyoke Media’s Annual Membership Meeting & Party!
This once-a-year event is all about bringing our members together. It’s a chance to meet fellow members, catch up with friends, make new connections, and share in the vibrant spirit of Holyoke Media. In addition to plenty of time to socialize, members will also play an important role in shaping the future of our organization by electing new board members.
What to Look Forward To:
Great Food from Holyoke Hummus Company
Craft beverages from White Lion Brewing Company
Live Music – Enjoy the sounds of the incredible Jonathan Suazo
Good Company – A welcoming atmosphere filled with conversation, laughter, and community spirit
Whether you’re a longtime member or brand new to Holyoke Media, this is the perfect opportunity to come together, celebrate what we’ve accomplished, and look ahead to what’s next.
Please RSVP so we know you’ll be joining us.
We can’t wait to celebrate with you!
This event is exclusively for Holyoke Media members—but don’t worry! If you’re not a member yet, you can join today at HolyokeMedia.org/membership/join/

Bienvenidos al Mundo de las Computadoras
2025-09-25 17:00 - 19:00
¡Comienza a usar la computadora en este curso amigable para principiantes, diseñado para cualquiera que quiera ganar confianza con la tecnología! Aprenderás lo básico para usar una computadora, incluyendo operaciones fundamentales, cómo navegar en internet, enviar y recibir correos electrónicos, y mantener tu información segura en línea. La clase es práctica, así que tendrás muchas oportunidades de poner en práctica lo que aprendes, hacer preguntas y recibir apoyo individual. ¡No se necesita experiencia previa, solo trae tu curiosidad y ganas de explorar el mundo digital!

Welcome to the World of Computers
2025-10-02 17:00 - 19:00
Get started with computers in this beginner-friendly course designed for anyone who wants to build confidence with technology. You’ll learn the fundamentals of using a computer, including basic operations, navigating the internet, sending and receiving emails, and staying safe online. The class is hands-on, so you’ll have plenty of opportunities to practice what you learn, ask questions, and get individualized support. No prior experience is needed—just bring your curiosity and a willingness to explore the digital world.

Tite Curet Alonso: Lírica y Poesía
2025-10-03 19:30
BoriCorridor presents Tite Curet Alonso: Lírica y Poesía
This presentation will be presented in SPANISH.
As the centenary of the influential composer Tite Curet Alonso is about to be celebrated, the award-winning actor and playwright Josean Ortiz brings his story to life in the moving monologue “Tite Curet Alonso: Lyric and Poetry.” The anecdotal piece, inspired by the book of the same name by folklorist Norma Salazar, traces the cultural legacy of one of the greatest composers of bolero and salsa in the 20th century in Latin America of Puerto Rican origin. With an acting record as intense as its history is diverse, Ortiz has stood out for bringing illustrious figures of the black race to the stage through pieces he has authored. In addition, he has established a name for himself in New York theater as an actor, director, and producer.

Flywheel Arts Collective Presents - Bridge of Flowers, Truculent, Bent Light, Mibble
2025-10-11 19:00 - 23:00
Saturday October 11th: Bridge of Flowers (esp-disk), Truculent (Phl), Bent Light, Mibble. at Holyoke Media. 7pm. $10 suggested donation

Google Tools for Everyday Life
2025-10-16 17:00 - 18:30
This beginner-level course is designed for adults aged 18 and older who want to build confidence and essential skills in using computers and the internet. Whether you’re returning to school, preparing for the workforce, or simply looking to improve your digital literacy, this class offers a supportive environment to learn at your own pace.
What You’ll Learn:

Turning On/Off a Computer or DeviceLearn the proper steps to start up and shut down computers, laptops, and other common devices.

Using a Mouse or TrackpadPractice basic functions like clicking, double-clicking, scrolling, and dragging using a mouse or touchpad.

Keyboard ShortcutsDiscover helpful shortcuts that can save time and make tasks easier.

Using Web BrowsersGet comfortable opening and navigating internet browsers like Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge.

Conducting Searches & Navigating WebsitesLearn how to search for information, explore websites, and understand web addresses (URLs).

Creating, Sending & Replying to EmailsSet up an email account, write messages, attach files, and manage your inbox effectively.

Uploading and Downloading FilesLearn how to move files to and from your device safely, including attachments, images, and documents.

Using Basic Features in Google DocsCreate, edit, and share documents using Google Docs — a free and widely used online word processor.

Creating and Managing Strong PasswordsUnderstand how to create secure passwords and keep your accounts safe.

Using Platforms Like Google MeetGet familiar with joining virtual meetings, using your camera and microphone, and navigating video call features.

By the end of this course, you’ll be equipped with the digital skills needed for school, work, and everyday life. No prior computer experience is required — just a willingness to learn!

Bilingual Candidate Forum - City Council Wards
2025-10-20 17:30 - 19:30
Join us for 4 Bilingual Candidate Forums over 3 nights.
Monday October 20, 2025 – City Council Ward candidates
5:30-6:30 Wards 1, 2, 4 and 7
6:30 – 7:30 Wards 3, 5, and 6
Organized by One Holyoke CDC

Herramientas de Google para la Vida Diaria
2025-10-23 17:00 - 18:30
Este curso básico está diseñado para adultos de 18 años en adelante que quieran ganar confianza y aprender las habilidades esenciales para usar computadoras y el internet. Ya sea que estés regresando a estudiar, preparándote para el mundo laboral o simplemente quieras mejorar tu alfabetización digital, esta clase te ofrece un ambiente de apoyo donde puedes aprender a tu propio ritmo.
Lo que vas a aprender:
Encender y Apagar una Computadora o DispositivoAprende los pasos correctos para prender y apagar computadoras, laptops y otros dispositivos comunes.
Usar el Ratón (Mouse) o el Panel Táctil (Trackpad)Practica funciones básicas como hacer clic, doble clic, mover el cursor y arrastrar objetos usando el ratón o el panel táctil.
Atajos del TecladoConoce combinaciones de teclas que te ayudan a hacer tareas más rápido y fácil.
Usar Navegadores de InternetFamiliarízate con cómo abrir y moverte dentro de navegadores como Google Chrome o Microsoft Edge.
Buscar Información y Navegar Páginas WebAprende a buscar cosas en internet, moverte entre páginas web y entender direcciones web (URLs).
Crear, Enviar y Contestar Correos ElectrónicosAbre una cuenta de email, redacta mensajes, adjunta archivos y organiza tu bandeja de entrada.
Subir y Descargar ArchivosAprende a mover archivos desde y hacia tu dispositivo de manera segura, incluyendo fotos, documentos y otros adjuntos.
Usar Funciones Básicas de Google DocsCrea, edita y comparte documentos con Google Docs — un procesador de texto gratis y muy popular en línea.
Crear y Manejar Contraseñas SegurasAprende cómo crear contraseñas fuertes y cómo proteger tus cuentas.
Usar Plataformas como Google MeetFamiliarízate con cómo unirte a reuniones virtuales, usar la cámara y el micrófono, y moverte dentro de las funciones de videollamadas.

Bilingual Candidate Forum - School Committee
2025-10-23 18:30 - 19:30
Join us for 4 Bilingual Candidate Forums over 3 nights.
Thursday, October 23, 2025 – School Committee Candidates
Organized by One Holyoke CDC

Bilingual Candidate Forum - City Council at Large
2025-10-24 17:30 - 19:00
Join us for 4 Bilingual Candidate Forums over 3 nights.
Friday, October 24, 2025 – City Council Candidates at Large
Organized by One Holyoke CDC

Couchboy - the Frost Heaves and Hales - Mass Resistor
2025-10-25 19:00 - 23:00
Couchboy, The Frost Heaves and Hales and Mass Resistor Live at Holyoke Media. Doors at 6:30, music at 7. $5 cover at the door NOTAFLOF.

Sour City Tapes Fest Vol. 3
2025-11-01 17:00 - 23:00
Featuring Oolong, Radical Joy, Truther, Whenthetimecomes, Map of the Stars, and More to Be Announced
$10 cash at the door for the bands, doors open at 5 PM
Bring someone n dance with ’em

Navegando el Internet
2025-11-06 17:00 - 18:30

Nanny - Sun Urchins - PMS
2025-11-08 19:00 - 23:00
The Flywheel Arts Collective Presents:
PMS
Western Mass-based, sometimes acoustic, always a little odd, maybe post-folk, maybe post-queercore.
SUN URCHINS
Gritty emotional pop from Providence, RI.
NANNY
Nanny is an alternative power pop band formed in Western Massachusetts in 2017. Nanny consists of Hannah Mills, Adam Reid, Liam Cregan, and Alex Santiago.
Doors at 7:00 pm
Music at 8:00 pm
$10 suggested donation (notaflof)
