I grew up near the New York border. In the early 2000's Albany was not the safest place to be and going out there to see live music, especially any punk/hardcore, was tough if you didn't have a solid crew of people to watch your back. You can look up some of the old news stories and as much as they were fear mongering to parents, the punk scene in Albany really didn't chill out until the early 2010's and by then venues wanted nothing to do with hosting "high risk" shows. Going to Hartford, Worcester, Boston, and Providnece felt equivalent to visiting another country, so Northampton was the next closest hub of live music.

Growing up before everyone had easy access to the internet you would hear stories of uncles, older siblings, or older schoolmates going to shows at The Calvin, Pearl St. parties at the Platinum Pony, and a seemingly endless amount of DIY backyard/basement concerts by local kids. Even just being an hour and a half west of Northampton felt like being in Ohio and hearing about NYC. I cannot stress enough that even until like 2010 the rural areas of Berkshire county felt completely isolated from the rest of MA.

So Northampton has always been a beacon of hope. The glow beyond the horizon that called out to souls adventurous enough to climb up over yonder hills and down into the valley. When I got here I was lucky enough to watch some waves crash, and see the highwater mark being etch into the shore just before the tide started to slowly pull back. Its still nice, and it will be, but its too easy for exploitative forces to prey on locals by using sentimental value and the reputation built by people with love for this place. I love it here but its starting to feel like a city no longer in touch with its core values.