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Date: 8/16/2022
NORTHAMPTON – The Northampton Arts Council and the parent-teacher organizations in Northampton are joining forces again this year to bring “Performance 32 Nevermind the 90s: A Live Tribute Music Fundraiser” at Pines Theater in Look Park on Aug. 23 from 4 to 9:30 p.m.
The event will celebrate the iconic sounds of the 1990s, including the explosion of grunge and the golden era of hip hop, by having myriad of local artists perform songs from that era.
The event is part of the Performance Live Tribute Music Fundraiser series that the Arts Council and Northampton parent-teacher organizations have been spearheading for 32 years to raise funds for arts enrichment in the school and the community. Local musicians cover bands that fall under an annual theme chosen by the Northampton Arts Council. For example, the first theme was “Woodstock: The Performance Peace.”
According to Steven Sanderson, the event producer of Northampton Arts Council, the event series was named “Transperformance” for the first 30 years of its existence, and then two years ago, it was renamed to “Performance.”
In the series’ third year, the Arts Council decided to create a theme every year for the performance. “We have run through almost 30 themes since then.”
Each year, the Arts Council puts out a call to artists to gauge interest in the specific chosen theme. Artists interested are then tasked with performing as the artist they choose based on the theme.
This year’s list includes myriad of artists performing as legendary acts from the 1990s, including Soul Magnets playing as Ms. Lauryn Hill, The Arcadians performing as Oasis, Kimaya Diggs playing as Whitney Houston and many more.
“We try to get as many people as possible because we always like to invite new bands to play,” said Sanderson of the artist selection process. “It keeps it fresh and keeps it fair.”
On the 90s theme this year, Sanderson spoke of how the decade encapsulated a “melting pot” of sounds.
“You got three huge cultural and artistic movements happening in the same decade,” said Sanderson, referring to the explosion of grunge, indie music and hip hop.
When choosing a theme each year, Sanderson said that the council is always looking to choose something new. “We try not to recycle themes too much,” he said. “Aside from tried-and-true themes on anniversaries, we want to do something new and something fresh.”
While happy with how the theme this year came together, Sanderson did stress that he wishes there was more hip hop represented in the lineup. “I’m excited that the Soul Magnets wanted to do Lauryn Hill,” said Sanderson. “There’s a healthy dose of grunge, but then there’s a lot of noise or underground bands.”
To buy tickets and see who is performing, visit the ‘Performance’ website at https://m.bpt.me/event/5446197.