Easthampton City Arts announces fall Spot Lot lineupDate: 9/15/2021 EASTHAMPTON – With autumn almost upon us, Easthampton City Arts (ECA) has officially unveiled the lineup for their Spot Lot Fall Series at the Spot Lot at 50 Payson Ave., located in the Cottage Street Cultural District.
The series, which is set to occur across three consecutive Sundays with six different artists performing at the “Spot Lot” – two each Sunday – will begin on Sept. 19 from 4 to 6 p.m. Amber Belle, a classical, folk, pop, country and musical theater musician, will perform for the first hour of this day, and Pamela Means Project, a critically acclaimed jazz project led by singer and classical guitarist Pamela Means, will be performing at 5 p.m.
On Sept. 26 from 4 to 6 p.m., Álvaro Olvera and the Jon Carroll Band will be performing. Olvera will be performing at 4 p.m. followed by the Jon Carroll Band at 5 p.m. Then, on Oct. 3 from 4 to 6 p.m., Doctora Xingona and the Soul Magnets will perform their respective sets.
“The Spot Lot of course got its name because of its painted polka dots so people can enjoy live free music while social distancing,” said Pasqualina Azzarello, the city arts coordinator for Easthampton. “It’s a great way to enjoy free arts and culture in the heart of our downtown, and to do so safely.”
Azzarello and the ECA spearheaded a Spot Lot Series earlier this spring, titled The Spot Lot Spring Series, at the exact same spot over the course of four Saturdays in May. They also conducted Easthampton Poetry Day at the end of April to kick off the spring series, and honor Easthampton’s Poets Laureate Jason Montgomery and Alex Woolner.
“The nice thing about the Spot Lot performances is that they are in the heart of downtown,” said Azzarello, who added that families will have ample opportunity to explore this area while also visiting 50 Payson to watch the performances. “There’s a lot to do, and oftentimes, people will ride their bikes to come to the Spot Lot.”
ECA partnered with Luthier’s Co-op to curate the lineup for the fall, and Azzarello commends the business for being instrumental in the success of the Spot Lot series overall. Luthier’s will continue to be the sound and stage partner with the ECA for the fall series.
“We are really proud and really thrilled of our lineup,” said Azzarello. “There’s no shortage of incredible and engaging singers and musicians throughout the valley.”
The final performance day during the fall series on Oct. 3 will be the exact one-year anniversary of when ECA and the city first launched its pilot program of doing socially distanced performances in what is now known as the Spot Lot.
According to Azzarello, activating public spaces for pilot programs in ways that are reasonable, and using past experience as a way to guide ECA’s future in working within the city’s Planning Department, will be instrumental to their future programming.
“The fact that we had done a pilot one-off Spot Lot performance last fall really put us in a really positive position to receive funding to grow and develop the program even further,” said Azzarello. “That’s essentially what we’ve done.”
The fall series is being entirely sponsored by River Valley Co-op, according to Azzarello. They have contributed $15,000 to the ECA since the pandemic began, and that funding largely goes to compensating artists and performers as generously as the ECA can.
The ECA will continue to conduct contact tracing for all the performances, and all attendees must wear masks and follow all social distancing protocols. Parking will be available for those who need assistance, but all others should plan to park off-site. All attendees must register at the welcome table.
“We’re really grateful for the community involvement and the community support,” said Azzarello. “It’s been very meaningful to have live music fill our streets again here in Easthampton.”
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