Today we explore the beautiful, and the grotesque and the point where the two converge. 

The beauty *IN* the grotesque which is what Monster Arts 5 is all about. We head to Easthampton to see the curious wonders with curators and artists Athan Vennell and Sloan Tomlinson, and hear more about the legacy of the show, it’s growth since the pandemic, and the very real life Monsters that inspire some of the work you can see at its gala event this Saturday. 

We also re-discover the beautiful catalog of Jonatha Brooke who’ll be returning to the area this weekend for a show at the Iron horse. She’s got strong ties to the valley in a number of ways, not the least of which is her alma mater, and we’ll encounter some of her many inspirations, and the multitude of ways the world continues to inspire her, both on and off-stage. 

 And our weekly chat with Congressman Jim McGovern is all about the debates, baby. The representative has some opinions about what went down on Tuesday, and we’re eager to get into all the grotesque details of how he thinks the confrontation played out between JD Vance and Tim Walz in their bids to become second in command of the country